Getting into Imperial via the scenic route (vmtldr)
I took A levels at the usual age and did well in my AS year, getting As in history, business and economics and an E in maths. Like a lot of people I was smart but lazy. The essay type subjects came easy to me and I didn't have to work hard for my A grades. I wasn't too concerned about the maths, I had to drop one subject anyway.
Studying in an especially ****** state school, my results were the best in the whole year. I thought pretty much every uni in the country would be salivating over the prospect of welcoming me into the fold. I enjoyed AS level economics and so applied to LSE to study it, having almost no doubt that an acceptance letter would soon be falling onto the mat.
Apparently LSE weren't looking for an overconfident, lazy, smelly adolescent with a terrible grade in mathematics for their economics department, and I failed to get an interview. I felt robbed. I had spent about 3 minutes total on my other uni choices, and ended up accepting a place at Nottingham Uni to study American studies. I had picked that particular course because I like baseball.
Needing BBB and getting CBB, the wait before finding out whether I still had my place was odd. On the one hand I didn't want the place, but I had no motivation to do anything else and finding a job would've been a lot more hassle. My backup was business at Durham which sounds pretty good, but my target grades for that was two Ds. I'm not even sure if I had applied for a degree, it might have been a foundation year or something. The admin lady at Nottingham told me I had been accepted with my CBB.
I lapsed from day 1 in Nottingham. Gambling temporarily took over my life and I stupidly missed one of my Jan exams, Econ 101. I resolved to give it one last go, not wanting to deal with the the consequences of dropping out. My new found determination was swiftly crushed in the form of a media studies lecture.
I sat towards the back of a packed lecture hall. A group of my fellow scholars seated just behind me were talking about how funny it was that they were talking over the lecturer, and that their decision to bring popcorn and eat it undetected was brilliance. Unbelievable. Even the most cretinous of my former A level classmates would've found it to be in poor taste. Things only got worse when they stopped blathering long enough for me to hear about the module content; half of the marks of the 20 credit module, 1/6 of the marks for the year, were to be awarded for an essay on Buffy The Vampire Slayer. It was the last lecture I attended at Nottingham.
I didn't want to leave the relative comfort of education. One of my friends was studying biochemistry. He was usually busy with work and his course friends seemed studious and hard working. I respected these people, and I wanted to be among them. I wrote to the head of Chemistry at Nottingham asking if I could perhaps transfer, or maybe do a foundation year. He told me I would have to have at least a B grade in A level chemistry to be considered. I contacted a Nottingham A level college and subscribed to 4 A level courses, chemistry, physics, maths and further maths.
My classmates were a very peculiar mix. A few fellow dropouts, mostly people that had ****** up their first go at A levels but whose parents weren't taking 'fail' for an answer. Most of them (and 100% of my classmates in further maths) were Vietnamese teenagers (17-18), here to learn English and get the requisite qualifications for entry into British unis. Some were brilliant (one got the top STEP paper mark in the country last year), the rest were well above average, especially in maths. I was miles behind but had wonderful teachers. I got pretty much 1-1 tuition in maths because most of the rest of the class could have taken the exams before the course started and got achieved A grades. btw I have a thing for Asian girls and some of them were redic hot.
I loved my work that year. I got 4 As including 93% in chemistry. I worked my ****** off. I applied to study chemistry at Oxford, Imperial, Warwick, Bristol and Durham. My first choice was Oxford, with Imperial a distant second. Getting into Oxford dominated my thoughts. I was terrified that my mediocre academic record would serve as a giant red flag and preclude me from consideration but I got an interview at Magdalen College. The place is beautiful, stunning. We were made to stay 5 days in residence at the college. I studied and prepared every minute I could, and was in a pretty frenzied state leading up to my interviews. I ****** my first one up badly but did better in my second. I was asked to attend a third interview at Exeter College, which went better still. I was hopeful of getting an offer.
Three or four days before Christmas day I received the letter. I had been greeting the postman at the door for several days prior. I was more nervous than at any other time in my life. 'Thank you for applying to study Chemistry at Magdalen College. Unfortunately, we have decided not to offer you a place. I have been asked to advise you that you are not being considered by any other College. We wish you the best of luck. Signed, Dr. Dickhead.'
I was depressed. I had exams that Jan and went from studying at least 4 or 5 hours a day to doing no work. I stopped attending some of my lessons. Looking back I now realize that I had completely lost perspective. Not even a year before this I would've been delighted to get a place in pretty much any chemistry department, and now I was losing interest because I didn't get it all my own way. I saw Imperial as my last salvation, and at that time wouldn't have been too happy even if I had got in. I felt that entry into Imperial was my 'break even point', if that makes sense.
There are plenty of people that are every bit as clever and capable as me who would be delighted, and rightly so, of securing a place at Bristol, Warwick or Durham. It is because of this that I feel ashamed of myself and my attitude after being rejected by Oxford.
I received a letter inviting me to interview at Imperial College in late Jan. I was still pretty depressed, and in sharp contrast to my Oxford interview I didn't prepare at all. Some people, myself included, have a defense mechanism whereby if they fear something may go against them they stop trying to prepare for it. In other words, if you think you'll do badly at an exam you stop studying for it. That way if you fail it was because you didn't study, not because you are flawed. Even though I recognize it in myself I struggle to control it. It was on full blast during the run up to my Imperial interview. The talk consisted of topics I had mentioned in my personal statement and it went very well. I was not nervous, which helped.
Me and my fellow interviewees were to find out our fate in a few weeks. I emailed the head of admissions a few days after my interview asking whether or not I had been given an offer, as I was advised I could do if I wanted to know ahead of time. 'Thank you for your interest in studying at Imperial College. I am delighted to inform you that I have instructed UCAS to make you an unconditional offer of a place on F103. We very much hope that you will accept this offer, and that we will see you in the first-year class in the autumn. Signed, Professor Plum'. All I had to do was produce evidence of my qualifications to the university before the August results day. Many of my exceptional classmates, much better candidates than I, applied for various courses at Imperial. Most didn't get an interview. None that did got an offer. It started to dawn on me how special this opportunity was and how lucky I had been. I was excited again.
'Unconditional? I have never heard of someone still working towards their A levels getting an unconditional offer. Still, I guess I DID do really well in my AS year. Plus I had some A levels already. I guess they just really want me huh?' My ego didn't let me argue with that logic! I worked about as hard as most people holding an unconditional offer for anything, IE not much. I still enjoyed some of the chemistry but I dropped further maths soon after getting the email and didn't touch much of the physics. I did most of my work a week or a few days before each exam, except for the physics practical that I almost missed. I was phoned at 13:30 and told I was supposed to be in the lab at 13:45.
Fast forward to about a week before results day. I still haven't got round to proving my results to Imperial, partly because it was included as barely a footnote in the UCAS offer and mostly because I'm still lazy as hell. I phoned registry and asked whether I could deliver them personally rather than post them, as I was living in London over the summer, I was told that would be fine. Feeling rather chipper I hopped on the tube with my AS grade slips, as well as my old A levels.
I arrived at the main desk and handed over my tea stained results papers. The admin guy returned after 5 or so minutes and informed me that I needed to supply my A level certificates rather than my provisional results. I explained that I had been made the offer before completion of my A levels, and that this was all I had. He gave me a confused look and went again went backstage. Another 5 minutes passed. I was a bit annoyed that I was being held at this desk on such a lovely day. Such an inconvenience. The man returned with a woman.
A woman who looked worried.
'I'm awfully sorry sir, but i've had a look at your file and it seems you were given an unconditional offer by mistake'
?:/
'Yes, you see we thought you had already achieved A grades in your subjects. You filled the form in wrong'
!!:/
'You DO need three A grades to gain entrance, we'll have to amend your offer.'
:O
I went home in a state of utter shock. My jaw was loose and my eyes wide open and fixated on one point. I must have looked like I'd taken some really bad crack. After this came fury, then denial. Bargaining would have to wait for the morning as the Imperial registry office was closed when I got back home.
I knew my chances of getting AAA was close to nil. But I also knew I filled in my UCAS forms honestly. I had received two conditional offers, from Durham and Warwick, so it couldn't be all my own fault. The next day I got in contact with the registry, who referred me to the chemistry department. She got my file and told me everything looked in order, that registry had received my qualifications and that everything was fine. I shut up and got off the phone as quick as I could. It seemed the chemistry department were satisfied that things were fine, should I just keep quiet and hope things get pushed through? Surely they couldn't reverse things after results day passed?
I couldn't do it. I thought that waiting was the best idea but I couldn't wait a week or more like this. I had managed to sleep about 2 hours. I phoned them and spoke to the head of registry, she had good news. It seemed that my application was irregular, but that I was quite clear in what qualifications I had or did not have. The mistake was on their end and they were legally obligated to admit me, but that there were ways round it. 'If you get your target grades (AAA) or even a little below, you'll be fine'. Great. I'd be lucky to get a pass in A2 physics I thought.
A week passed. Since I was in London and my college was in Nottingham I couldn't find out my results, so I phoned Imperial registry. They said they had to refer me to the chemistry department, which did not sound good. I got through to the secretary. She told me I'd have to speak to the head of admissions, but that he was currently busy. I pleaded to learn my fate, she said ''you'll have to hear this from him. That sounded even worse. She tried to put me through to admissions, without success. I pleaded some more, to no avail. She tried to put me though again, and again he was busy. Minutes passed. I pleaded some more and she finally cracked. 'Be assured'.
I was assured and got through on the next try. The head of admissions told me I had a place.
Suspect form filling techniques 1 - 0 Imperial College.
It would be roughly a month before I would find out my results, ABB, with the A in maths. I'd be surprised if I wasn't the first A-level student at Imperial to be accepted without an A in their chosen subject.
All things considered, I'm delighted. To be on one of the most challenging courses in one of the best and most prestigious universities in the world is a long, long way from learning about Buffy. I'm still a little disappointed about Oxford but not much, and while I'm 99% certain I would've got 3 A grades had Imperial not ****** up, but w/e. I now have a chance I shouldn't really have, in a place I have no business being in, to set myself up for life.
I hope I don't ****** it up.
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