is an IB diploma impressive for college admission?

Answered

Most definitely. Being an IB student sets you apart from others not only due to the rigor of your curriculum but also your well roundedness. Colleges equate IB students with intelligence, passion, and drive because the difficulty of IB demands that you be passionate about learning and improving yourself. IB also encourages community service through CAS, which shows colleges how invested you are in fields outside of the classroom. It is important to note that IB is an international program, meaning you are taking some of the most difficult classes offered to students around the world. This is no easy feat and colleges take notice. IB is quite famous for its students being "well rounded", meaning we do not focus all of our efforts into studying one subject area, we become experts in all areas. This is exactly the kind of student many universities look for (I wouldn't say all just because of schools like MIT, Caltech, or GA Tech are very STEM based and typically want students who excel in those specific fields). If you are successful as an IB student, it shows schools that you are prepared for the demands and difficulty of a college course. So yes, I would say being on track to receive the IB diploma helps.