Photo credit: Tatak Ilonggo

Former beauty queen and television personality Rabiya Mateo has achieved another major milestone after earning a 741 General Performance Score (GPS) in the National Medical Admission Test (NMAT).

The score places Mateo in the 99th percentile, meaning she performed better than 99 percent of examinees nationwide—an achievement that highlights her strong academic performance as she continues to pursue a career in medicine.

Her result also sparked discussion online after some netizens compared it with the 719 NMAT score often associated with “Linda Walker.” However, the name Linda Walker is widely known from viral short-form social media reels where the character is used in storytelling or motivational content about high NMAT scores. The character is not an officially documented NMAT record holder, but rather part of a popular narrative format used in educational and inspirational videos online.

With top medical schools in the country—such as the highly competitive University of the Philippines College of Medicine—typically requiring at least the 90th percentile for admission consideration, Mateo’s score reflects a level of academic excellence that exceeds many of the usual benchmarks.

From representing the Philippines on the international pageant stage to now pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor, Mateo continues to prove that beauty, intelligence, and determination can go hand in hand.

Her achievement has also become a proud moment for her home province of Iloilo and the wider Ilonggo community, with many supporters celebrating the accomplishment online.