Emma
Graduate of class of 2022，The London School of Economics and Political Science
From the middle school to the international high school, my grades have never been the top, and I always “missed” the dream school at that time by a few points. But after all the dust settles, looking back, this may not be a bad thing.
When I was a child, I often thought of being a school teacher in the future. I felt that they had many vacations like our students every year, which would be nice. Since junior high school, I will observe the difference between the attitudes and movements of different teachers when they are in class and the content of the class they prepare. After coming to SCIE, a voluntary teaching experience made me realize that teaching is not an easy task, and it also made me aware of the regional discrepancy in educational development. I determined my university major of education at G2. At first, I thought that “education” only represented teaching people, but after discovering the differences between education studies and teacher education, I found that I prefer the field of education policy and educational research, which not only put education at the level of teaching people, but is also in the field of social science research. What surprised me even more was that I found that the University of Cambridge has education course, and the major is subdivided into three tracks: education policy and international development, education and English drama, and educational psychology. After taking a closer look, I found that the track of education policy best suited my preferred professional direction, so I began to take it as my goal. (However, starting from 2022, there is no longer necessary to select the specific track you want to study in advance when applying for Cambridge’s education major)
Throughout the last summer, I was relaxing meanwhile preparing for the university application once A2 started. Just as I was confidently preparing for the application season, I got my CIE scores. I found that my AL predicted grades were not particularly top-notch, but I could still apply to Cambridge. My counsellor began to persuade me to either give up the multinational application, or give up applying to Cambridge. Although I was a little broken in my heart, my long-standing expectation and the faith in my heart still made me choose to apply for my dream school and replace the third insurance school with LSE.
Before the application season, I didn’t expect many surprises to come to me. “Envision the worst outcomes first, so that whatever happens later will be a better one: as long as it’s slightly better than the worst, you’re already lucky.” This opinion seems pessimistic, but it echoes with my adaptive attitude that allows me to breathe from anxiety and stress. Last September, I was preparing for the school’s test week while modifying the personal statement. I submitted the application three days before the deadline for applying to Cambridge, and thought it would start a long wait. However, I received three offers from only one week later. Before the mid November, I received the interview invitation from Cambridge. My counsellor seemed surprised to tell me that I was the first one of his students to receive a university offer and the first to receive an interview invitation from Cambridge. A year or two ago, I hadn’t even thought of applying to Cambridge, much less that I’d received an interview invitation from it. It was definitely a huge encouragement for me and gave me a lot of confidence. I joked with my parents that if I ever received an interview invitation from Cambridge, I’ve already won.
I began to believe that “hard work pays off” and “God rewards the diligent”. The process of preparing for the Cambridge interview made me fall in love with the field of education time and again. Although there were too many readings for me to peruse, every time I finished reading literature or current affairs, I continue to feel a sense of genuine enthusiasm for this subject. This motivation and thirst for knowledge continued to ignite in my heart. This internal drive supported me through the first semester of A2 until the end of the Cambridge interview. This experience allowed me to learn more professional knowledge about education studies, and it is also a precious opportunity to have an academic communication with professor from the top-tier university. Although I was not accepted by Cambridge, the high evaluation that the professor gave me fully proved that hard work and devotion can be valued. This journey also gave me an unexpected surprise, which is the offer from LSE. My interest and love for education and social policy is reflected in my personal statement, which is probably the reason why I was admitted to LSE. Students who are preparing for further applications should put more effort on writing a good PS, read and think more. Grades are important, but there are many valuable things worth to do well beyond grades.
Life at SCIE is colorful. I stayed in the school orchestra as concertmaster for two years and head of the orchestra for one year. I’ve participated in the SGT final, and also performed as a band with my friends at the New Year Concert. My three years’ voluntary teaching experiences not only gave me a better understanding of teaching in education, but also allowed me to see the current situation of education in different environments, which reinforced my determination to contribute to the promotion of education in my home country in the future.
The four-year life in SCIE is almost over. I still remember the busy months of A2, the feeling of loss when I saw the rejection email at the end of January, the numbness of reading the rejection letter from the US universities for a week in March, and the shock and tears at the LSE offer in April. Thanks to my family, my friends for their support. Thanks to my teachers for their great help with my application. Thank myself for choosing to be strong during difficult times instead of giving up.
Finally, here are some suggestions for the future applicants:
- Stop overthinking.
- Don’t do anything that will make you regret.
- For the CIE exams, don’t put too much pressure on yourself and don’t underestimate.
- Do the best in the things within your control, and leave the rest to the will of God.
