So, you want 45 points on your IB diploma, a perfect score. I like the way you think.

After all, in the IB world, perfection is the bare minimum. Unfortunately, you’re a bit late to the party. The truth is that unless you start preparing before freshman year, you likely won’t score a 45. There’s just not enough time. However, it’s not impossible, and I am going to teach you how to maximize the little time left you have to get a 45.

The first and most important step is to internalize the truth that in the IB world, time is everything. Every minute not spent studying is a potential lost mark on an exam. While most IB students are wasting their time with hobbies and having stable sleep schedules, you have the opportunity to gain an advantage over your peers.

True 45 students understand that when you spend time waiting on the microwave, walking to school, attending family dinners, or eating school lunch, you are losing valuable time for active recall and memorization. For example, while walking to school, most students are focusing on nature, looking at their phones, or listening to music. 45 students, however, spend that time listening to key terms memorization audio loops. During lunch, instead of wasting time socializing with “friends” who are really just enemies who are making the grading curve harder, you can study IB biology flashcards or read your IB chemistry textbook.

The biggest time-wasting propaganda that most IB students fall for is sleep. Sleep is often described as essential for growth and well-being. However, the same companies telling you that you need eight hours of sleep every night are the same ones that sell pillows and mattresses… see where I’m going? You don’t need more than four hours of sleep. Cutting your sleep down by four hours every day and replacing it with studying or reviewing past papers will gain you an extra 1,460 hours of essential study time per year. Additionally, the few hours you do spend sleeping should be used to enter a lucid state, allowing you to learn and review content while unconscious. If you don’t study in your dreams, forget it.

Finally, unlock your life’s purpose. Once you go down the 45 path, it’s no longer just a score. It is a way of living, it’s your new personality, and it is the last thread holding together their feelings of self-worth.

You need to work hard. You need to stay focused. And if ever you find yourself feeling like it’s all for nothing? You don’t have what it takes to get a 45, and you probably never even had a chance.

Good luck.