Post by Aliyah A.

Since starting my TikTok page (@medicaliy) in October '23, I've heard these questions many a time. 'How much do you get paid to make the videos?' and 'Why would you give A-Level advice for free when you could make money off it?' 💰💰💰 And they're valid questions - as a uni student in Central London, surely I should be trying to earn some money whenever I can to get by?! To be honest, I put a LOT of effort into sharing my tips for GCSEs, A-Levels, UCAT and interviews. I pay ridiculous amounts per month for video editing apps, constantly do research to give people up-to-date info and even pester my family to send me pictures of my A-Level notes at home while I'm away. But while I occasionally get brand partnerships and money from affiliate codes, the amount of time I pour into my content is definitely not reflected financially! Moving onto the actual point of this post... From the messages I've attached below, the one that inspired this was the one from the person getting tested for ADHD. So many young people in the UK are neurodivergent (autism, ADHD, dyslexia etc.) whether they know it or not, and may struggle with their academics. And sadly nowadays, popular companies keep high quality study resources behind paywalls that not everybody is able to pay for. Now, I was fortunate to go to an incredible school with lots of support, academic and otherwise. But not everyone has that privilege. And there are even people who *do* have access to the same quality of education as I did, but learn differently, so they cannot fully benefit from it. But reading that message the other day reassured me that I'm doing the best I can to level the playing field and make education accessible to more people. I don't accept brand partnerships with companies who keep all of their content behind paywalls. I won't endorse companies that capitalise off student panic and charge extortionate amounts for info that's freely available online. And every day, I try my best to undo the effects of these organisations by sharing all of my A-Level notes for free, and regularly posting detailed study advice for students. To answer those questions from the start, I get 'paid' more than enough in an unconventional way. Every day I open the app to comments and DMs expressing how grateful they are for my help. And while my bank account might be empty (🥲), as cliché as it sounds my heart is full. Thank you for all the kind messages recently - they genuinely mean a lot. Through my platform I'd love to do bigger and better things to break down some of the barriers that hold young people back from reaching their true potential, and it's all you lovely people that keep me going! Aliyah 🫶 (P.S: if you're an A-Level student interested in accessing my notes, drop me a message and I'll send you the link)