<p>I did my A-levels in 2010, haven’t started applying to any colleges yet but I did a quick search on this and I got a pretty interesting result from Dartmouth - definitely a well respected Ivy - on the policy of credit awarded to admitted A-level and IB students. [AP</a>, IB, A-Level, & Transfer Credits & Placement](<a href=“Apply to Dartmouth | Dartmouth Admissions”>Apply to Dartmouth | Dartmouth Admissions)</p>
<p>“Dartmouth College recognizes the International
Baccalaureate Diploma and grants credit for superior performance on the Higher Level IB examinations”</p>
<p>“Dartmouth College recognizes the A-Level curriculum from the United Kingdom as exceptional preparation of students and grants credit for superior performance on those A-Level examinations which cover fields of study represented by Dartmouths academic departments in the arts and sciences”</p>
<p>I think I read somewhere the Singapore-Cambridge A-levels are tougher and harder to score than the British A-levels, not too sure though.</p>
<p>Of course, various colleges might view the IBs or A levels in a different light but in either case, the fact that these two routes culminate in a pre-university certificate already point to a competitve applicant.</p>
<p>I was from a decently competitive JC and I felt as if A-level coursework was totally crushing me and I had little time to breathe. I found lectures and tutorials difficult to adjust to, because lecturers often rushed to get their content covered, and I couldn’t complete my tutorials before discussion (school ended around 4pm on a typical day, plus I was in a really busy CCA). I didn’t graduate with straight As but I think the two year journey lived up to the “pre-university” tag. Some of my JC friends who had already moved on to university (very competitive courses and universities) that I talked to felt that the whole experience of being time pressured and being self-motivated (apparently my JC didn’t have a culture of spoon feeding students) helped them a lot in assimilating into university life.</p>
<p>I can’t speak much on an IB experience since I never attemptef it, but my IB friends felt that the Singapore schools used very A-level-ish philosophy to teaching the IB and likewise, they felt very pressured too. </p>
<p>Of course, there’s more to academic grades if we’re looking at top flight universities. Recommendations, personal essays and extra-curriculars count a lot.
If we’re looking at a more Singaporean context, a friend of mine got accepted at NUS law with As and Bs for his A-levels. Interview skills, personality and ECs, top notch.</p>