University of Cambridge

Ian Liu, DSAS Grade 12 student

Curiosity comes from the deep heart, that kinds of impulse from the heart becomes the best motivation to learn. It was Ian's curiosity that led him to the exploration of physics and engineering, which is also the original driving force for him to learn acdemic knowledge and eventually led him to the successful application for University of Cambridge .

"Engineering" fanatics

As a founding student of DSAS, Ian Liu was very clear about his future professional direction and his determination to study in the UK when he entered the school. On the one hand, Ian knows that he has certain academic advantages in mathematics and physics. Besides, his father is also engaged in the engineering industry , so the family atmosphere has a deep influence on him. Since junior high, Ian has found that he has interests in electronic products. If there is a problem with the electric appliance in his home, he will fix it by himself.

Ian determined his major early. His father and I hope that he can have more time and energy to do some researches and focus on his professional field so that he will not miss the offer from his dream universities." From Ian's mom's perspective, her son is not a particularly sedentary student, and the open learning atmosphere of DSAS provides him enough space to hands-on practice. Teachers give students the maximum autonomy and freedom to study and explore while the compact academic system, various co-curricular activities and competition opportunities make students like Ian who has high subjective initiative keep learning.

The Path to Success

Ian always has a clear goal in mind, and constantly strive for it. Firstly, he made a broad goal based on his interests -- engage in physics or engineering related work in the future. Then, he broke it down into smaller goals for different time periods, for example, the short-term goal of performing well in the final exam, and the medium-term goal of getting an A* in the AS exam... It gives him a clear idea of what he is learning, what he needs to do, and positive feedback that motivates him to complete the next set of goals.

At the beginning, Ian did not set University of Cambridge as his goal for further study. However, in the process of communicating with teachers, he gained a deeper understanding of the university courses and was gradually attracted by the course arrangement of the engineering major in University of Cambridge . In the first and second years, he focused on the Open Course of engineering, which suits his divergent thinking very well. After attending the summer school at University of Cambridge, he was more determined to take Cambridge University as his goal for further study.

Ms. Teresa Chen, Ian's university counselor, found he was a very dedicated student who would not be disturbed by the outside world in the process of studying. All the competitions and design projects he attended centered on the engineering.The engineering major includes a lot of knowledge of physics and mathematics, so Teresa encouraged him to take advantages of the opportunity offered by the DSAS to participate in the international mathematics and physics competitions to broaden his knowledge and skills. In grade 10, he was ranked in the top 30% of the world in the Physics Bowl certificate of distinction, top 25% in the Euclid Math Contest, University of Waterloo, and a gold medal in the BPHO Advanced Physics Competition. At the same time, in "China thinks big", he successfully designed a small car suitable for the Chinese market; In academic aspect, his book 'Computer Simulation Analysis of the Application of Carbon Fibers in the Safety of Automotive Structures' is very impressive.

Last September, when the UK universities just opened for application, the most senior university counselors from Dipont came to DSAS to make professional evaluation on the application materials of Ian and other students who had the early application. I still remember the day when Karen Tang, university counselling coordinator of Dipont had a deep conversation with Ian from which Ian inspired a lot and began to think about: what kinds of students the world's top universities like Oxford and Cambridge look for and what kinds of talents they would like to cultivate. Ian is also grateful for Principle You who works tirelessly to help with the constant revision of application documents. Of course, KCS wimbledon contributed a lot to help Ian in the application stage. The headmaster Mr. Halls gave students guidance personally, and the senior teacher also provided suggestions and good wishes to Ian after the mock interview.

It is not always smooth sailing when pursuing dreams. The ENGAA (Cambridge Engineering Admissions Assessment) requires flexible use of knowledge in limited time period . Actually, Ian repeatedly made mistakes when immersing himself in exercises before the test. But he did not give up, he started to analyze the knowledge points of each question and tried to combine each part together. Finally, he broke through the barrier and regained his confidence. It is his devotion and persistence of learning that makes him achieve his goal successfully.

Chance is always for those who are prepared. When applying for the world's top universities, academic ability is of course important, but an optimistic and positive attitude, the adjustment of students' status in the written test and interview all have an impact on the final application result. Ian's hard work over the past three years makes him become the luckiest person in the end.