"I walked out of the exams feeling incredibly confident. My parents were telling me to hope for the best and expect the worst, but in my heart I knew that I had done well. When I finally got the score, it felt amazing. I could not believe it! I am incredibly happy that all of my hard work has paid off!"

"My medical school application depended on my score, so I did a lot of work to prepare for it. It was stressful, but it motivated me that much more to work hard in preparing for the exams. My revision in year 12 primarily consisted of note-taking to ensure that I really understood the material that I needed to learn. I then transitioned to flashcards to ensure the information was not forgotten. I used to take the metro to school every day, this was a great opportunity for me to review flashcards before and after school."

"Time management proved to be very difficult. This was made even more difficult as I was doing e-learning in the UK for much of IB. The added time difference made that even more difficult. 

Another challenge was when I finally returned to campus. As I had been away for so long, I was a bit behind on my internal assessments. However, my teachers were there to support me all the way and I quickly caught up."

For my extended essay, I looked into the antimicrobial properties of herbs and spices on the growth of E. coli. Due to the increase in antibiotic resistance, there is an urgent need for alternative therapeutics. I was particularly interested in this topic, and it was particularly relevant to studying medicine.

I felt very lucky to be in such a supportive environment with teachers that have taught me all the way since year 7 and friends who were going through the same challenges as me. With all the support around me, the coursework was not nearly as difficult as I expected."

"I have learned the importance of persevering through my studies — especially in light of the pandemic. It has been made very clear to me that you have to work hard for the things you want. 

On a more practical level, I have learned valuable writing skills through the IB programme, like formatting a scientific research paper and communicate your research effectively. Both will be important in the profession that I want to pursue.

"I always knew that I was interested in the sciences, and I considered degrees in biology, biochemistry and even veterinary sciences. But my longstanding interest in human biology helped me to clarify that becoming a medical doctor — rather than a vet — was what I was interested in. As such, I will be studying medicine at the University of Liverpool – the home of the Beatles!"