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If there was one thing I wish I knew at high school, it would be the JPA bursary scheme provided by the Malaysian government. Study hard and score well, you will save a lot of your parents’ money. Tertiary education is not cheap! (this only applies up to SPM 2013 batch. JPA now offers JKPJ scholarship for engineering students to study abroad instead)
Doing my A-levels at Taylors College Subang Jaya was one of the highlights of my life up till today. That was the first time I stayed away from home and it came with a lot of responsibilities of living independently. I had to do my own laundry, find my own meals, control my own expenses and etc. However, this opportunity also gave me freedom. I finally got to choose whatever, wherever and whenever I want to eat. I felt homesick from time to time, but I wasn’t too far away from home, so it was convenient for me to get back to the warmth of family and my cozy room. A-levels was quite similar to SPM, except that, it was at a quicker pace. The transition from SPM to A-levels was relatively smooth because the learning contents were related. Additionally, with the A-levels being a British qualification, both SPM and A-levels had similar exam styles and structures.
Fast forward to university applications. With an A-Level qualification, the options are generally wide. You can apply to almost any university, anywhere in the world. My collegemates are currently pursuing their undergraduate or graduate studies in various countries like Australia, the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Singapore and many more.
However, there is an exception when applying to most universities in the United States. An additional test called the SAT would be required. SAT Subject test and ACT are further optional test required by some universities, especially universities in the Ivy League. For application to universities in the United Kingdom, it is fairly simple as you will be well guided by your college’s university placement centre. To explain the process in short, you will need to prepare a personal statement of 4,000 words. After receiving replies from universities, you only get to pick 2 conditional offers, one as your firm choice, and another as your insurance choice. As the name suggests, should your A-Level results meet the requirement of the conditional offer provided by your firm choice of university, you will most likely be admitted into the university. The conditional offers provided by universities, usually range from AAA to A*A*A*. The conditional offer I received from Imperial for the MEng Civil Engineering course was an A*A*A.
The experience of studying in the United Kingdom is crazy and exciting. Staying alone in another country is a whole new experience and different in many ways compared to Subang Jaya, KL. You will have to figure out literally everything when you are here. From negotiating with real estate agents when renting a house, signing contracts with utility companies to paying monthly mobile phone bills. It may sound daunting at first, but everything seemed to fall into place. Also, you always have a trump card - student status! You will get lots of help, advice and discounts along the way.
Being a student in London is like a dream come true. You are living in one of the most important financial hubs in the world.
There are opportunities everywhere you turn. You meet people from all walks of life. You witness successful stories of friends starting companies and get to hear experiences from many founders and pioneers of trending tech and financial companies. Being in such an environment has inspired me and indirectly shaped my thinking. You build your confidence, crash it and then rebuild it again. You see mountains of greater heights. This is the London life. A city filled with people of many talents and of high caliber, and you strive to be one of them.
Cultural difference. This is very real, especially living in an ‘international city’ like London. You meet and mingle with students from all continents (mainly Asia and Europe). You get to observe and realise what they care about and talk about every day. What their general hobbies are and what they do during their free time - cheese and wine? House parties? They are interested to know about you just like how exciting you are to find out more about them. You will never run out of topics of conversation. Some tips: it may be easy to start with food or sports. ;) From time to time, you may pick up their accents or some British slang. For example, Brits like to use ‘reckon’, ‘tad’, ‘quid’, ‘fiver’, ‘tenner’ and many more.
Another perk of studying in the United Kingdom is the opportunity to travel! London is one of the major cities in Europe. Being in London means easy access to direct flights to almost every city across Europe. There are a couple of cheap airline options, such as Ryanair, Easyjet, Eurowings, Norwegian air and more. Without you realizing, you are probably going to have brunch at Paris, then dinner in Milan! It really is amazing and not expensive at all.
In a nutshell, the journey I am on has been great so far, and I truly appreciate the opportunities that have been given to me. Thanks for reading and hopefully I will meet you one day and let’s chat more about life. Lastly, just like how the Brits say it, ‘Cheers!’
Rui Jian Tee, final year civil engineering student at Imperial College London. Throughout the four years in university, he was actively involved in various student led organizations and was part of the team that founded the Young Malaysian Engineers (YME) too. Over the past summer breaks, he has completed multiple internships across engineering and consulting services. Fortunately, he has landed himself a graduate job offer in the United Kingdom now.