Turning Down Cambridge, SNU & KAIST After Five AP 5s and a 45/45 IB Diploma: Why She Chose NUS Singapore Pharmacy

Contents

1. 1. The Desk Lamp Still Burning at 3 AM: Five AP 5s & a Perfect 45/45 IB Diploma
2. 2. Four Years of Mastering Both AP and IB Chemistry & Biology
3. 3. Simultaneous Offers from Cambridge, SNU & KAIST—and Choosing Calling Over Prestige
4. 4. Thriving at NUS Singapore Pharmacy & a Family’s Trust Passed Down to Her Sibling

Hello! This is JjangJi Edu (JjangJi Science), where we teach IB Chemistry, AP Chemistry, IB Biology, and AP Biology to international and overseas high school students worldwide.

If you were accepted simultaneously to University of Cambridge, Seoul National University (SNU), and KAIST, which path would you choose?

Today’s story follows a student who studied AP Chemistry and IB Chemistry with me throughout high school, achieving perfect 5s on five AP exams, a perfect 45/45 IB Diploma (including a 7 in IB Chemistry HL), and a 1570 SAT—and why she boldly turned down offers from Cambridge, SNU, and KAIST to enroll at Asia’s #1 university, the National University of Singapore (NUS) Department of Pharmacy.

First, watch her 55-second highlight story below:

1. The Desk Lamp Still Burning at 3 AM: Five AP 5s & a Perfect 45/45 IB Diploma

A heartfelt KakaoTalk message from her mother captured years of quiet dedication:

“Studying with you led to wonderful results. Graduating with a perfect 5 in AP Chemistry and a perfect 7 in IB Chemistry, she is now heading to the National University of Singapore (NUS) Department of Pharmacy.”

While others see only the dazzling final scores, what I remember most is a student who brought pages of thoughtful questions to every single lesson, refusing to move on until she understood the deepest ‘why’ behind every reaction.

2. Four Years of Mastering Both AP and IB Chemistry & Biology

During her earlier high school years, she achieved perfect 5s across five AP exams—including AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Physics, AP Calculus BC, and AP Statistics—before completing the IB Diploma with a perfect 45 out of 45 (and a 7 in IB Chemistry HL).

• How Early AP Chemistry Mastery Accelerates IB Chemistry HL 7: Completing AP Chemistry in Grades 9–10 builds rock-solid quantitative fluency in thermodynamics (ΔG = ΔH − TΔS), equilibrium (Kc, Kp), buffers, and electrochemistry—giving students an enormous head start in IB Chemistry HL Paper 1B/2 and Internal Assessment (IA) experimental design.
• The Twin Pillars of Global Pharmacy & Medical Admissions: Across top UK, Singaporean, and Korean pharmacy and medical programs, pairing IB/AP Chemistry with IB/AP Biology provides the exact biochemical and pharmacological foundation admissions committees look for.

3. Simultaneous Offers from Cambridge, SNU & KAIST—and Choosing Calling Over Prestige

Armed with an extraordinary academic record, she received acceptance letters from the world’s most selective universities:

Despite holding offers from Cambridge, Seoul National University (SNU), and KAIST, her heart was set on a clear calling.

Rather than chasing general prestige, she chose to study Pharmacy at the National University of Singapore (NUS)—Asia’s #1 university and a premier global hub for pharmaceutical and biomedical research—where she could directly pursue drug discovery and patient care.

4. Thriving at NUS Singapore Pharmacy & a Family’s Trust Passed Down to Her Sibling

Today, she wears her white lab coat at NUS Pharmacy in Singapore, living out the dream she worked toward during all those 3 AM nights.

Even more meaningfully, after watching her eldest child’s journey, her mother immediately entrusted her younger sibling’s IB Chemistry education to us as well.

We wholeheartedly applaud her courage to follow her true calling and cheer for her bright future at NUS Pharmacy!

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