How to read destination data

A destination list is a snapshot of where one cohort enrolled in one year. It is not the same as where the school's graduates apply or where they receive offers. Three students choosing Princeton over offers from Yale, Harvard and Stanford tells one story; three students choosing Princeton because it was their only offer tells a different story. Both produce a single Princeton entry on the matriculation list.

The most rigorous schools publish offer lists alongside destination lists, sometimes with anonymised individual profiles. These richer reports allow families to see not just where students enrolled but where they were admitted. A school that consistently shows offers from multiple Russell Group universities across the cohort gives a more reliable signal than a school that shows the same five destinations year after year without context.

The other variable is cohort size. A school with a graduating class of 200 has more opportunities to show top destinations than a school with a class of 40. Per capita measures matter. A school where 25 per cent of leavers matriculate to a top 50 global university is a stronger signal than a school where 8 per cent do, even if the absolute numbers favour the larger school. The pillar guide on the international school to university pathway explains the wider context of how destination data fits with curriculum choice and school selection.

UK destinations: Oxbridge and the Russell Group

UK destinations remain the largest single national category for international school leavers, with the United Kingdom typically receiving between 20 and 40 per cent of the top international schools' cohorts. Oxbridge is a small share of that, usually between three and ten per cent of total leavers at the top schools, with a handful of long established schools clearing 12 to 15 per cent. The Russell Group as a whole is much larger: top international schools typically place 25 to 35 per cent of their leavers across the 24 Russell Group institutions.

Within the Russell Group, the universities that appear most often on top international school destination lists are University College London, Imperial College London, the London School of Economics, King's College London, the University of Edinburgh, the University of Manchester, the University of Bristol, Durham University, the University of Warwick and the University of Leeds. London concentrates a large share of the international school leaver cohort, with UCL, Imperial, LSE and King's together typically accounting for 8 to 15 per cent of top schools' total UK destinations.

For more on UK admissions for international school candidates, see our companion pieces on Oxbridge from international schools, UCAS from American curriculum schools and top universities accepting the IB Diploma.

Compare schools

Use our compare tool to see the published destination data for any school in our database. The destination data is updated each autumn from school matriculation reports. Subscribers to the Tuesday newsletter get the full annual review of destination patterns in September each year.

US destinations: Ivy, top private and public flagship

United States universities represent between 15 and 30 per cent of top international school destinations. The share is rising at schools with high IB or A Level cohorts in the Middle East and Asia, where US universities have become the second choice destination after the UK for many families. Within the US share, the picture splits three ways: Ivy League and equivalent private universities, top liberal arts colleges, and top public flagships.

The most frequently appearing US universities on top international school destination lists in 2025 were New York University, Boston University, the University of Southern California, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of California at Los Angeles, Northeastern University, Georgetown University, Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, Brown University, Duke University, Northwestern University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Michigan. The Ivy League collectively accounts for between two and eight per cent of US destinations at the most selective international schools, varying year to year.

Top liberal arts colleges that appear regularly include Williams, Amherst, Pomona, Swarthmore, Bowdoin, Wellesley, Wesleyan and Middlebury. These tend to be selected by candidates explicitly looking for the small college experience rather than appearing as default choices. For US admissions detail, see US college admissions from the IB Diploma, Ivy League admissions from international schools and Common App for international school students.

Asia destinations: Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia

Asia Pacific universities are the third largest destination category for top international schools, particularly schools located in Asia or with strong Asian family communities. The National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, the University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and the eight Australian Group of Eight universities (Melbourne, Sydney, ANU, Queensland, Western Australia, Monash, Adelaide and UNSW) collectively account for 10 to 25 per cent of top international school destinations.

Singapore Management University and Yale-NUS College (winding down its undergraduate intake) have featured strongly in past years for joint degree candidates. New Zealand's University of Auckland appears regularly. Japan's University of Tokyo and Keio University appear when the cohort includes returning Japanese nationals, though the share is small at most international schools because of the language and curriculum entry requirements.

European destinations: the rise of English taught degrees

European destinations have grown sharply across the past decade as English taught Bachelor programmes have multiplied. The Netherlands now receives between five and twelve per cent of top international school destinations annually, with the leading recipients being University College Utrecht, Amsterdam University College, Leiden University College, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the University of Amsterdam, the University of Groningen and Wageningen University. Maastricht University and Tilburg University also feature regularly.

Beyond the Netherlands, the most frequently appearing European universities on top international school destination lists include Bocconi University in Milan, IE University in Madrid, Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, the IE School of Architecture, the Hertie School in Berlin, ESADE and ESCP. Sciences Po in Paris attracts a steady share. The University of St Andrews, while in the UK, has historically had a strong international intake and continues to appear regularly. For curriculum context, see our IB curriculum overview.

Schools with the strongest 2025 destination lists

A small group of long established international schools consistently produce destination lists that combine breadth and depth. The United World College of South East Asia regularly places a meaningful share of its graduating class at Oxbridge, the Ivy League, top Singapore universities, the Group of Eight, leading Dutch universities and Russell Group institutions. The International School of Geneva, with its three campuses, has historic strength in the same categories with a particular tilt toward Switzerland, the Netherlands, the UK and the United States. The Anglo-American School of Moscow, Tanglin Trust School in Singapore, the International School of Beijing, Sevenoaks School, the King's School Canterbury international intake, the British School of Brussels, the International School of Brussels and the American School in London are similarly consistent.

In the Middle East, Dubai College, GEMS Wellington International School, Dubai American Academy, Repton Dubai and Brighton College Dubai have strong UK and US destination lists. In East Asia, the Hong Kong International School, the Korea International School, the Yokohama International School and Shanghai American School maintain consistent records. Across each of these schools the destinations reflect the cohort's curriculum, the family economic profile and the school's counselling investment, not just academic talent. See our compare tool to view current destination data for individual schools.

Caveats and how to interpret the rankings

Destination lists are useful but easily misread. Three caveats matter. The first is selection bias: schools with higher tuition fees attract families whose children will tend to apply to higher cost universities, which biases destinations toward the US and UK regardless of the school's academic profile. The second is the year on year noise: a single cohort with two or three exceptional students can shift the apparent placement record in ways that do not reflect the school's structural strength. Reading three years of data together is more useful than reading one year.

The third caveat is that destination lists describe outcomes, not pathways. A student who chose to enrol at a top 50 university over offers at universities ranked lower made a particular set of decisions. Another student at the same school might have had identical offers but chosen differently for family, financial or fit reasons. Both appear on the destination list but their stories are different. The best use of destination data is to identify schools that consistently produce strong offer lists across multiple universities, not to pick a school for the prestige of one or two destinations. Our university counselling guide covers what good practice in destinations reporting looks like.

Three trends are visible in the 2025 destination lists across the top international schools. The first is the continued growth of European destinations, particularly the Netherlands, Italy and Ireland, driven by English taught Bachelor programmes that offer strong academic content at materially lower costs than US private universities. International school families with cost discipline are increasingly weighing European options seriously, including for STEM subjects that historically saw a UK or US default.

The second trend is the increasing prominence of Asia Pacific universities for families based in the region. The National University of Singapore and the University of Hong Kong now feature on destination lists at schools in Dubai, London and continental Europe, not just at schools in Asia. The third trend is a slight softening of US private university dominance at the top of destination lists, as families respond to rising costs and visa uncertainty. Top public US universities (the University of California system, the University of Michigan, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Virginia, the University of Texas at Austin) appear more frequently than they did five years ago.

What this means for school choice

For families using destination data to inform school selection, three rules of thumb help. First, read at least three years of destination reports for any school under serious consideration. Single year data is noise; three year patterns are signal. Second, compare destinations per capita rather than in absolute terms, controlling for cohort size. A school with 80 leavers and 25 Russell Group destinations is a stronger signal than a school with 250 leavers and 35 Russell Group destinations. Third, look for breadth as well as depth: a school that places students at 60 distinct universities tells a different story from a school that concentrates 80 per cent of its leavers at five institutions, even if the headline names overlap.

FAQ

How are university destinations reported by international schools?

Most established international schools publish annual matriculation reports listing the universities at which the graduating cohort enrolled. The reports vary in detail; the strongest list every named university, while weaker reports show only the country or region of destination.

Which international schools place the most students at top universities?

Established schools with deep cohort sizes and high IB or A Level averages dominate the lists. United World College of South East Asia, Sevenoaks School, the International School of Geneva, Tanglin Trust, the Anglo-American School of Moscow and similar long established schools regularly send graduates to Oxbridge, the Ivy League and the top US, UK, Singapore and Hong Kong universities.

Should I choose a school by its destination list?

The destination list is one data point, not the only one. It is shaped by cohort size, predicted grades, family relocations and the school's counselling capacity. A balanced view also considers academic fit for the individual student, pastoral support and curriculum strengths.