My Background
My name is Alexander Renaud, and I am a 17-year-old Mauritian currently studying at United World College (UWC) Dilijan in Armenia, focusing on the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP).
My background is pretty unique compared to some others as both of my parents are international school teachers, and so I have been traveling and moving all my life, from Mauritius to India, to Malaysia, South America, Uruguay, and now living on my own at UWC. Because of this, I have studied in many different schools and have experienced a variety of curriculums like the MYP (Middle Years Programme), IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary), VCE (Victorian Certificate of Education), and A levels. This brought up its own set of issues when it came to figuring out my education and jumping from curriculum to curriculum; however, it gave me the ability to live a very diverse and open-minded life, which I feel is what drew me to UWC.
Why United World College?
I was first introduced to UWC by my mother as she knew a student who had gone to UWC, Li Po Chun, in China. At the time, I was in Malaysia and had started my first year of A levels at an international school - which is where I had started to consider moving to an IB (international baccalaureate) school as I felt I was not getting the most out of my schooling years doing A levels, and I think all of the education systems that I had experienced really gave me a broader insight into what I truly wanted to get out of studying and do the IBDP.
UWC provided me with many things other international schools could not. It is a boarding school, which is something I have always wanted to experience, and this one was even more unique as I felt it showed the true efforts of an international school because it has students from around 80 different countries living there as well. But one of the biggest reasons I chose UWC was because of Kurt Hahn, the founder of UWC, and the dream he had for it - that is that he wanted to bring young people from diverse national, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds to live and learn together. He founded UWC to be the bridge between all these different types of people after their divide during World War II - this goal and this dream really resonated with me, and so UWC gave me the kind of life I wanted to live. It provided me with mentors and peers to lift me and help push me to achieve those goals; it involves so much more than just grades as the main focus.
What is the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme?
Here is a quick breakdown of what the IBDP is:
The IBDP is a program where you have six subjects -three high levels, which are the ones you focus more on (mine are economics, philosophy, English language & literature), three standard level subjects ( I'm taking language, culture, and math).
The IBDP also involves extracurriculars or core requirements such as:
CAS (Community Action Service) -where you focus on one action that is creative, one that is physical, and one that involves service and volunteering in your local community
TOK (Theory Of Knowledge) - which encourages critical thinking and understanding of how we know things.
EE (Extended Essay) -this is a 4,000-word research essay you have to write at the end of your two years about a topic of personal interest.
The IBDP, in total, scored out of 45 with an average of 29, and each subject scored out of 7, with the core requirements/ extracurriculars, which can give you extra points as well.
My Application Process
This is how I personally applied. There are many different ways to apply and many different processes that you could go through when applying to UWC, so this is my personal experience, as I know it can really differ depending on who you may ask.
There are two main ways you can apply: through the Global Selection or the national committee. I applied through the national committee, which basically means that as I am from Mauritius, I applied through the Mauritian board of UWC. Each country has its own way of assessing and testing students with different requirements and different questions that could be asked. However, all the boards have the same idea of the type of person they would like to have in UWC - that being a well-rounded change-maker of an individual. They want students who have passion and believe that they can make a difference, which is definitely shown through the application process.
My process involved making an introduction video about myself, multiple essays on various topics such as myself, and pretty creative topics as well so they get a better understanding of how your mind works and how you think. I also had multiple interviews online, and at one point, I flew down to Mauritius to do a face-to-face interview. They also did this interesting thing of putting you in a room with other applicants to just observe you and see how you interact with others; there were also puzzles they got me to do and just all kinds of unique ways of getting to know you, which I feel already shows you the type of school UWC is.
My Scholarship
Another unique thing about UWC is that the majority of the students are on scholarships. UWC is the type of school that does not want financial aid to come between a student and the passion they feel towards education.
Applying for a scholarship at UWC was the same as any other school, I would say. Depending on which campus you go to and how much you may need, they give you options for each campus with different types of scholarships.
It really depends, as each campus's price range is very different, and the scholarships they offer follow that; I was lucky enough to get the option of a partial scholarship at the Dilijan campus, which, in the end, I decided to go with.
Advice for UWC applicants
As clichΓ© as it may be, just be yourself, especially for UWC, because they really look for authenticity, and if you're not yourself, they will be able to tell. Not only that, but know what you want and make sure you have passion towards it because that will really show through when applying, and it will show them that you want to push yourself and that you are fit for their school.
UWC is the type of school that takes everything into consideration when looking at an applicant. They do not focus specifically on extracurriculars, financial aid, or even grades. It is really dependent on your situation and the journey you had to go through to get where you are now, and so when they are looking at your grades and what you have done so far, they consider everything like previous education, where you were raised and I think what they value and look for most is seeing that you can and are willing to grow and show progress as the year goes on.
So, if you are a very passionate person who wants to make a change and inspire and impact communities, and you feel like you have true potential given the right circumstances, I recommend UWC. Don't feel like you are not enough or you have not done enough to deserve a spot at UWC, trust me, just apply, there is no harm in applying, and who knows, you could find yourself getting in and starting your journey at United World College.
My Plan and Preparation for Uni
With UWC, you get the option to get the Davis Scholarship, meaning I would be able to study in the US, which has opened a lot of doors for me. I am interested in studying philosophy, politics, and economics and have looked into French universities along with the US, keeping NYU, Yale, and schools in that region in mind. Because I have been looking more at US universities, I have been focusing on extracurriculars like online courses, volunteering, and assisting in departments related to what I'd like to go into. I think that is the main thing I am focusing on, making sure I am not just doing random extracurriculars but instead doing activities related to the field I would like to go into as they benefit much more.
UWC has really become my home away from home. I have only been here for around 4 months, and I love it. I've met amazing people and have already experienced so much and I really feel I am going to get the most out of these next 2 years doing the IBDP.
