Currently in a UK Boarding School, Brighton College ’26 

Why I chose to study overseas after IGCSE 

I remember when my parents first asked me whether I wanted to go to boarding school when I was in Year 1, I was really against it. Now, over 5 years since then, I cannot believe I am overseas, almost finished with my first year in boarding school. I felt that coming to the UK for sixth form (the equivalent for y5-6) was the right choice for me as by that time I was already more independent, and I was ready for a challenge. The biggest draw for me was being able to study in another country and the idea of living in a school in the middle of nowhere with my friends in houses that look like castles (fun fact my current school is nothing like that! It’s in the city and a lot smaller compared to most boarding schools, but it’s still beautiful- a mix of old and new) Pros of my current course Another reason why I chose to come to the UK was because of the A levels. After my IGCSEs, I was already quite sure of what I wanted to study, and I liked that the A levels allowed me to go more in depth into a few subjects rather than studying a breadth of subjects like the IB. I feel that in my current course I am able to enjoy the best of both worlds. Whilst I do not have to do CAS, TOK or EEs anymore, I am still participating in many similar activities. For example, in my school, we have service sessions every Wednesday. I am currently doing Music in the Community where we go to old folk's homes and primary schools to spread the joy of music! I am also doing an EPQ, which is somewhat similar to the EE, where we are writing a 5000 word essay on a topic of our choice. I really appreciate the academic rigour in my current school. Especially being in boarding, we have prep times every evening (an allotted time where we must be in our rooms studying). Having the structure has pushed me to become more disciplined. Additionally, I have found it so motivating to watch my peers not only excel in academics, but outside of it too. This has really pushed me to want to work harder both in and out of the classroom. Cons of my current course One thing about A levels is that we do not have IAs, and only certain subjects have course work. For some, like me, this was a great thing, but this might not be for everyone as our grades are all dependent on our final year exams. With the difference in the school terms, I have finished my prelims to get my predicted grades despite still being in y5. This can feel quite time pressuring having to do major exams in the first year rather than second. Advice for those who want to apply for boarding school Overall, I would recommend going to boarding school as it has allowed me to gain more independence and you will make great memories here. Some of my best memories so far are chatting with my friends in our rooms at night, full boarders' dinner where we all cooked a dish and hiking 24km for charity! I would also recommend starting the process early. I started looking for schools at the end of y3 and took my entrance exams around the end of y4. I think choosing a school is similar to looking for a university. It is important to make sure it is a school that suits you: it does not have to be the most academic, but it must be one that you know you will love being in 24/7! (I skipped all the schools that I heard were sporty because I am not sporty at all!) I am thankful for everything ACS has given me over the past 4 and a half years. I grew a lot over that time, gaining the confidence to be able to progress on to this next part of my life.

Currently working in Business Development @ M-DAQ, Bachelor of Business, Minor in Economics, Minerva University 21'

How to make yourself stand out in university applications?

Broadly speaking, an application has two elements: academic score and personal essay. Though they are superficially different, I believe they are testing applicants on their ability to focus on the process, not the outcome - focusing on the present or the process is the key to helping you stand out in your university application.

Like it or not, luck plays a factor in determining how competitive your application is: you can believe that you have the most competitive application but still not get accepted into your ideal university. Because it is difficult to control the outcome, it is better to focus on putting in your best efforts. In doing so, you can tell yourself you tried your best and accept any outcome. Ironically, as you become less fixated and stressed about the outcome, you perform better because you can better focus.

So, how do you focus on the process? When it comes to studying, I found this resource to be helpful: https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn

Identifying opportunities to make your applicant stand out can be intimidating when you hear your friends doing remarkable things. The problem with focusing on the outcome, such as comparing against your friends, is the belief that you need to do the same things they did to make yourself a competitive applicant. This belief is untrue and demoralizing. Instead, you will do better focusing on the present - what inconveniences you face or opportunities you wish you had, and then address them. For example, if you want to learn about AI or blockchain, why not organize a student-led hackathon and have teachers be panel judges? Or, if you can't find a suitable way to track your projects, why not create a Notion page and share it with friends who share similar struggles? Simply by seeking to address your inconveniences in tangible ways, you are making a more compelling application by making it personal. The trick is to do something, no matter how simple. As you create momentum by working on simple daily tasks, you will eventually look back and be amazed at what you accomplished. If you would like to learn more about being present and mindfulness, I recommend listening to this podcast episode on dopamine: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3SLviVTlj9FtwgU0S7IQEy?si=70a6300829c8483c.

Why did you choose your university course?

During my first round of applications, I applied to universities based on my IB exam scores and their ranking in the field of study I wanted to pursue based on which IB subject I was good at. I ended up studying Economics at Singapore Management University (SMU). There wasn't much intentionality in my initial university applications.

During my first year at SMU, I realized that, unlike my peers, I did not know what I wanted to pursue. I knew I would not discover what I wanted to pursue by being in an environment where people generally gravitated towards well-playing jobs such as banking or management consulting. So, I applied to whichever overseas universities were accepting applications. When I applied to (and eventually got accepted into) Minerva University, I knew nothing about the university or its global program. I knew I needed a different environment to figure out what I wanted to pursue as a career.

I was lucky to chance upon and get accepted into Minerva University. Having a clear idea of what you would like to get from your university experience is a great starting point for identifying a suitable university course. There is no shame in admitting that you don't know what interests you. If you fall into that category, consider university programs that provide interdisciplinary opportunities, such as a liberal arts program. Alternatively, instead of trying to find your "passion," why not consider seeking to solve relevant problems that society is currently/will face in the future? 

Because passion is a volatile emotional state, it is not a good compass for identifying which university course to pursue. Through coffee chats with successful people, I learned that they found happiness not in their work but when they positively impacted others. Hence, addressing relevant societal problems can be another great way to choose your university course. It is rare for people to find something that they are genuinely interested in; it is common for people to gain expertise in a field and, in doing so, build an interest in that field. Here is a helpful guide (though it relates to career, I believe there are many insights that can help with selecting your university course): https://80000hours.org/book/

What were some challenges you faced?

There were two challenges I faced during my university application process: (i) figuring out which course to pursue (I have covered that in the previous section) and (ii) getting my parents to support my decision to transfer from SMU to Minerva University.

Transferring from SMU to Minerva was an easy decision because I knew the SMU experience did not align with my expectations. However, I wasn't fair to my parents when I told them one night that I had been accepted into Minerva University and would like to transfer from a more established university, SMU. While choosing which university and course to attend are decisions you will make, through that experience, I realized that picking which university to study also involved my parents. To assuage my parents' fear, we decided to take a semester break from SMU to try out Minerva University and decide on the next steps after spending a semester at Minerva University.

Looking back, here are two practical lessons I've learned:

• Involve your parents during your university selection journey

• Hedge your risks wherever possible 

Diploma of Food, Nutrition and Culinary Science, Temasek Poly 24' 

Bachelors of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Nottingham 28'

Why did you choose your polytechnic course?

I was eligible to do the IB programme after IGCSEs but after trying it for a month I found that I wasn’t suited for it. Thankfully I kind of knew what I was interested in which was food and healthcare. I did research on what polytechnics had to offer and found a course which was food nutrition and culinary science. I decided to go for that as this course would allow me to learn the fundamentals to become a dietician in a hospital which was what I was working toward. 

The course allowed for many pathways such as food manufacturing, food science, dietetics and culinary as well so I liked that it was very broad and even if I did decided I didn’t want to pursue any of those later on in uni , the modules I took in the 3 years would make me eligible for many other healthcare jobs or other jobs in various fields as we do take many diverse modules. I also liked the flexibility that poly provided which is coming for lessons only if you had that module that day so this allowed me to have a school and life balance.  and in the third year we are all required to be in an internship for one semester which is great for the portfolio. 

I managed to intern at a hospital in Singapore which gave me insights to my future job prospects and also helped me to make sure this is what I wanted to pursue.

What were some challenges you faced?

For me personally I found that you had to be independent and hardworking from the start as your GPA is determined from the grades for all 3 years. There is also no spoon-feeding from lecturers so you are practically left to study on your own. There are also a lot of group projects and presentations involved so I had to learn how to work with others even if I did not vibe with them or like their way of leadership.

Politics, Philosophy, Law, University of Warwick 25'

How to make yourself stand out in university applications?

• Universities want to know if you have a genuine interest in your course and what you can offer/bring to the table. They want to see what you have done to hone your interests. I talked about what sparked my interest in the degree and what I did to hone and further that interest (e.g. reading books relating to the course, listening to podcasts,  how being house captain shaped my interest in international relations and shaped me as a person)

• Follow the 80-20 rule

Why did you choose your university course?

• ⁠I was set on doing Philosophy Politics Economics (PPE) because I was really interested in Philosophy and international relations but I was conflicted about doing Economics at university level so my plan was to drop Economics in my second year and do a Masters in Law for my postgraduate but I saw some universities offered Politics Philosophy Law (PPL)

• I also didn't want to take pure law because of my interest in Philosophy and International Relations 

What were some challenges you faced?

• I applied to Oxford so that meant I’d have to do my personal statement, study for the entrance test whilst preparing for IB exams so it can be quite stressful

How to make yourself stand out in university applications?

I guess to it’s not really about standing out but how to portray yourself to the Uni you’re applying to. It’s more about how to show the Uni who you are as a person. And to show this, you’d do activities that aligns with your values, advocate for things that you care about etc.

Why did you choose your university course?

⁠⁠I chose business because, I wasn’t very sure what I wanted to do in the future and business opens many doors. I only knew that I want to do something related to finance and/or entrepreneurship and a business degree would allow me to explore this.

What were some challenges you faced?

⁠⁠Some challenges faced were rejections, I applied to many many unis. When I got rejected by my ‘dream unis’ I felt dejected and really bad about myself. But later learnt that rejection is normal, you can only learn from it. Plus, perhaps I just wasn’t a good fit for that particularly uni. It’s not the end of the world and I ended up in a really good uni anyway! In hindsight, I’m really glad in I’m Kings, I love the people and the course, and think I fit really well there. So don’t be too hard on yourself when you face rejections and don’t be set on just one ‘dream uni’. There are so many good unis in the world.

Business, University of British Columbia 26'

How did you choose your university?

I always had this thought of studying in North America but not necessarily in the US. I always wanted to choose something slightly different and challenging. I knew universities in Singapore would be great but given my years of studying here, I can see my future for the next four years too clearly or how far will it take me in the next four years. I wanted to go somewhere far enough for me to explore on my own. Therefore, Canada is a great choice and Vancouver has a great climate. After that, I then realized that Sauder School is a well-known business school that offers great education and will eventually lead to great work placement. It would be a good choice for me as it fits most of my criteria for a dream school.

Now being more realistic when considering the grades aspect, we have to consider the application timeline and which grade to use. Given that the application deadline was Jan 15th, 2022 I was able to make full use of my efforts on scoring well for my actual grade on IB exams. After seeing my grades I knew I was confident enough to be getting into the school with an entrance scholarship. When you are facing a decision that only allows you to prioritize one thing, you must be strategic on your decision and see how far that decision might take you.

How did you choose your course?

Since IB I already knew my passion was in humanities subject and knowing the theory behind“making money”. I chose BM HL and scored well on that. I applied both for Sauder School of Business and the Faculty of Arts but after comparing the potential future careers. I believe that is better for me to pursue a Commerce degree as I am more interested in that over another subject. Although Business school is indeed one of the most intense faculty, I am still willing to take on the challenge as I know this is one step closer to getting my dream job. I like learning new things in the business world and eventually applying those skills critically to make more money. 

How are you managing yourself living overseas? 

I would say pretty well. It is my first time but I have lived on campus from the first year until now for more than 2 years. There are great sense of community and I was fortunate enough to have a great roommate in my first year therefore it was a memorable experience living in residence. Moreover, most of my friends are also living on campus hence, we help each other along when there.

Homesickness was not an issue until the second year when I got used to all things going around, especially when it came to extreme weather that caused traffic breakdowns and strikes. Not knowing what is going to happen and the worry that I cannot go back to class for the next couple of days starts to make me slightly worried.

Any challenges you faced when overseas? 

University courses were harder than I imagined and some did hit me hard. Imposter syndrome sometimes happens to me when seeing other people getting a position in the club while me getting a rejection letter. When knowing that others take a much shorter time to land an internship would even make you more stressed.

Getting Injured at the very first week of school, was not a fun experience as it was due to a silly mistake. Do not ever wear flip-flops when you are moving in or holding onto a trolley. Luckily, my friend came in and helped me while waiting outside the emergency room. That was such a timely emotional support. When you are alone overseas, and having some trouble or things you can't deal wear, your friends are always at your back to support you. Everyone would have the same mindset and be willing to help each other as it is indeed challenging when new things come to you and you must deal with it independently.

In general, I must remind everyone, that while staying overseas by yourself, you must stay more alert than usual. Expect something new that happens to you and react to it calmly. Seek help from friends and professionals when necessary.