My background

Hi! My name is Sarah, and I’m a Year 13 (senior) student from the 🇬🇧, ethnically  🇮🇷 🇦🇫 🇹🇲. I’m graduating from Sir John Deane’s Sixth Form College in August 2025 and will be part of NYUAD’s Class of 2029!

Why I decided to study abroad

When I started Year 12 and began thinking about universities with my peers, I quickly realised the U.K. education system wasn’t for me. Having to choose a course I wasn’t sure about and limit myself to a restricted career path was terrifying. While my friends had clear plans for medicine or engineering, I had (and still have!) no clue what I wanted to commit to when as a person there is so much I want to explore and study. 

Through social media, I heard about the Sutton Trust U.S. Programme, a free scheme for British students to help them gain acceptance into top U.S. universities. From there, I soon began to explore my options, like the US education system, which would give me more time and flexibility to figure out what I want to study and commit to since you don’t have to pick a major till your second year. 

I applied to the Sutton Trust US program and told myself that if it didn’t work out, then maybe studying abroad was not in the cards for me. 

In April 2024 I got rejected. It was a big learning curve for me. 

Instead of giving up, I decided to shoot my shot anyway and spent the next eight months before the ED deadline navigating the application process and building my activities and awards.

Why NYUAD

Abu Dhabi wasn’t originally on my radar. I mainly wanted to study in the U.S. and hadn’t considered other countries. However, when researching colleges, I loved the idea of NYU—the international student body, classes, and network—but felt the NYC campus lacked the close community I wanted. NYUAD was the perfect solution. After speaking to current students and checking out the course bulletin, I knew it was the right fit.

Financial aid was also a huge factor since I come from a low-income family. NYUAD’s reputation for generous aid made it an obvious choice for Early Decision. (If you’re considering applying for their aid, be aware that their packages have significantly decreased in recent cycles.)

My Application

Stats

I follow the A-Level system and am predicted A*A*A*.

I didn’t need to take the TOEFL as a British citizen.

GCSEs: 87666655 (equivalent to AABBBBCC; one of my C’s was in maths).

SAT/ACT:  test-optional 

I want to be very transparent, my stats were definitely the weakest part of my application, but my extenuating circumstances explained my grades. I was nervous about applying since NYUAD highly values academics, but this proves the process really is holistic! I spent way too much time on Reddit chance-me pages feeling hopeless, but no one can predict your outcome—it’s all based on individual circumstances and context. 

Letter of recommendation 

I had one from my counsellor, my English teacher and my research mentor who is a PhD student at Boston college. Overall I had very good relationships with my recommenders and I’m positive that they wrote very strong letters! 

Awards/Honours

• Finalist in the John Locke Essay Competition 

• Cambridge Summer Scholar for Political Sciences (1 of 400 selected out of 4,000).

• Nominated for the Inspirational Youth Award for my contributions to financial literacy.

• Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award.

Extracurricular Activities

I created a financial literacy initiative that has educated over 400 students through workshops and speeches. I started this at 12 years old but didn’t make a big impact until Year 12.

I conducted independent research on olfactory memory with a Ph.D. mentor through Lumiere Education.

I’m a young carer for my family, managing household responsibilities. I was the sports ambassador of my school. I worked two part-time jobs as a sales associate and an extra with a commercial agency. I write philosophical articles for Inspire Youth Journal, reaching 4,000+ students. I also led a social action campaign on youth unemployment, managing a team of 20. I founded and served as President of the Applying Abroad Support Society, guiding 50+ students in studying abroad. And finally I volunteered 250+ hours at a charity shop, sorting donations and assisting customers.

Essays

From ages 12 to 15, I was homeless with my single mother and two younger brothers. We lived in domestic abuse refuges, and my Common App essay focused on this experience, using the smell of frying oil as a metaphor for the struggles we endured. I explored how these challenges shaped my resilience and led to my financial literacy initiative, where I taught women in refuges about personal finance and later advocated for financial literacy in schools.

I was very careful not to make it a trauma dump but instead, show how I turned my experiences into something positive. I think the essay is one of the most important parts of your application if not the most important part. I spent months perfecting mine to create a compelling narrative.

Tip: Show, don’t tell. Help admissions officers imagine how you’ll impact their college community!

Preparation process

I started eight months before the ED deadline. Though many people start a year or more in advance so I felt quite behind. I kept track of milestones—creating a college list, developing my ECs, and tracking a lot of rejections—in my Notes app. 

With Borderless’s guidebook, I navigated the Common App and CSS Profile.

The waiting period for decisions was surprisingly calm. Despite receiving three offers from Warwick, Manchester, and King’s College London, along with securing a Cambridge interview, none of them truly mattered to me. All I could think about was just imagining myself at NYUAD. 

Resources I used

I couldn’t afford paid mentors, but I found valuable free resources online!

• Borderless on TikTok and their WhatsApp community helped me find research opportunities. (Lumiere education) 

• I followed TineoCollegePrep, favouriting posts and asking questions.

• I reached out to 🇬🇧 students at U.S. universities, who supported me with essays and advice.

Scholarship

I received a 97% scholarship from NYUAD, covering everything except half my housing (£2,000/year). NYUAD’s personal grant helps cover this, and on-campus jobs can cover the rest.

The CSS Profile is required for aid—it was the most frustrating part of the process. Please double-check and triple check everything to avoid mistakes! I certainly made plenty. 

Overall

Perseverance is one of the hardest yet most valuable skills to develop. The college application process is challenging and unpredictable, but everything has a way of working out in the end. If you have any questions or need advice, feel free to reach out to me on Instagram: s.f.25007. Wishing everyone the best of luck on their application journey!