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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ram Sabaratnam" data-source="post: 215554" data-attributes="member: 36738">Hi [USER=41631]@melonpan[/USER]Welcome the forum! Completely understandable to feel unsure about how best to present your background, especially coming from a different education system. I had a similar experience, as I completed my high school studies in Ontario  <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> I think the best approach is to be as transparent as you can in your applications. While not all firms will ask for secondary school transcripts, I’ve had firms request mine during the background check stage (though not all firms will request high school transcripts). I’d recommend including both your IB and OSSD results. It won’t diminish the strength of your application to include both; I think if anything, it provides a fuller picture of your academic background. In terms of mapping your grades onto UK-style applications, I typically treated my Grade 11 and 12 grades as my post-16 education and Grade 9 and 10 as my 14-16 qualifications. There’s no strict rule, and different candidates have handled this differently, but I've found that my approach aligned pretty closely with the GCSE/A-Level structure used by UK firms.In terms of your grades themselves, it’s also okay to have some 2:2s, but I think what firms often look for is evidence of academic improvement. I think the most important thing now is for you to focus on showing an upward trajectory in your university performance. A 2:2 in first year doesn’t define your future prospects, especially if you can show improvement in second and third year. You can also absolutely use the mitigating circumstances box in applications to briefly and clearly explain what was going on during your first year and earlier schooling (caring responsibilities and mental health challenges are definitely factors that I've seen applicants mention before and firms are increasingly open to seeing how these can affect academic performance). Again, as I've already mentioned, there's plenty of time to strengthen your academic profile and build a compelling application. If you keep improving and can show that growth clearly, I think you'll be in a strong position.Good luck with your applications!</blockquote>

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