热爱为基，托举为翼：她何以圆梦牛津工程本硕连读？

The moment Harper received the admission email from the University of Oxford, she couldn't help shedding tears of joy and excitement - the dream of engineering she had planted since junior high school finally blossomed through her persistent efforts. This was not a sudden stroke of luck, but a story of passion, exploration and growth. Let's follow Harper's recount and look back on her journey. 

Since my middle school days, I have been drawn to the logic of mathematics, physics, and chemistry, finding joy in deriving formulas and observing experimental phenomena. During coverage of the 2017 Mexico earthquake, I witnessed thermal-imaging drones for the first time, precisely locating survivors and supporting rescue operations. If such technology had been available during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, perhaps thousands of lives could have been saved. This made me realise that, compared to the academic theoretical research, I wanted to take a path that turns theory into practice, allowing science and technology to truly improve and benefit human life. Since then, the agile drones in earthquake rescue and the new energy technologies mentioned in the news have all become my focus. The word "engineering" gradually took on a concrete concept in my mind. 

My story with FCG began when I heard that one of its first graduates had been admitted to the Physics Department at Oxford University. I had chosen Oxford as my dream school and goal a long time ago: it not only has a long history and rich academic resources but also does not require students to clearly choose a specific engineering branch before entering the university. Instead, students can decide on a more specific field in their third year of university. Such a curriculum design will give me more space to explore and allow me to make a more suitable choice after fully understanding different directions.

The reason I chose FCG was the warmth I felt during the campus visit. During the break, I saw students and teachers discussing problems like friends, and warm greetings could be heard everywhere. When I talked to the physics teacher and the college counselling team about my dream school and the engineering field I was interested in, they not only understood the selection criteria for Oxford but could also pinpoint my potential knowledge gaps and application weaknesses. This sense of professionalism also made me believe that FCG could help me get closer to my dream.

It was only after I truly started my studies at the school that I realised how precious the freedom that FCG offers its students is. There is no rote learning here; instead, we are given ample time to plan on our own. In the self-study room, you can always find a quiet corner to work on your exercises, and the library is filled with a wide variety of reference books. For CCA courses, we can choose freely based on our interests. By the beginning of 11th grade, I had already completed all my A-level exams and achieved four A*s. Therefore, for the following year, most of my classes were customised Oxford preparation courses taught one-on-one by my teachers. 

My teachers are the most precious guides on my journey of growth. My physics teacher always says, "When learning knowledge, one should not only know what it is but also understand why it is so." He never simply throws formulas at us; he spends the entire class leading students in deriving the principles. The benefits of these derivations may not be immediately reflected in the score of a mock exam, but they have helped me correct many misunderstandings I once had. The emphasis on the underlying logic enabled me to tackle the difficult Oxford PAT questions beyond the A‑Level syllabus with ease.  

My mathematics teacher has a unique skill. She collects questions from different systems, such as Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) and the National College Entrance Examination and integrates and explains them by topic. This not only broadened my problem-solving approaches but also helped me overcome the habit of being overly cautious and slow in solving problems. 

What warms my heart the most is my English teacher. To prepare for the IELTS writing div, I took her class. Her enthusiastic and cheerful classroom always kept me focused. During the summer vacation, she led a summer camp in the UK and specially brought me a key-shaped souvenir from Oxford University - "I hope it can help you open the door to Oxford." 

This small key later became my spiritual support during the application process. Whenever I felt exhausted and wanted to give up while revising my application documents, seeing it would give me new motivation.

青春·友谊·成人礼

Apart from my teachers' guidance, having a group of excellent classmates also helped me avoid many detours. Flying alone to study in a place over two thousand kilometres away from home was not an easy task for me, someone who had never experienced boarding life before. It was my buddy Elaine and classmate Tracy who showed me around the school facilities, recommended the most popular dishes in the cafeteria, and gradually replaced my homesickness with a sense of belonging.

While classmate Jason, who has a similar target major to mine, was my partner in preparing for the written test, he solved problems quickly but with a slightly lower accuracy rate; I had a high accuracy rate but often failed to finish the test because I was overly cautious. After each mock exam, we would meet to review each other's answer sheets and discuss how to balance speed and accuracy. Those evenings spent arguing about problem-solving approaches in the study room, and those days of encouraging each other, not only rapidly improved my written test skills but also added much warmth and strength to this stressful application journey.

The application process for Oxford was far more challenging than I had imagined. From starting the first draft of my personal statement in April to finalizing it in October—within just half a year—I worked with the school's university‑guidance team and specially invited teachers who graduated from Oxford in engineering to revise it a total of 14 times. 

From major adjustments in the content structure to minor changes in academic vocabulary, the teachers patiently worked with me to refine it over and over again. From the content and layout to the choice of words and other details, all the targeted suggestions were provided by the college counsellors based on their years of experience in guidance. Without them, I wouldn't have been able to find such information online. Looking back now, those late-night online discussions and the documents filled with annotations were the most solid steps on my path to Oxford. 

The more than sixty interview training session that followed the completion of the written test were even more beneficial to me. The school arranged for teachers who graduated from the engineering departments of Oxford and Imperial College London to conduct mock interviews for me. They not only brought a question bank accumulated over more than 30 years but also an insider perspective - for instance, Oxford interviewers pay more attention to the problem-solving approach rather than the result, and the interview atmosphere at Imperial College London is more relaxed. What moved me the most was that my physics teacher, knowing that I take a while to get into the zone, found several questions to warm me up an hour before the interview began.

The two Oxford interview experiences are still vivid in my mind. The first one was very relaxed. The interviewers began with my personal statement and then moved on to my academic interests. With their guidance, I successfully completed two physics problems. However, the second one was completely different. The interviewer adopted a more pressure-oriented style and started with direct problem-solving. His initial sternness made me nervous. It wasn't until I wrote down the key solution approach that his attitude softened. These two distinct interview styles made me truly appreciate the diversity in the selection process of top universities. I'm also grateful that the school provided me with full-scale mock interviews with teachers of various styles during the training, enabling me to handle unexpected situations calmly with a stable mindset.

As a student who has been studying in the international education system since childhood, I have personally experienced the misunderstandings of international schools have of the outside world. When I was in primary school, I participated in an after-school math Olympiad class. Although I met the entrance exam requirements, the teacher suggested, "Since you are already in an international school, there's no need to study too hard." During my years at FCG, I came to understand that the freedom of international education isn't indulgence; it's the opportunity to discover our passions and strive for them with all our might. Choosing the A-Level curriculum, coming alone to FCG, determining the direction of engineering, and applying to the University of Oxford; every decision I made was based on thorough research and careful consideration. The unwavering trust and support from the school and my parents allowed me to pursue my dreams without any reservations. 

I have always believed that no gain will ever betray your accumulated efforts, and the realisation of every dream requires the right soil. FCG provided the fertile ground for my development: it supported my interest in engineering and helped me plan each step toward becoming a better version of myself, ultimately leading to my admission to Oxford’s integrated undergraduate‑to‑master’s programme. May every passionate student find their own fertile ground, cherish their youth, and stay true to their original aspirations.