Admission Essay Sample: IB Program

For the majority of my life, I’ve had a fear of failure. I absolutely abhorred the feeling of disappointment that took over me when I found that the score I had received on a test didn't match the painstaking amounts of effort that went into studying for it. This overwhelming fear of mine abruptly and viciously seeped into other areas of my academic life. When the time came for me to participate in group projects, I found that though my mind was full of vivid ideas, I couldn’t utter a single word. All I could do was go along and listen to what others had to say, even though a part of me desperately wanted to share my thoughts and contribute to the team. Whenever my group members turned to me for ideas, the only thing I could think to do was to stutter and awkwardly say that I had nothing on my mind; I acted as if I were a deer in headlights. All this because there were always unwelcomed thoughts in the back of my mind tormenting me for answers as to what I would do in case of failure and rejection.

To combat these fears, I had decided to settle for mediocrity. I figured that if I put a decent amount of effort into my academics, I would receive consistently average grades, and I would never be disappointed again. In case of any failures, I could always blame it on the fact that I only put in a fraction of the effort I could’ve put in, instead of learning from my mistakes and growing as a person. Eventually, these decent efforts of mine were used as a scapegoat and I found myself rarely taking risks. This mindset is why I've always settled for average grades throughout the majority of my academic career. For the most part, I was content with a B+. Moreover, I always thought that I was all right as long as my grades were adequate. For years, my report cards were consistently reasonable, a decent amount of effort was all that I put in, and the words “average” and “acceptable” were the only words it took to sum up my academic performance; I lived a comfortable life. I never liked to focus on my future; furthermore, it was a rare sight to see me setting up goals for myself, let alone long-term ones. In no circumstances did I even genuinely try to push myself for a grade above the ones I usually acquired; I was so content with being comfortable and deathly afraid of failing and being let down. Whenever a part of me wanted to try something new, the thought of failure and rejection always shut it down. 

Only when I enjoyed the luxury of having such ambitious people as my classmates did I have a change of heart. It was then that I realized that if I lived my whole life settling for the bare minimum, I would never get to experience the happiness and excitement of reaching new heights and achievements. This was the question I found I kept asking myself: "Are you truly living life when you're comfortable, or are you just existing?". Having miraculously joined a class with high-performers and ambitious learners was what unquestionably pushed me to this new mindset. Seeing others accomplish their goals inspired me to take control of my life and rid myself of my fear of failure. To say that I liked my classmates’ mindsets and their attitude to learning is an understatement. I was awe-inspired with the way they learned from their mistakes and failures and with the way they utilized their past errors as a lesson for themselves as they constantly became better and better versions of themselves every single day. Through their actions and behaviors, I came to detest seeing myself being content with my mediocrity when I know I can do so much more. I was tired of the comfort I was living in, and it finally dawned upon me that through living a comfortable life, I would never actually feel accomplished.

My newfound mindset is the reason why I want to join the IB Program. My belief is that challenging myself, though difficult, will be immensely rewarding. It is a fact that throughout my journey I’ll experience several failures, however, these challenges are actually what I look forward to. I desire the ability to freely learn new things about myself, my strengths, my weaknesses, and how to healthily cope with setbacks.