Leo: Sometimes, The Most Important Factor For Success Is Taking The First Step

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Leo

Class of 2020, University of Cambridge

I used to only dream about getting into University of Cambridge, but at the moment where I received their offer, I suddenly realised that I did something that I thought was never possible. This story involves a lot of hard work and luck, and please allow me to tell you about it from the beginning.

The first time that I heard about SCIE is from a friend. He said that the students in SCIE are kind, cooperative and caring. Also, their outcomes of University applications are really impressive. So, I took the admissions test, but unfortunately, I didn’t get in for the first time. It really destroyed my confidence, but I decided to go for it again, and after more thorough preparation, I passed the admissions test and joined Grade 11.

Back at the time where I first joined SCIE, I was really nervous and don’t know what I want to do in the future. At the beginning, I was interested in studying medicine, but I realised that it was rather impossible to apply for medicine because I didn’t do much reading and internships, which are essential for applying for medicine. Then, I moved my focus to economics, it seemed very relatable in real life situations, but I didn’t find the course itself very interesting. As a result of not deciding what I want to apply for, I had no target university nor degree, so I wasn’t in the mood for studying and wasted most of my time playing video games.

After 3 months have passed, I started focusing on preparing for applying degrees related to biology. I only started looking at entry requirements in the second semester. Usually, universities in the UK look for at least two As in A-levels, and Oxbridge look for at least two A*s, as well as a couple of other achievements. But during the end of semester exam, I only achieved a B in biology and a C in mathematics. I thought that I’m never going to get into any university like this, but one day, I was sitting on the balcony and asked myself: “Am I going to keep going like this, or shall I challenge myself a little and fight for my future for once in my life?”. I chose the latter, but it wasn’t a simple decision, because choosing it means that I have to spend almost all of my time working in the upcoming months. I gave up on playing video games and watching movies. My daily routine transformed into a cycle of self-study room, table tennis table and my house. Consequently, my A-level results were quite impressive, and that was when I was most pleased with myself about something that I’ve done. 

Before the application process begins, I thought a lot about whether I should apply for Oxbridge. I was most interested in Natural Sciences at Cambridge, but I took neither physics nor further mathematics, and those two courses were taken by majority of other applicants, so I might seem disadvantaged. I also considered applying for Biomedical Sciences in Oxford, but it requires an admission assessment, which was considered as very difficult. Again, I have to make a difficult decision here, but nevertheless I accepted the challenge, because if I don’t even bother trying, I would have 0 percent change of being successful. 

After I set the target as Cambridge, I have to deal with more difficulties. First of all, compared to my peers, I did almost no extra reading, and I don’t have much extra-curricular activities to fill into my personal statement. Second of all, only 3 or 4 people viewed my personal statement and made a few suggestions, but this might be a good thing because the personal statement is supposed to be representing yourself, and after receiving too many advices you might lose what you were originally trying to illustrate. Lastly, Mr Greenwood made some mock interview questions for us, but every time I attend the interviews, he doesn’t look very impressed, and I can’t tell if he’s just unhappy on that day or if my answers sound like absolute nonsense. Despite all of these challenges, I made some friends with other applicants that are applying for biological courses in Oxbridge. We had discussions about schoolwork, interview questions as well as other interesting topics that might come up in future studies. Their help really broadened my vision, and I realised the importance of socialising. I started becoming more talkative and confident in my ability.

Comparing to all the difficulties that I have encountered, the interview is relatively relaxing. According to the information that I filled in my application, I was assigned a biology and a chemistry interview. The questions in the chemistry interview wasn’t too difficult and I managed to explain my thoughts quite well. The biology interview wasn’t as great, because I got stuck on something and still couldn’t get the answer even with some hints from the interviewers. So, I admitted that I lack knowledge in this field. The rest of the interview was alright and I did manage to pull out some thoughts. After my interviews were finished, I felt nothing in my heart: no nervousness, no panic, nothing. The whole application process was like a long journey, although it hasn’t fully ended at that moment, the process of the journey is as important as the possible result.

And, quite unexpectedly, the one thing that I was dreaming for happened in reality.

While you’re reading this, you may find that I didn’t mention where luck is involved in this story. However, I would like to consider that I was very lucky in every aspect of the interview process: I was lucky for the fact that I got admitted into SCIE, I was lucky to have many supportive friends, I was lucky to be taught by great teachers from SCIE, and I was lucky that the interviewers of Cambridge liked me as their potential student. With anyone or anything’s absence in this whole process, I wouldn’t have gone this far.

From my perspective, I would like to summarise a couple of points for future applicants.

  • Firstly, determine your field of interest as early as possible. You can do this by reading more or getting involved in activities such as summer schools.
  • Secondly, while you’re busying tackling A-level exams, the most effective way is to do many past papers. My routine was used to be reading notes, do past papers and correct my answers according to the mark scheme. If you do enough of these, you can pretty much imagine what type of answer the examiner is willing to see every time you see a new question.
  • Furthermore, if you’re invited for interview, be brave to express yourself and share all of your thoughts with the interviewers. That is the only way how they’ll get to know your ability.
  • Lastly, if possible, practice speaking English frequently in your daily life. This is going to be useful in interviews and passing IELTS.

There are still plenty of useful advices for applying to the best universities, but I believe that the most important one is to step up for challenges and dare to dream a little. Not everything will work out as you planned, but as long as you dream big and work hard, tides will turn to your favoured direction eventually.

Life is like fishing: you work hard, be patient and hope for the best. I sincerely wish future applicants the very best luck 🙂