Mayday!!

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair...

It was AS results time.

For hours, the students in my batch were wound like a wire with tension in the air. Nary a conversation had anything else to do besides the results. When it was finally time for them to be released, my class was cancelled due to the sheer disruption as some headed home to check in solitude, whilst others like myself whipped out their phones to check immediately.

In short, I did alright.

For certain subjects, I felt disappointed for I hoped I could have scored better but I'm still grateful to God for having blessed me so far with results which put me in a position of a safe A for A2. Still, if I am to meet my A*AA offer, I'm going to have to work doubly hard than I am at the moment to really do well.

And advice to those checking their results?

- Do it alone. If you feel like sharing how you did, then meet up with everyone else later. Otherwise, it's going to be very upsetting if (God forbid!) you score badly and people ask for your results.

- Don't compare. I have friends who were initially satisfied with their results but after comparing with other friends who did better, they felt very dissatisfied with themselves. At the end of the day, as long as you meet the required grade, that percentile should only matter for your A2 - not to brag about or feel sad for.

- Be prepared for the worst and hope for the best! Whilst I am a strong advocator of hope, I really do strongly advise against optimism to the point of expecting brilliant results. Whilst you can generally tell how you did after sitting for the paper, anything can happen and it’s much better off to expect little and receive more than expecting more and receiving little. Essay subjects like Economics really can be rather unpredictable and you won’t be quite sure till you receive your results..

Till next time!

And that's that.

Cambridge University has always been renowned for its reputation and prestige. Admission to such a university is bound to bring about gasps of awe and a fair bit of respect from peers, teachers, and prospective employers. But unfortunately, I won't be heading there.

I applied for Cambridge with low expectations, not expecting much from such a renowned university. As an international applicant, I interviewed in Malaysia and took the Cambridge Law Test.

The Cambridge application journey is a long one, complete with its fair share of trials. For starters, considering how I took my AS after application period, my forecast results were of huge importance. I had to write my personal statement much earlier than the 15th Jan deadline (before the end of September!) and had mock interviews by my college and education sponsor.

When the application was finally sent out, the journey didn't end there. We had to go through an interview by the universities' representative and for my course, I had to sit for the Cambridge Law Test.

When it all came down to it and the offers were sent out, I found out I was placed in the Winter Pool, which to be honest, already exceeded my expectations.

The Winter Pool or inter-College Pool is an important part of the undergraduate application process for Cambridge University in England, intended to ensure that the best applicants are offered places if they are not selected by the college to which they applied. Any strong applicant who cannot be offered a place by their first choice college will be placed in the Pool and other colleges will be recommended to consider them.

Being pooled is another situation all together. Rather than the direct disappointment of a rejection, there was the added suspense of the wait. I scoured forums for news on other poolees and cheered for those who got 'fished' and sighed with those who 'drowned'. Alas, a week after I was informed of being pooled, I received my rejection email.

At the moment, I only have 1 offer, and this rejection puts me at a 50% rejection which isn't the most encouraging. >.< Still, I'm trying to keep my chin up and hope my AS results are to my chosen universities' satisfaction and they will suddenly decide that they would want another Malaysian law student at their establishment.

As for Cambridge, I felt that I didn't do as well for my interview. I could have put a lot more thought into what my responses were rather than immediately answering with mediocre statements. The Cambridge Law Test, on the other hand, was a joy to do and if all law tests were like that, I would definitely enjoy it.

Although applying for Cambridge in itself is a tedious process and it ultimately ended in a rejection, I'm still glad I gave it a shot and would encourage others to apply as well if they are in the position to. It's definitely an experience and at least you can always say you tried. The interviews and tests are lessons in their own right as well so regardless of the outcome, you would've gained something.

I'll probably blog about my AS results soon and work on being more active on this site. :)

Till then!