Applying to Cambridge: Lessons Learnt!

On a random Wednesday in late August, I received a text from my friend, Kasih.

"U nak ke apply oxbridge?"
"Do you want to apply for Oxbridge (Oxford and Cambridge)?"

To which I replied,
"How about we apply together?"

And that was how my Cambridge journey started. Did I want to apply for Cambridge in the first place? Maybe (since the only top universities I knew as a child were University Malaya, Cambridge, Oxford, and Harvard). But after surviving a year of KY, in which people quote as 'the place for the cream of the crop', I realised that Cambridge applicants are the real cream. 

Don't get me wrong, getting a university in the UK is already as hard as it is! Especially with getting good predicted grades and matching your university choices to your sponsor's list of top ten universities in the UK. But going for Cambridge? That's a new level of insanity.

I did expect a heavy workload for applying to Oxbridge, which includes early submission of the UCAS Personal Statement, admission tests, mock interviews, actual interviews, and a lot of emotional burden. I can handle the physical workload, but the emotional burden that comes with it is quite exhausting.

Growing up as a high achiever in every possible way (apart from athletics), applying to Cambridge seemed to satisfy this part of me. And what solidified my decision was the fear of 'not trying at all'.

To attempt is to give yourself a chance. You don't know if you'd get it. I don't know if I'd get it. No one knows if they'd get it. But one thing's for sure: if you don't try, then you won't get it at all.

And so, I went through the emotional turmoils---being nervous for mock interviews, constantly comparing myself in fear that I would not be able to compete with other applicants, contemplating my decision to apply to Cambridge. Only one thing stuck with me throughout the whole journey: I was doing it to give myself a chance.

Last Thursday, I received an email before going to sleep. 

Letter from Fitzwilliam College

I opened it, heart rushing and all.

"Unfortunately, your application was not competitive enough."

Well then, that settles it! I got rejected from Cambridge even before the interview phase. Was I sad? Perhaps. But was I relieved? Yes!

Relieved that I was free from the burdens of a competitive---strictly academics only---environment. Relieved that I was free from arranging mock interviews with people from Oxbridge who'd comment on my lack of Further Mathematics as a subject. And most importantly, relieved that I gave myself a chance and I went through with it.

So, the moral of the story, ehem.

Studying for ESAT from morning until evening.

Dear Reader, 
If you ever end up in a situation where you have the chance to apply to Cambridge, I'd say go for it. Even if you get rejected, be it before or after the interview stage, you have given yourself a big chance for something extraordinary. Let's face it, your whole kampung can't possibly ALL get into Cambridge. Be proud of yourself, and cheer up! There are more things that are waiting for you in life, and they may be better than Cambridge, hehe.