IB retakes after results day: your first 72 hours

Hour 0-2: record the result correctly

Download or securely record the subject grades, total points, core points and Diploma status shown on the candidate website. Check that you are looking at the correct session and candidate record.

Do not make a decision from the headline total alone. A Diploma can be withheld because of a separate HL, SL, low-grade, TOK, EE or CAS condition.

• Save the result page details without posting credentials or PINs.
• Write every subject, level and grade in one table.
• Record the university offer and the exact condition beside it.

Hour 2-12: ask for the marks behind the grade

Ask the coordinator for the scaled total mark, lower and upper grade boundaries, and available component information. The useful question is not simply 'Can I remark?' but 'How many scaled marks are needed and which components are eligible?'

A one-mark gap and a seven-mark gap call for different decisions. Boundary distance does not predict the outcome, but it makes the trade-off concrete.

Hour 12-24: contact the university

Send admissions the achieved result, the missed condition, whether a review or retake is being considered, and when each possible result would be available. Ask whether the place can be held, whether a near miss is reviewed automatically and what evidence is accepted.

Keep the reply. A university may accept the result, wait for an EUR, offer an alternative course, defer the place or require a future retake result. Do not infer its policy from another student's case.

• Use the applicant or UCAS ID in the subject line.
• State dates and facts, not a long defence of the result.
• Ask one explicit question about the latest acceptable result date.

Hour 24-36: compare the four realistic routes

Route one is accepting the result if the Diploma and university path remain open. Route two is an EUR when eligible external work is close enough to justify the risk. Route three is a targeted retake. Route four combines an EUR decision with early retake planning.

Do not register a subject merely because its grade is disappointing. Rank possible retakes by the outcome they unlock and the evidence that improvement is realistic.

• Diploma condition repaired.
• University offer or subject prerequisite repaired.
• Meaningful scholarship or admissions threshold improved.
• No material outcome: reconsider whether the retake is worth it.

Hour 36-48: build the retake brief

Prepare one clean brief with legal name, date of birth, candidate number, previous school, latest results, exact subjects and levels, target session, location, travel range and university deadline.

If a curriculum has changed since the first attempt, add that question. For any IA or coursework issue, state what you hope to carry forward or revise and ask the accepting coordinator to confirm what is possible.

• Use exact official subject names.
• Keep May and November as separate options.
• Outside Group 1 and Group 2, IBretake currently handles examination requests in English only.

Hour 48-72: start registration work without overcommitting

A host-school search can begin while an EUR or university answer is pending. This protects time because schools set their own capacity and cutoffs. Starting a search is not the same as making an official exam entry.

Before accepting a place, confirm the subject, level, session, exam location, document list, payment timing, cancellation terms and who will communicate the final entry.

A decision table you can use

If the Diploma is awarded and the university accepts the result, stop before spending. If one externally assessed subject sits near a boundary and timing works, discuss EUR. If a larger improvement is needed and a later result is acceptable, plan a retake. If deadlines are tight, run the EUR and school-search questions in parallel.

Revisit the decision when new evidence arrives. A university reply, component marks or a host-school offer can change the best route.

• Decision owner: you, with factual input from coordinators and universities.
• Evidence: boundaries, component eligibility, deadlines and acceptance terms.
• Next review point: when the first missing piece of evidence arrives.