Truth about Application Season

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Alexandra

2020 graduate of SCIE, studying at Imperial College London

Let’s start with the application season. To be fair, I still find the application season a torturous but fulfilling time. Beginning from the summer vacation where I was about to become an A2, I’d begun to worry about my PS. I had to stay up late in my school dormitory just for one or two more lines written. This is my deepest memory of all. Fortunately, my PS was finalized in only four editions. In addition to the help given by my subject teachers and school counsellor, there are many senior alumni to thank to as well.  In fact, it was them who gave me the most practical advice and warm comfort throughout the entire process. One of my senior friends would read my PS so carefully that she even annotated it, just like she’s reading a paper. Even though we were geographically a continent apart and had a 12-hour time difference.

The rejection letter received at Oxbridge Results Day was not entirely a surprise. Interviews have always been stressful for me because I’ve never been a great communicator or a talkative person. Right after the interview, I posted a message on my moments saying, “The whole thing is a torture.” In retrospect, I do think a sentence said by my counsellor was particularly correct: Oxbridge application will dominate your whole application season. I probably never had the conviction to say “I really, really want to go to Cambridge”, so the process of applying for it was more of a struggle than an enjoyment. If I must say what I’ve learnt from my application experience, I will say choose your destinations carefully and do your research well. There is no perfect match only match perfect.

The application season is probably the most exhausting period in my four years in SICE ever. In order to prepare some of the application materials, I fell behind in some of my school work, and I had to make up for it very hard before the exam. This method of robbing Peter to pay Paul should be done less anyway.

Life in SCIE

I was still a quite conservative person in G1. So when it comes to choosing courses, there is not much novelty. I took it for granted and chose History, Geography and Biology which I was already familiar with in junior high school. In retrospect, I would like to try some new subjects that I have never set foot onto before, such as Japanese. After all, why not seize the opportunity? Nevertheless, these three subjects are highly dependent on knowledge reserve, history especially, which I feel like is the most difficult thing I’ve ever

learnt in SCIE . Vaguely I remember the IG history Paper4, the big essay, where the full mark is 40 points— It seems that the highest score I’ve ever got was 17…It’s ashamed to recall. This also indirectly affects my course selection and final major in A Level. I am determined to stay away from humanities, so STEM subjects are my final options.

One of my favorite things about SCIE is its openness and tolerant atmosphere – which can be seen in my love of wearing flip-flops to class since G level already(tittering). You have a lot of choices, and are also given a certain degree of chance to regret; You won’t have people telling you what to do all the time here,  and you’ll have a lot of free time to schedule your own life. I participated in many ECA activities in Grade level, such as 游子, Anatomy club, Nature History club and Book club etc.

Although there have been some crashes, sadness, arguments and complaints in the past four years, looking back, it’s those beautiful moments and things that I can remember: G2 Camping’s yellow flag waving on the beach and Golden Glow singing in unison; Red leaves all over the street in Russia Field Trip; the stained glass we burnt ourselves in Chemistry Enrichment class; Pumpkin spice lattes served exclusively at Halloween from school Cafe; The campus covered in green vines as seen from the library; Or those photographs with friends and teachers in my phone… These memories together build my unique four years in SCIE, and the story of which I will savor and cherish forever. 

learnt in SCIE . Vaguely I remember the IG history Paper4, the big essay, where the full mark is 40 points— It seems that the highest score I’ve ever got was 17…It’s ashamed to recall. This also indirectly affects my course selection and final major in A Level. I am determined to stay away from humanities, so STEM subjects are my final options.

One of my favorite things about SCIE is its openness and tolerant atmosphere – which can be seen in my love of wearing flip-flops to class since G level already(tittering). You have a lot of choices, and are also given a certain degree of chance to regret; You won’t have people telling you what to do all the time here,  and you’ll have a lot of free time to schedule your own life. I participated in many ECA activities in Grade level, such as 游子, Anatomy club, Nature History club and Book club etc.

Although there have been some crashes, sadness, arguments and complaints in the past four years, looking back, it’s those beautiful moments and things that I can remember: G2 Camping’s yellow flag waving on the beach and Golden Glow singing in unison; Red leaves all over the street in Russia Field Trip; the stained glass we burnt ourselves in Chemistry Enrichment class; Pumpkin spice lattes served exclusively at Halloween from school Cafe; The campus covered in green vines as seen from the library; Or those photographs with friends and teachers in my phone… These memories together build my unique four years in SCIE, and the story of which I will savor and cherish forever.