Wellington Today Wellington Today 2018 en | Page 17

2018
was very helpful during the run-up to
my university applications.
I’ve decided to enrol at the University of
Southern California for a double degree
in computer science and business
administration. I am really excited about
this next chapter in my education, that
I believe Wellington has prepared me
well for.
I’m going to the US next year, to Syracuse
University where I will be studying
sociology and possibly visual arts.
Aaron
The whole IBDP experience at
Wellington has helped me prepare
for studying at the university level in
a number of different ways. Firstly,
I’ve been given access to a very well-
rounded education: with the A-Level
programme, you only take three
subjects, so most high-school pupils
here in China would opt for maths,
physics and chemistry. This means
that they will have quite a narrow
educational experience, whereas I’ve
been able to study a language and
humanities subject, alongside the
sciences, all of which are equally well
supported here.
Wellington really provides the perfect
supporting environment to study IB,
both the core elements and the wider
range of subjects. CAS (creativity,
activity, service) in particular was great
because it ensures that you also engage
in areas outside of academia, which
makes it a natural fit for Wellington,
because it would be a little bit foolish
to come here and just study, without
making use of at least some of the
facilities and opportunities designed to
help you discover new things. Having
easy access to these opportunities
is very helpful in demonstrating to
universities that you have other talents
besides purely academic ones.
Equally importantly, the teachers allow
us to choose how and when we want to
study, which I think is really important
because everybody studies differently,
so we’re trusted to find and stick to
the way that works best for us. I also
love how approachable the teachers
are; I know that if I have a question or
problem they make themselves available
and welcome us dropping by their
office to discuss things. Obviously, this
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Shirley
Vanessa
Wellington’s small class sizes and the
availability of individual attention really
helped a lot. It can feel a little bit
daunting at first because you’re one of
only two or three pupils in the class, so
there’s nowhere to hide! But, this really
helps overall because you get all the
help you need both during class and
afterwards. I’ve had lots of individual
meetings with my teachers where we
have talked at length about how I’m
doing and what I need to focus on
next. Obviously, that’s become even
more helpful and important during
the process of preparing college
applications. Hands down, we have the
absolute best teachers!
The applications process was quite
complicated for me, because I was
applying to colleges in the US as well
as UK-based universities. One of the
key things was the recommendation
letters that our teachers wrote about
us. We didn’t get to read them, of
course, but I heard that they were really
detailed and showcased us in the best
possible way. They were also done very
quickly and efficiently, which is really
important given that lots of colleges
have rolling admissions, so pupils want
to complete the applications quickly in
order to secure an offer in good time.
The teachers also gave great advice about
the non-academic side of things too,
such as the visa situation, administration
requirements, living situations, all of those
important details!
At Wellington, our teachers are so
professional and very knowledgeable
in a lot of different fields including
research, banking, etc, so they can share
with us a lot of different experiences
which helps bring the syllabus to life.
More recently, they’ve been really
amazing at helping us make informed
choices of where to apply for colleges,
because they have first-hand experience
of them. One of the benefits of being
a smaller sixth form is that the teachers
know us all very well and we know
them, so we have a great feeling of trust
between us.
This is just one aspect of the great sense
of community that Wellington has built
here, as everybody wants to do well
and support each other. The teachers
trust us and give us a lot of freedom in
terms of doing independent study and
organising our own study schedule. In
turn, we also trust them entirely to give
us the best advice and help whenever
we need it. For example, when I wrote
the personal statement for each of my
applications, I really wanted to convey
who I am as well as the passion that I
have for my subjects. When I finished
my first drafts, I took them to a number
of my teachers, who were so incredibly
helpful in terms of giving me advice
about how to personalise each one
so that it would appeal to the target
university and still give an accurate and
genuine first impression of me.
I’m planning on studying biochemistry
at University College London in the UK.
Wellington has been amazing in helping
me get to this point and prepare me for
what comes next.
Independent