Summer School Scholarship Students in the Spotlight

What’s a UK summer school scholarship like? Undertaking an international summer school scholarship programme can be an amazing, but the uncertain experience for students who have never spent a summer studying before. What’s the application process like? Who will you meet? How will the UK scholarship help you? And what will it be like to come and study in the UK at our schools in Wellington and Bournemouth?

We spoke to last year’s scholarship students to find out how attending our UK summer schools has helped them.

We are extremely proud of our previous international summer school scholarship students and were lucky enough to speak to last year’s scholarship students about their experiences and here’s what they had to say.

What advice would you give to other students wanting to apply for the summer school scholarship programme?

“I think that the most important thing would probably be to really focus on your personal statement because that shows basically who you are and…the best qualities of you.”
Era, Kosovo, International Relations/Law

“I guess it’s very important to be yourself…in your scholarship application.”
Barsa, Nepal, Law

“I think that not only showing what you do, but why you do it, and what [the international scholarship] means for you and what the change is and what you want to achieve with it.”
Bruna, Brazil, International Relations/Politics & Economics

How did you hear about SBC and what made you want to apply for the UK summer school scholarship?

“I was looking for information about summer programmes on the internet. I just googled ‘Summer at Oxford’ and then I discovered this scholarship [and] went to the website and then I just did my application.”
Mauricio, Brazil, Business & Leadership

“I also searched on the internet. I was searching for a scholarship because I know that [international] summer school is quite expensive…and I decided to apply. I was not actually sure that I [would] qualify, but then…here I am.”
 Adziky, Indonesia, International Relations

How has SBC summer school scholarship changed you?

“I guess SBC has given [me] a new perspective on life. Before coming here, I would say I assumed a lot of things. I stereotyped people and after coming here, it really broadened my horizons. I’ve met a lot of new people, gained a lot of new insights…and I guess it has made me a better version of myself.”
Barsa, Nepal, Law

“[International] summer school has changed me a lot…Before I got to SBC I thought this was going to be like all the regular summers and then I came here and I learned so many new things. I met so many new friends and they just added more to my personality – they made me better.”
Era, Kosovo, International Relations/Law

Tell us about the international summer school scholarship application process?

“The video is an interesting one, because I needed to represent my country, my village, my family and…I [didn’t] feel like I’m someone special at all. I’m just an ordinary girl from an ordinary country, but the film really made me someone interesting because I can explain myself. I found something interesting from my country and from my family and I wanted to share it with all the people [at] SBC.”
Adziky, Indonesia, International Relations

“I think the [international summer school] application process makes you stop, slow down a little bit and think about your life. Think about your experiences, about your extracurricular activities…about the impact you make on your community. The questions are all related to your extracurricular activities, SBC wants to know if you have an impact on your community. I think the part of making the video…was really awesome because I had never done it before, so it was a new experience and I learned a lot about it.”
Mauricio, Brazil, Business & Leadership

What has been the highlight of your summer?

“I think the people that I met here, [my] friends are from all over the world. It’s just an awesome experience. I’ve never been to a place with so many people from so many different countries.”
Bruna, Brazil, International Relations/Politics & Economics

“I guess I’ll be taking away new friends… I’m really grateful that I have made new friends and I’ll be taking away friendship for the rest of my life. It was the best summer ever!”
Barsa, Nepal, Law

“I think the whole cultural experience, for example, this was my first time in Europe.  I met people from a lot of new places, people from all over the world from more than 50 countries…I think all these cultural experiences that SBC provides us is the most awesome thing we can have here.”
Mauricio, Brazil, Business & Leadership

What do you want to do in the future?

“I want to go to an American university. I want to study in the US and I’m also creating a company in my country right now. All the experiences from the Business and Leadership course…are going to help me with my application process for the American universities, and also with my business – developing my business and improving as a person and as a professional.”
Mauricio, Brazil, Business & Leadership

“I really loved this [international summer school] experience. It gave me a lot of new perspectives and I want to experience another experience the same as this and have a lot of more experiences in the future.

“I really loved the International Relations course. It really helped me to find out what it is about. Maybe I could apply to some of the English universities. I really know about the system in the UK now, so the summer courses are really helping me to know about university life.”
 Adziky, Indonesia, International Relations