Savanna
Class of 2022, University of Cambridge
The day Cambridge releases its offers…
I fell asleep. Yes, my eyes were literally glued to my computer screen, torn between WeChat and Email. People from my year group were getting their offers from 4pm, and I myself was naturally worried sick. Of course I knew that Cambridge released its offers at different times, but still it did not quench my worry. And so on the night of January 25th, I was getting sadder as time flowed on and then somehow I… fell asleep. By the time I woke up, it was 6am the next day. I scrambled up for a glimpse at my mailbox and saw that I had gotten an offer. My passion was all used up the day before, so I basically showed my parents my offer with such maturing calm, and we forgot all about the reaction video we were going to film…
1.Unusual experiences
Before I decided to enter the International A Level curriculum, I already knew that the UK would be my destination for university. This was because of my childhood experience, where I went to the UK with my family and studied there for my primary school years. We stayed there for long enough that I learned their culture and made some great friends, and when it was time to leave, I had made up my mind that I would, sooner or later, return to finish my studies.
2.Entering the international A Level curriculum
After that, we came back to China and I went to the local middle school, yet when I recalled my childhood, it was my time in the UK that kept flashing through my mind. It was then that I realised I craved for group work and doing presentations instead of sitting at a desk and taking lessons so passively from 7am to 6pm like an endless cycle. Hence I sat down with my parents and by the end of that we were all with the thought that taking the international scheme would be the best for me.
I therefore applied for a place at Dulwich College in 8th grade, and it was there that I spent my IGCSE years. I had a great time with some great people and I tried many new things. I participated in WSC debates and MUN discussions and I was also privileged enough to have gotten a role in the Student Council and was House Captain in my second year, where I helped organise school parties and sports events, improving upon my communication and cooperation skills.
3.Finding my target
My decision to major in biology was mainly because of my biology lessons in G1, where my teacher Mr Kenny Li made the subject ever so interesting. I was intrigued by how different molecules worked together in complex pathways to sustain the ways of life, but it was during a parent (and student)-teacher conference that he said to me I was ‘talented’ in the subject and that ‘I can see you working as a biologist some day’ that I realised biology was the subject for me.
4.Getting into SCIE, and starting my applications
Now, I was, then, a boarding student at Dulwich, and it came to me that I was far away from home and I wanted to spent more time with my parents before I went aboard for university. SCIE’s prestigious reputation naturally attracted me, and it was close to my home, so I came here for my final 2 years of high school life.
At the start of A1, a horrible realisation that I was under-prepared hit me suddenly, for I saw that the people around me had done so many academic competitions and other extensions in their IGCSE years and I was totally stressed out. I had done only an iGEM competition, so I immediately had a chat with my counsellor Mr Dubinsky and we formed a plan that worked for me. So A1 was quite a long year for me due to the pressure I was putting on myself.
Not wanting to experience this again, I spent that summer holiday in doing more activities and poured into books in my field of interest and I had a satisfied PS draft ready before A2 started. By then my AS grades had already come out and they were enough for an application to Oxbridge, so I thought, you know, I’ve already gotten into SCIE, so why not try and just go for it?
So when A2 finally started, I had countless chats with my counsellor and Ms Iris, finalising my university decisions and tried to perfect my PS. Looking back now, the first semester of A2 was absolutely frantic and the things I had to do just never ended. I prepared for the NSAA admissions exam and had mock interviews/discussions with my friends and when it was time for my Cambridge NatSci interview I was actually just more relieved that my application process was finally about to be over than anything, and I just gave it my best shot!
Reflecting on my application process and advice for future applicants
I was never the best student; I didn’t have flawless test results or amazing capabilities. I was just someone who had this clear goal of where I wanted to be for uni and for it I did my best. The advice that I would give for future applicants is simply that you should always aim far and try your best to achieve. Be optimistic and never overwhelm yourselves with pressure. Compare with no-one but yourself, for you are unique. There is no absolute formula for getting into your dream uni, so simply show the university who you are.
