Introduction
Hello, I’m Mada Younes. I am a 17-year-old pianist from Latakia—a really beautiful city on the Syrian coast. I am an Artist in general; I draw and am really interested in cinema, but my main focus is on music and piano specifically. I am going to start studying the IB Diploma Programme at UWC Maastricht next semester.
My background
Being Syrian really affected my musical identity and taste. Living in Latakia, I touched on the really wide diversity Syria has in identities and cultures. The connections between all these different people in my society got me more interested in the piano keys and the relationship between the sounds.
Eventually, as my curiosity reached exploring how each culture has its own musical identity, and how these can react together, I got interested in studying abroad. I knew I wanted to get to know more cultures, nationalities, and traditions.
Why Study Abroad, Why UWC Maastricht?
The deal breaker for my decision to study abroad was when I discovered a new major called music therapy, which didn’t exist in my country. I was already interested in psychology, and I was fascinated when I learned that I could combine both. And the more I researched universities abroad, the more excited I got finding new ways and fields I could study music in.
I decided to also do the IB program before applying to universities when I felt I needed more time to figure out what I want to study as I was discovering all these really new fields, and more time to discover new ways to study what I want, and that’s a really important aspect here in UWC; we have a subject called Theory Of Knowledge, which encourages students to reflect on the nature of knowledge, on how we know what we claim to know. Although it started with music therapy, I now know that I really want to learn, and it’s going to be something related to the humanities and music.
I was also really interested in living in high school again in a different country with a new version of everything, which enhanced my decision even more.
When I was applying, we had the option to rate the schools. UWC Adriatic was my first choice because it’s the one most focused on music. Maastricht, however, was focused on music and the humanities, so it was my second choice. At the end of the day, it’s the committee's decision.
Application process
One essay that I really love was about making the most of opportunities in my life. In Arabic, we have a famous saying that goes: “You cannot carry 100 Watermelons All At Once”, meaning you cannot do too many big things all at once, or they’d fall from your hands like watermelons. The thing is, I used to do it, I used to carry 100 watermelons in my extracurricular activities, which included playing Basketball, playing piano in all genres of Classical, Jazz, And Oriental. Also playing Piano with a choir, in addition to singing. In my essay, I also talked about music theory and how I linked music with cinema, arts, volunteering in the Public Children's Library, and with my music conservatory in organizing concerts. I talked about how I managed to make it easier to carry them all. It's not impossible, it's just hard.
There was also an essay about things we want to change in the community. I talked about the traditions and how society looks at women here, and how I believe they should be more independent.
I’d say in general I've been working on myself for two years before I decided to apply, so the process of preparing my application was related to how I worked on myself, my activities, and my English skills in the past two years.
My school scores in the 9th, 10th, and 11th grades were an average of 95%.
Resources Used During The Application Process
I researched the schools and tried to contact Syrian students there. I also read lots of essays and College Essay Guy’s articles to get to know how I should express myself in the best way possible.
Financial Aid And Scholarship
I got a full scholarship. In general, the application process starts in August, you have some essays to write and you have to send in your transcripts. You also have the option to rank the schools based on your preference in your application. Then, in December, the committee selects a group of applicants to join an online activity with other applicants, with a small solo interview about a task they require you to do one week before. At the end, finalists are invited to another longer solo interview with the committee with more personal questions, before the final decisions come out in early February.
One word…
One word to describe my academic journey would be SURREAL.
It was full of random events, like in middle school, the pandemic, then an intense earthquake hit the region, then the political regime in Syria fell!
We still tried to make art exhibitions and many activities during the periods when academic life stopped, but it was surreal doing all that with these huge events happening at the same time.
One academic skill that really helped me and am really good at is multitasking. I like breaking assignments into smaller tasks, which really helped me in my application process and my studies in general. Additionally, I tend to work well under pressure; in fact, I cannot sleep until I'm done with all the work I have. I really can’t; it haunts me.
I'd say there are two things that motivated me and supported me the most throughout this whole surreal process:
Being surrounded by a group of friends who were also applying to programs and universities to study abroad. We were always working, which motivated me; I felt I needed to keep working more on myself.
I was motivated by what I like to do and want to spend my life doing, not be forced into something I don't want to. Like photographing, making music, and even reading random books and finding new ways to get educated. And I knew in Syria I couldn’t achieve that.
One thing I wish I knew sooner about the admissions process was that I need a more diverse activities list. I think I was really focused on the arts, and I have never done an activity just for the sake of doing a new activity. Although I did explore many aspects, I wish I had put more effort into it.
One thing I’d like to say as an advice for students reading this article would be: There’s no such thing as “I’m done with this essay, or I'm done with my activities list, or I'm done with something”, you can always put more effort into it. And the more time you give it, the better it becomes.
