The IB Diploma will be awarded to a candidate provided all of the following requirements have been met:

- Creativity / Activity / Service (CAS) requirements have been fulfilled. Students work on CAS over the two years of the program, facilitated through their IB advisory

- The candidate has earned 24 or more total points. The point total comes from a combination of exam scores (each exam is out of 7 points; students take 6 exams, so in order to earn the IB Diploma, they need to average a 4 on their exams), and up to three potential bonus points based on their extended essay and Theory of Knowledge assessments

- There is no "N" awarded for Theory of Knowledge, the extended essay, or for a contributing subject. An N would result from students either not submitting work for internal or external assessment or not sitting for all portions of a May exam

- There is no grade E awarded for Theory of Knowledge or the extended essay. Grade Es are equivalent to a failing grade in our school grading system. An E would be awarded if a student submitted work to IB for the EE or TOK assessments that did not meet basic requirements.

- There is no grade 1 awarded in any subject/level

- There are no more than two grade 2s awarded (HL or SL)

- There are no more than three grade 3s or below awarded (HL or SL)

- The candidate has earned 12 points or more on HL subjects (for candidates who register for four HL subjects, the three highest grades count)

- The candidate has earned 9 points or more on SL subjects (for candidates who register for two SL subjects, they must earn at least 5 points at SL)

- The candidate has not been cited for academic misconduct

The IB Diploma is issued in July of the year students graduate. Students often ask, "what happens if I don't earn enough points to receive the IB Diploma?" The easy answer is "nothing." Students are admitted to college based on their status as an anticipated full Diploma candidate; whether they actually earn the Diploma has no bearing on their admission. Some international universities admit students conditionally, based on them having achieved a certain Diploma score total, but this is rare for US students. The main downside of not doing well on IB DP assessments is simply that schools are less likely to offer college credit or advanced standing for low scores on the exams.