Miss Universe Philippines 2020 Rabiya Mateo is set to take a major step toward fulfilling her dream of becoming a doctor after revealing that she has been accepted into medical school.
The former beauty queen and actress shared the milestone in a recent Instagram post featuring sweet moments from her trip to Hong Kong with actor and rumored boyfriend Jake Cuenca.
“Few more gala before med school. Jake, thank you for this trip,” Mateo wrote in the caption.
Cuenca later expressed support for Mateo’s new chapter, commenting, “The best day ever! Congratulations, I’m so proud of the incredible woman that you are.”
Rabiya responded with gratitude, writing, “Thank you for being supportive of my dreams. I’m so proud of you too.”
The MUPH 2020 titleholder further confirmed her plans in an exchange with actress Carla Abellana.
“Wow! Med school?!?” Abellana commented on her post.
“Yes Carla. I just got accepted in UST,” Mateo replied, referring to the University of Santo Tomas, one of the country’s top universities.
In an exclusive interview with PhilSTAR L!fe on May 19, Mateo confirmed that she had been admitted to the university’s Faculty of Medicine and Surgery.
“I just got my acceptance letter from the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine and Surgery yesterday,” she said.
The beauty queen also revealed that she intends to temporarily step away from entertainment to focus on academics.
“As of now, my plan is to solely focus on my education as I enter medical school. Wala na muna showbiz. Full-time student na,” Mateo shared.
Before securing admission, Mateo earned an impressive General Performance Score of 741 in the National Medical Admission Test (NMAT) in March, placing her in the 99th percentile of examinees. The NMAT is a standardized exam required for admission to medical schools in the Philippines.
Reflecting on her decision to return to school, Mateo said she had been preparing for the transition for years.
“After doing Miss Universe, after pursuing my career for quite some time, I was able to save up,” she said. “I’m very happy na I’m going back to studying, to learn a lot of things, to understand the human body, and to become a doctor.”
Rabiya first opened up about her plans to pursue medicine in February during an interview with DJ Chacha on a YouTube vlog.
“It’s a calling and I’m so happy to share this to everybody that I’m gonna go back to med school,” she said at the time. “And I wanted to become a doctor ever since.”
Mateo graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy degree from Iloilo Doctors’ College in 2018.
