Kristina Z: Gets Offers from LSE and HKU
On Monday the 9th of May 2022, we were delighted to spend some time with Kristina Z., a year 13 student at Dulwich International High School Suzhou, who has recently received offers from the London School of Economics and the University of Hong Kong.
he London School of Economics (often abbreviated to LSE) is one of the most respected universities in the UK, with a long history dating back to 1895. One of its founders was the celebrated Nobel Prize winning writer George Bernard Shaw. LSE was ranked top in Europe — and second in the world — in social sciences and management subjects for the ninth consecutive year in the QS World University Rankings by Subject this year. LSE has a reputation for being highly selective and one of the most difficult universities to get into.
The University of Hong Kong (often abbreviated to HKU) is an English-language public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1911, its origins trace all the way back to the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, which was founded in 1887. It is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the first university set up by the British in East Asia. It has been ranked as the most international university in the world as well as one of the most prestigious universities in Asia.
An Inspired Choice of Major
As the interview took place while our school campus was still closed, we conducted the interview via a video call on Microsoft Teams:
We started the interview by asking Kristina what process she went through to decide which major she would study at university. Kristina explained that her passion for maths had developed slowly at first:
"So, honestly, maths isn’t really what I wanted to choose at the beginning. At that time, I couldn't decide which major I really wanted to study or what I genuinely had a passion for. But I knew I would like to study courses related to science, but when I tried maths, I started to find the interesting parts of it. In maths, you can convert very complicated phenomena in your daily life into models that can be analysed. I find that attractive."
It was this love of math that led to Kristina’s decision to study Mathematics, Statistics and Business.
Choice of Universities
Kristina explained that she had applied to universities all around the world, in a diverse range of locations, including America, Canada and the UK, as well as Hong Kong. She told us that she has a great love of travelling, and that before the pandemic effectively prevented all air travel outside of China, she travelled all around the world with her family. Here are some visual highlights from her travels:
It was her love of travel that help to inspire Kristina’s decision to study either in the UK or in Hong Kong. She loves experiencing and engaging with new cultures and is looking forward to travelling again in the near future.
"I learned Art and developed painting as one of my hobbies. Painting is entertaining and relaxing to me and I feel lucky to take the course in year10 and year11."
CCA
Our CCA program is one of the most remarkable parts of life at our school. Kristina took part in a diverse range of CCA’s over the last four years. These included Archery, The Business League and Maths club, that all supplied valuable and memorable experiences to Kristina.
Life at Dulwich
Kristina had an interesting take on how Dulwich had helped her to be a better University applicant. She explained that:
"Dulwich provides a very comfortable environment for me to balance my study and leisure time. I have time to spare for my hobbies and it provides plenty of opportunities to expand my social circle. The teachers are kind and helpful, if I feel stressed, I can talk to them. This helps me to practice my English-speaking skills."
One of the key things that Dulwich strives to do, is to prepare our students for life at university and to succeed when they get there. An important part of the process is helping our students to develop their English Language skills by immersing them in fully English teaching environment.
Counselling Department
Steve Hodgkin
Kristina’s counsellor is Mr. Hodgkin (Head of University Counselling, Geography Teacher).
"Mr. Hodgkin is very responsible. Every week we had a meeting to schedule and plan what to do in the following week. It helped me to plan the application process very well, so I didn’t miss any deadlines. He was also very willing to discuss ideas for university essays with me and helped me with my personal statement."
The Fault in Our Stars
Kristina reads a lot. One of her favourite books is A Fault in Our Stars, a novel by John Green, published in 2012.The story is narrated by Hazel Grace Lancaster, a 16-year-old girl with thyroid cancer that has affected her lungs. Hazel is forced by her parents to attend a support group where she later meets and falls in love with 17-year-old Augustus Waters, an ex-basketball player, amputee, and survivor of osteosarcoma.
An American feature film adaptation, directed by Josh Boone and starring Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, and Nat Wolff was released on June 6, 2014. Critics mostly praised the book for its humour, strong characters, language, themes and new perspective on cancer and romance. The New York Times' review of the book called it "a blend of melancholy, sweet, philosophical and funny" and said that it "stays the course of tragic realism", while noting that the book's unpleasant plot details "do nothing to diminish the romance; in Green's hands, they only make it more moving."
We have plenty of copies of this book in the library at Dulwich International High School Suzhou!
Advice for Younger Students
Kristina had some simple and straight forward advice for younger students at our school.
"Spend time exploring your interests and decide what you really want to study."
We wish Kristina all the very best for the future and every success at university and beyond.