IB Application Essay

Learning is an activity that I like the most. Deepening my knowledge, widening my perspectives and growing as a person are the main goals I envision achieving in my life. That’s why I’m seeking the best education I can get. Besides that, I understood quite early that I want to expand my experience beyond my own country and explore more of the world. Graduating school abroad and eventually getting into a good university are some things that align with both of these realizations. I started doing research on what steps are the best to take in order to achieve this, learnt about various study programmes and discovered the IB. It immediately sparked an interest in me with the many ideas and features it represents.

Of course, to start the IB programme, the first step would be pre-IB. So, the short answer is – I want to prepare for the IB, which, as I’ve heard, is a challenging programme. However, that is one of the reasons why it appeals to me. I challenge myself in various areas, for example, last summer I decided to teach myself guitar, so I could perform in a school play. During quarantine, I started learning a coding language called C++ with the goal of creating a 2D video game one day. I like challenges because they build self-discipline and I love seeing the results of something I’ve worked hard on.

I also appreciate how the IB doesn’t focus only on academics by having CAS to encourage developing socially, ethically and creativity wise by making you think outside the box and perhaps, step out of your comfort zone. This school year, I started taking art classes to improve my drawing and creativity skills and unexpectedly it became a huge passion of mine. I think CAS could help me find even more unexpected hobbies or interests. 

Finally, since it is an international programme, I would become more culturally aware by meeting people from all around the world and finding out more about their cultures. I would learn a new language - Danish, which would help immensely if I decide to study at a university in Denmark, but I also just love language learning. I’m fluent in Lithuanian and English, speak some French, Russian, Swedish and already started learning Danish. In addition to that, the IB is accepted by many universities in Europe, which would open up a lot of options for me.

Overall, this programme, in my opinion, prepares students well for university, life and I admire its focus on critical thinking, which is especially relevant in this age of social media. Besides that, the combination of IB and Grenaa Gymnasium seems to fit me well personally. As music is a very important factor to me, it has drawn my attention that Grenaa gymnasium has wonderful conditions for musicians – practicing facilities, music cafes, concerts. The overall atmosphere of the school “clicked” to me, everything came into its place and formed this big dream, which has only grown stronger throughout these past 2 years and I still hope this vision comes true.