Uchechukwu Nnaike
Over 100 top universities and colleges in the US, UK and Canada have accepted the cohort of 22 IB Diploma graduates of Greensprings School, Lagos with an average acceptance rate of five universities per student, just as a total of $1.3 million scholarships have been awarded to them by some of the institutions.
The students, after graduating from their various secondary schools, joined the Greensprings School sixth form college, one of the few certified IB schools in Nigeria.
Upon completing their studies, they applied to the universities and colleges of their choice; apart from being accepted, most of them were awarded a substantial amount of scholarships, including Fareedah Kassim, who got a scholarship worth $120,000 from Illinois Institute of Technology. Odianosen Okojie got $100,000 from Colorado Boulder, while Patrick Udochi got full tuition from Georgia State University.
The top tertiary institutions in the US, UK and Canada that the students got acceptance into include University of California – Riverside, University of Toronto, University of Manchester, University of Waterloo, Georgia Institute of Technology, Kings College London, University of Alberta, University of British Columbia, University of Warwick, University of Leeds, among others.
Expressing her satisfaction with the performance of the students, the IB Diploma Principal, Mrs. Jennifer Sunkanmi-Qazzeem said: “It is a common saying among our IB students that being accepted into universities and colleges is a given; the main goal is to be accepted into top universities and colleges with substantial scholarships.
“Therefore, the acceptance of these students into the A-list schools re-affirms the fact that the IB diploma programme is the surest way not only to secure admission into top universities and colleges around the world, but also a guaranteed path to securing meaningful scholarships.”
She added that the students were dedicated to their studies, so she is happy that their efforts have paid off.
The Deputy Director of Education at Greensprings School, Dr. Barney Wilson also expressed his satisfaction with the students’ performance, saying: “Without any doubt, Greensprings School grooms students to become extra-ready for college and university. Over the years, many of our alumni have proceeded to top tertiary institutions across the world and graduated with good grades.
“For this reason, I believe these newly accepted students will be able to face the academic challenges in the tertiary institutions and pass out in flying colours.”
The Greensprings IB Diploma programme is a two-year sixth-form programme designed to prepare secondary school graduates for life in tertiary institutions. The students admitted into the programme are expected to have a minimum of five credits in their O’ Levels (GCSEs, IGCSEs or WASSCE), including English Language and Mathematics.
