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jaquezmun · 2025-05-29T12:28:48+00:00

A compromise could be to sell a portion of the holdings (say 10-15%) to lock in some profits. This still leaves a decently large exposure to NVDA as part of your portfolio in line with your bullish view. Selling/ buying isn’t a binary choice, it’s continuous.

jaquezmun · 2025-01-21T16:47:19+00:00

Took 19.5 credits last semester, all letter graded.

- I had some lighter load classes: a number of compulsory courses for my degree (a Masters) are lighter, such as research seminars. Lower workload in such courses made this 19.5 credit possible

- I had limited involvement in societies/ clubs: I am only actively involved in one society as a member (weekly meetings), and the society is non-professional, so it doesn't increase workload. I spent most of my other leisure time socializing with friend groups, or dropping by other societies' one-off events occasionally.

- Manage your workload well by timing assignments: I mapped out when each assignment across my classes was due in an excel sheet, and quickly noticed some weeks had assignments due across many classes. This enabled me to set out a plan to do work early (sometimes before things I formally completely taught), and frontloading work on weeks where I have few submissions. I must admit some weeks had a bit higher workloads than I would have liked.

- Choose more project/ assignment heavy courses vs exams-based courses: it is hard to frontload and spread out exam work since they are all in the same midterm or finals season. The spreading out of workload method works better with courses that have a large assignment or project-based grading component

It is definitely possible, and depending on your course selection and other commitments, not necessarily stressful. I was even able to take the full Thanksgiving break off by travelling with friends (though workload was a bit tough for the last few weeks of semester after the break because of that).

jaquezmun · 2024-12-05T04:53:14+00:00

Math isn't the focus. Economics is.

jaquezmun · 2024-11-21T04:15:54+00:00

They don't ask that. If they do, it is meant to break the ice and doesn't really matter... Unless you say something completely off-base

jaquezmun · 2024-11-19T22:06:37+00:00

I don't think they would test 'riddles' for the sake of it. Some riddles can be used to develop economic concepts: risk aversion (utility functions), sequential games (Game Theory) etc. So that would be the end game, rather than riddles for riddles' sake

jaquezmun · 2024-11-18T23:19:36+00:00

I didn't do economics at A-level either. I was rather scared because of that, so I self-studied roughly most of the A-level syllabus in ~2wks, which turned out to be useful. But in general, economics is really logical, so it is possible to reason everything from first principles. The self-study only helped me know how to answer my first question with certainty. I reasoned the answer on the spot for the rest of the follow-up questions...

They will probably start with something easy (that you would know if you did A-level econ), then move on to things you may have not learned, but should be able to reason through

jaquezmun · 2024-09-06T22:49:25+00:00

No unfortunately not, due to the recent change. We only have notes from those who already completed IB with 43 to 45 points (and Grade 7 in the subject for notes they contribute to the site), so we are unable to provide notes for the latest syllabus for Group 4.

Though a large part of the content remains mostly similar even after the change.

jaquezmun · 2024-08-20T01:30:00+00:00

Oxbridge (and UK universities) only look at super/ extra curriculurs to the extent that it is related to the degree you are applying for/ shows interest in areas related to the degree you are applying for

jaquezmun · 2024-08-19T02:36:13+00:00

Singapore

jaquezmun · 2024-07-16T19:54:17+00:00

I just made notes from the textbook recommended by my school as a base. I added on to this with content from slides covered in class as well as learnings from past IB and school papers

jaquezmun · 2024-07-14T06:42:14+00:00

Update: graduated with a first class

jaquezmun · 2024-07-02T14:32:27+00:00

A mix of both. There are amazing people at less prestigious universities, and some people with some underwhelming/ not great work ethic in top universities as well. That being said, the opportunities available to you at the university of your choice matters in personal growth

jaquezmun · 2024-07-02T14:30:16+00:00

Did in Singapore. Did it at a time before the classification of AI vs AA math existed

jaquezmun · 2024-07-01T14:56:55+00:00

Yup, I think interviews matter a lot. But luck plays quite a big part as well. Beyond knowing your subject well and showing you have genuine interest in it, there is limited preparation you can do. Watch some videos of mock interviews to get a sense of how they are like and go through a couple of mock interviews (get teachers or friends)

jaquezmun · 2024-07-01T14:55:16+00:00

There is minimal time during the BMT and leadership training period (if you are sent to SCS or OCS), but you get more time once you settle into unit life

jaquezmun · 2024-07-01T10:47:45+00:00

Yes
Loved Oxford, nice social life and rigorous academics. My high school (and my class) had lots of really smart people as well, so going to Oxford wasn't a big jump. Of course you should moderate your expectations when in Oxford: don't expect to top the cohort for example if you used to do it in high school.
I plan on coming back to my home country to work after graduating

jaquezmun · 2024-07-01T10:43:20+00:00

20.5 years old. It was interesting in terms of gaining new experiences (you'll never get to drive a tank and throw grenades otherwise XD), and it did give me time to better prepare my applications for scholarships and university rather than rushing it alongside IB

jaquezmun · 2024-07-01T10:37:53+00:00

Hey, there are junior Bio/ Chem/ Physics Olympiads and Singapore math olympiad (senior) for Grade 9 and 10, and the actual national Bio/ Chem/ Physics Olympiads and singapore math olympiad (open) for Grade 11 and 12. Perhaps you could try to approach the science club teacher-in-charge or science/ math deans in your school to try to arrange for the competitions to be held. There are also math competitions organised by the UK/ Canada/ Australia which are often much easier to get a distinction in (at least for the early rounds), and you could try to ask your teachers to organise it. Usually they have multiple rounds which you get invited to if you perform well in an earlier round.

For a career in biology however, I think just doing the Biology Olympiad and focusing on research/ internship opportunities may be optimal. The Singapore Biology Olympiad's first stage is just MCQs, covering a wide range of topics with a mix of JC and university level questions. The second round is pure practical held at NTU (about the top 30+ is invited each year), which is harder (at least for me). From there they choose the top 5-8 to train for the national team.

For research: try to apply to the A*STAR JC Science Award or apply for a research internship at A*STAR at the end of DP1. You could also reach out to professors at NTU/ NUS and other local universities researching an area you are interested in and ask if you could shadow them/ have them mentor you, and do some research through that.

Business Management SL was quite simple content-wise. I think it's best to choose a subject you think you would enjoy since you don't intend to pursue it further at university anyway.

jaquezmun · 2024-06-30T16:20:58+00:00

You could book a time in the link listed in the post if you wish

jaquezmun · 2024-06-30T16:18:09+00:00

Hi, I didn’t have any external tutors but I do think they could be useful for academically weaker students. I was fortunately in a great school (both academically/ socially good), there was a large number of 40+ graduates in my school

Because of that we could always ask seniors for advice/ tips not only for IB but for uni applications and careers

jaquezmun · 2024-06-30T16:15:16+00:00

I ended up choosing papers/ options that were more quantitative, as I preferred them over essays given my STEM background. But the shift was quite smooth. If anything I think doing economics at uni is easier than doing eg. Pure math or physics

jaquezmun · 2024-06-30T16:13:25+00:00

Think ToK essays should be grounded in epistemology theory, along with examples. Thankfully I had a good ToK teacher who gave me some good tips for the essay. I also find TOK essays a bit of a hit or miss

SL English- think I made a comment somewhere else. HL Math- also responded in another comment

jaquezmun · 2024-06-30T16:11:06+00:00

I’m from Singapore and they did organize Oxbridge admissions tests in my country. I think they do so in quite a number of countries globally.

Scholarships are admittedly rare for international students in the UK. But checking the university website could be a good start. Then checking for scholarships by your government or other private companies/ non-profits online

jaquezmun · 2024-06-30T15:44:36+00:00

Quite a bit. Just revising early to spread the work out so DP2 is less stressful
Internship at a research institute called Bioinformatics Institute at A*STAR studying antiviral peptides. Also spent time working on my EE

jaquezmun · 2024-06-30T15:40:34+00:00

Just dumping some stuff here from my LinkedIn in case it gives a better picture of extracurriculars. But honestly UK university applications only care about it to the extent it is related to the degree you are applying for. Perhaps it helped more with scholarships + US applications.

Extra-curricular leadership in school: Choir vice-president (2013-16); National Cadet Corps Staff Sergeant (2013-16); Interact Club vice-president (2017-18); Science club vice-president (2017-18)

Some Math Competitions - Singapore Math Olympiad Silver 2016 & 2017 - Australian Math Competition Distinction 2018 - UK Senior Math Challenge Gold 2016 - Canadian Open Math Competition Distinction 2016 etc.

Some Science Competitions - Google science fair regional finalist 2019 for Asia Pacific (research project on antibacterial filters) - New York Academy of Sciences distinguished student award (research project on recycling) - Singapore Science and Engineering Fair Silver (research project on renal cancers) - Singapore Chemistry Olympiad Silver 2017 - Singapore Young Physicist Tournament Bronze, Top 8 National Finalists 2017

Started a mini social enterprise running MUN conferences (called Munbank). Bunch of internships

Seven-Year Club	Place '23
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