Yulia Sorokina Alumni

Studying Chemistry at the University of Manchester. Yulia studied Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics at Sixth Form.

_{“ The friends and memories I made in sixth form are unforgettable. Sixth form makes you feel more independent but in a good way when your responsibilities do not get too pressuring.The amount of support, both mental and academic, I received was amazing. I always felt comfortable asking my teachers for help and they never rejected me. I started to become more confident in my learning abilities, scientific and mathematical skills. Sixth form helped me to identify my weaknesses and how to work on them.”}

My Experience of Sixth Form as an EAL Student

One of the main challenges that I have been facing during my first year of university is independent study. Whenever I struggled with understanding the content I had to do all the additional research myself. I am not saying that professors and lectures do not provide any support but it is very minimal. I think this is the main difference from sixth form. The amount of support, both mental and academic, I received was amazing. I always felt comfortable asking my teachers for help and they never rejected me. I stayed after school and always bothered my teachers during free periods if I was not sure about some topics.

My main advice is don't be afraid to stay at the end of the day and ask questions. Do it now as you may not have this privilege ever again!

My Personal Development - Being an Effective Learner

I lived my whole life strongly disliking Chemistry. I could never imagine myself choosing it as my future career. I changed my mind when I came to Sixth form because Chemistry did not seem boring and daunting anymore. I started to become more confident in my learning abilities, scientific and mathematical skills. Sixth form helped me to identify my weaknesses and how to work on them, for example, I was lacking attention to detail as I did my work too quickly. But I learned not to rush and to check my work after completion.

My Sixth Form Social Experience

The friends and memories I made at sixth form are unforgettable. Sixth form makes you feel more independent but in a good way when your responsibilities do not get too pressuring. It might be your last chance to feel relieved before you dive into the "adult" world.

From my own and my friends' experience I can tell that sixth form could get very intense and overwhelming, perhaps even depressing. You start off feeling refreshed and ready for work but this mood dies off very quickly. It feels draining and the amount of content that you have to absorb is enormous. The good thing is that you are not the only one struggling. Everyone is in the same boat!

I would like to say that if I had a chance to go back I definitely would. Please enjoy sixth form as much as you can and good luck!!!!

Higher Education Guidance

I was very worried when it came to writing my personal statement because, firstly, it was hard for me to look for a favorite topic to cover and secondly, I did not have any experience that could be relevant for my degree, to describe in my personal statement. However, the advisor that sixth form provided, Steven (Higher Education Champion - NEACO), helped me to structure my personal statement in a correct form. Also, Mrs Fields always supported me with the ideas I had and explained how to interpret them in the best way possible.

I have written about Stellar Nucleosynthesis, as I also liked Astrophysics, and two mini Chemistry projects that I completed in the past. Additionally, the competition at the Russell Group Universities is fairly high and they like to be very official for some courses so I had an additional step in my application process which was an interview. I had to go through an interview at the Imperial College and the University of Manchester. As many young people, I had never done any Chemistry related interviews so I was extremely nervous. However, Mrs Fields organized a trial interview for me where I had a chance to prepare myself for however the interview could look like, and I also got some tips on how to handle myself in a calm and professional manner.

Future Plans

Becoming a Research Scientist!