Maria Sergeeva

How has your high school experience prepared you for university life in SMU?

Completing the IB program was very helpful in adjusting to the academic rigour at SMU. There is a pretty good translation on the depth and expectations of university level work that I think IB students will be advantaged to handle.

Why did you choose your field of study / degree programme?

I’ve always had a strong interest in economics and politics. I’ve been very lucky to experience living in many countries, and in my opinion, I’ve learned that economics is the single most important factor that shapes the modern culture of a country.

I took IB Economics in high school, and my experience with the subject gave the confidence to pursue Economics as my primary major at university. To be honest, I was surprised by how different it is at the university level - especially at how purely mathematical it can get. But I’ve really come to enjoy the analytical side of it, and I appreciate the logic behind how economies behave and evolve. Which is why I also pursued the Quantitative Economics track. Its definitely challenging, but very rewarding when somewhere halfway through the semester you finally start to understand the course material.

I really have no regrets about studying Economics and am grateful for skillset you pick up when pursuing this degree. We learn to think logically, build a strong foundation in statistics and econometrics, and learn to interpret the everchanging economic landscape of the world – which are skills that are useful no matter what path you choose next.

A fun fact about SMU: 

Level 7 of the School of Economics has a great view of Marina Bay Sands.