Each year, our graduating students are accepted to prestigious universities around the world and embark on a variety of paths that embrace the ISP Mission to lead healthy, fulfilling, and purposeful lives. The US Counseling works directly with each student to navigate the planning and application process for a variety of post-ISP academic settings.
In this series, Grade 12 student Nicole talks to her peers and brings to life these stories.
Highlighting Emma
What aspects of your experience at ISP are you grateful for?
I have been at ISP since I was four years old. It has been the place where I have grown up and created a significant amount of fond memories. This school community has fostered my ability to socialize and create connections with people from all over the world and I am very grateful for my relationships with my closest friends (Nicole, Aneta, Ayla, and Sarah) that ISP has given me a platform to establish and maintain. The cultural diversity at ISP has taught me a great deal about how to embrace differences which is a key lifelong skill for anyone to have.
What are you looking forward to post-graduation?
Although I will miss my time at ISP, I am really looking forward to being able to solely focus on my subject of interest, history. I thoroughly enjoy history because I find it fascinating to understand the lives of people in the past and, in a sense, “travel back in time”.
Why did you apply to the University of Manchester?
I applied to this university because their history programs are some of the best in the UK and in the world. I also needed to apply to a backup school and I wanted it to be in a region that I found interesting so I thought that the University of Manchester was perfect.
What is one thing that surprised you about the application process using UCAS (the British university system)?
I was surprised by the quick response that I got from the school, University of Manchester, that I applied for. I thought that I would have been waiting for a longer period of time as that is what the typical waiting time entails; however, this demonstrated the individuality of this process and the lack of a strictly standardized application experience.
What is one thing that was stressful about this process?
One thing that I found to be stressful is the uncertainty of knowing what the responses from the universities will be. I wasn’t so concentrated on or concerned about the result; however, I think that the process of waiting and wondering seemed to create a certain level of stress.
What is one piece of advice you would give to someone applying to university?
In my opinion, just from the few visits to universities in-person that I managed to make, think about where you are applying in terms of the region. As a university student, you will not just be studying but also living there so make sure the location is somewhere that is suitable for you and has activities that you like.
