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My passion for Science began at a young age. At school, we were doing a Biology project and I chose to study the Fly Agaric mushroom. That was when I began to realise the complexity of living things right down to a cellular level. My interest in Biology and Chemistry has expanded; they are both my strongest subjects. As I feel most capable in these areas, I decided a few years ago that this would be the subject that I would like to study at degree level. This year I have taken Physics at Higher, having never before done the subject. I chose to do so because after completing Higher Chemistry and Higher Human Biology, I realised how related the three disciplines of science really are, where there are often applications in common with each other, and how it would benefit my studies. Pushing myself in this way has been one of my best decisions to date as I am obtaining and maintaining significantly good grades, especially considering I had never learned the basics at Standard Grade.
My plan for post-university is still undecided; I do have a good idea of what I'd like to do. I would like to test my new skills in laboratories in hospitals and/or possibly begin a career in research. After that, I want to train as a teacher. I've learnt many skills already from helping in classes for S1-S4 and I have recently started tutoring a S4 pupil in Biology and Chemistry. Being able to help someone understand my main interests feels very rewarding to me; I love helping people. I also volunteer for the Stonehaven Community Centre where I have been a session worker since March 2009. Due to my work in volunteering I won a 'Young Quality Scot' award earlier this year an award which only 100 under 25s in Scotland win every year.
Music has always been a huge part of my life. I learned to play the guitar when I was 12 and have been playing ever since. Although I stopped getting professional tuition two years ago, I have kept up my hobby and improved my skills further. I often attend concerts in the area and have even held a few of my own in venues in Aberdeen with a friend of mine. It has been wonderful to be given such an awesome opportunity to play in front of a live audience.
I have taken on several huge commitments this year. I am leading Mackie Academy's entry in Rock Challenge 2011. Rock Challenge is an international dance and drama competition, where schools compete in local heats to have the chance to be invited to the main event in Grimsby. I have been involved in the competition since the 2009 entry and every year since then Mackie Academy have succeeded in gaining a place in the final. For just the Aberdeen heat at the AECC there is a great deal of organisation which is necessary to compete and I have managed to stay on top of that while maintaining an above average academic report.
This year, I was elected by my Guidance Teacher and Depute Rector as House Captain a role which even after only a few short months, has required a lot of time and effort, but has been worth it as I have been helping to organise the Sixth Year Prom, as well as organising Interhouse Activities.
I've always been quite independent. I've had a job almost non-stop since I was 14 so I always lived off my own money. This was mainly due to my Dad dying of cancer when I was 11, which was obviously unexpected but surprisingly quick. He was diagnosed improperly, so the doctors who were treating him hadn't even noticed signs of cancer for quite some time. By the time they finally realised, it was too late for proper treatment so there was nothing more they could do. I'd say that was another reason I became so interested in the human body and the use of chemicals.
I have spoken to several teachers, lab technicians and researchers to see what their line of work is really like and I have heard exactly what I wanted to hear. It's like they're living the life I want to live. I would seize the opportunity of a Science degree if it were to be offered to me.
Universities Applied to:
- University of Edinburgh - Unsuccessful
- University of Strathclyde - Unsuccessful
- Edinburgh Napier University - Unconditional - Firm
- Robert Gordon University - Conditional (B in any Scottish Higher)
- Heriot Watt University - Conditional (B in Higher Physics, B in Advanced Higher Chemistry)
Grades Achieved:
In 5th Year
- English (Higher) - C
- Maths (Higher) - B
- Chemistry (Higher) - B
- Human Biology (Higher) - B
- Psychology (Intermediate 2) - A
In 6th Year
- English (Higher) - A
- Physics (Higher) - C
Comments
General Comments:
In sixth year I started off doing Advanced Higher Chemistry and Biology, but after I realised I didn't want to go to Heriot Watt, I dropped Chemistry. Then when I got my unconditional, I stopped caring about my other subjects completely and failed AH Biology. That was a bad idea. If you get an unconditional, try to still maintain reasonable grades in the subject you're going to study at university.
