"If cramming works for you, then cram."
Kyle Magistrado, who bested 1,306 passers of the Medical Technologist Licensure Examination (MTLE), admitted in a now-viral post that he was "a huge crammer ever since."
Magistrado, a graduate of the University of Santo Tomas, shared his last-minute decision to take the boards after a "tough" semester in medical school left him with less than three weeks to study.
"I had no choice but to hold on to that belief that cramming will get me through it again," he wrote.
Afraid of failing because he lacked preparation for the examination, the MTLE topnotcher said he never told his friends about his plan to take the board.
"I was studying some subjects for 1-2 days only due to lack time (and motivation). Some of these subjects I last encountered way back 2019 pa. I was even more humbled after Day 1 sa sobrang hirap (the examination was so hard), I was counting my 'sure' answers pero halos (but almost) half lang (only) for every subject at 75% ang dapat na (the should be the) average," Magistrado said.
"All I could do then was pray to God to help me make peace with myself if unfortunately I don't pass. The next 8 days were filled with so much anxiety and self-doubt. I was telling myself that there's already merit in trying, no matter the outcome," he added.
Magistrado then congratulated his fellow registered medical technologists who will soon become part of the "backbone" of the health system amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Let's all vote wisely in the coming elections for the better interest of all ," he added.