My Background Information

I’m from Kitwe, the 2nd biggest city in Zambia and the biggest city in my province, the Copperbelt. In my interviews especially, and some of my supplementals, I talked about how growing up in a city with mines and farms strengthened my interests in policy, the environment, and science as a way to help bridge these things.

In Zambia, secondary school is 5 years (Grade 8–12), but only Grade 10 to 12 count as high school. I went to Mpelembe Secondary School, the best school in Kitwe. Mpelembe’s selection process at Grade 8 is pretty selective. They get the top performers in the Grade 7 primary leaving examinations, but that just goes to show the heavy emphasis Mpelembe has on academics.

Why I Chose to Study Abroad, Specifically in the US

Choosing the US was a no brainer. I had been in love with the American college life since the 10th grade. I had been doing research on the US all throughout high school. When I wrote my exams and a majority of my class was going to Malaysia, it didn’t appeal to me. I just couldn’t see myself going to non-English speaking countries or studying just biology. Locally, my only prospect would have been to become a doctor. Both these paths didn’t seem right for me. It was the liberal arts model that appealed to me most: the idea of studying multiple disciplines and combining them in a unique way.

My Stats When Applying to Colleges

I studied in the local curriculum even though Mpelembe offered Cambridge. I chose this route because the national curriculum was more versatile and I wouldn’t have to do A-levels. And a lot of top schools in the US would have required me to do at least AS.

Two of my friends who did the Cambridge curriculum are actually already in the US, but they had to go the community college route.

The Zambian Secondary School Leaving Exams are called the School Certificate Examination, and we do not have A-levels. There are very few students in Zambia who go on to do these. The school certificate is similar to WAEC, Matric, or KCSE. Most Zambians take 7 or 8 subjects, but I took 9—yet another example of Mpelembe’s rigor. My school’s profile talked about this and I believe it showed the universities how high-achieving I was.

In addition to maxing out my subject numbers, I took Pure Chemistry and Pure Physics, as compared to “Science,” which combines and simplifies the two. The final exam is graded on a scale of 1–9: 1 being the upper distinction and 9 being a fail.

I got 8 ones in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, English Language, Principles of Accounts, Computer Studies, Agricultural Science, and Biology. I got a 2 in Religious Education, which was weird considering it was my favourite subject, but it was still a distinction so I wasn’t that bothered.

I did take the June and October SAT in my gap year. It was rough, I can’t lie—the SAT is a completely different beast. I somehow kept getting higher in the Reading and Writing portion even though all I studied was math. In the end, I submitted my 740 English score and my less than perfect math score. This came after a lot of deliberation on whether I should go test optional because of my math score.

I didn’t take any English proficiency exams because Zambia is an English-speaking country as a result of the British, and we learn all 12 years entirely in English.

My Extracurriculars, Awards, and Honors

I did a lot in high school, I can’t lie, but I only really started being serious in Grade 10.

I was the president of JETS, which stands for Junior Engineers Technicians and Scientists. JETS was an amazing time and it kept me really busy, especially in the 12th grade. We had olympiads, science fairs, and workshops to show up for, and my job as president kept me on the organizing side of things.

I was also the captain of my school’s badminton team. Since badminton isn’t really known in Zambia, I had a lot of teaching and fighting for it to be more recognised at my school. I showed this in my application. Most times we couldn’t use the school hall because of events, and since we couldn’t play outside, we would miss out on a lot of practice hours. Nevertheless, I loved my coaches, and playing badminton in the empty drained-out pool was one of the highlights of my high school experience.

I also volunteered with the Kitwe Animal Welfare Society (KAWS). I met the literal most amazing people here. At first, I was scared to reach out to them when I was looking for things to do in my gap year. I’m thankful I did eventually because everyone there was so kind and helpful. They helped bring out the side of me that loved animals and wanted to help.

My standout moment was the rabies drive that we had. Vaccinating 120 pets was A LOT, but it was so worth it. Mr. Michael, as I call him, was a person who liked politics almost as much as me. He made me even more passionate about policy and how it could help improve animal welfare.

My volunteering turned into a vet internship with the Nina Glynn and Clinton Rodger Vet Clinic. We had so many nasty cases and really gruelling ones, but I always was ready to help out the vets.

The EducationUSA Opportunity Funds Program is a competitive college prep program, and I was lucky enough to be selected amongst a competitive pool of 2000. I believe this honour put me in context and helped add legitimacy to my other ECs.

I was also a Teaching Assistant, and I had a very engaged role with my class in RE, because my teacher went on leave in our final year. Her recommendation talked about this and I feel it demonstrated my passion for education. Shout out to Mrs. Muhau.

My father ran for ward councilor in the 2021 Zambian elections. I also mentioned how this was the start of my interest in the background of politics, and how I interviewed one of the presidential candidates and ran my dad’s campaign.

I had two quiz titles and one Olympiad title, and A TON of school subject awards.

All About My Essays

I wrote my essay 2 days before the deadline! Please, if you’re reading, don’t do this. This was a horrible idea and resulted in me not sleeping for 4 days straight to make the ED deadline.

However, I hadn’t just started 2 days before the deadline. I had started writing drafts since August, but the drafts were never finished and honestly didn’t sound like me. Watching College Essay Guy was the best thing I did for myself and allowed me to put my ideas together coherently.

In the end, I wrote my essay about my bedroom wall that’s covered in sticky notes and such, and how the wall represented everything I was proud of but in the end was a symbol of how I had been running away from a lot of things.

I’m so grateful for everyone who read through my essay just days before it was due.

My Brandeis Supplement

I did have a tough time with it, because it asks you not only why Brandeis but about your background as an international student preparing you for their campus. Thankfully, I had the Borderless tool to help me narrow down my ideas.

How Long It Took to Prepare My Applications, and How I Shaped the Process

The application cycle was ROUGH, that’s for sure. But one thing that helped was that my closest friends were all going through the same thing, so we would collaborate and have breaks and outings together.

My most valuable resources were Borderless stories, Veronica’s reels, and College Essay Guy. Major shout out to Tineo College Prep—I’d been watching his videos for years.

The EducationUSA Opportunity Funds Program covers application and CSS costs. However, the government shutdown happened right before the ED deadline, so I kinda panicked because they couldn’t help us. Ms. Ketty was the best—she helped us throughout the shutdown with nerves and the like.

When I told my admissions counselor at Brandeis about my situation, she heard me and helped me work around the CSS requirement. She was a major reason I chose Brandeis in the first place.

Why I Chose Brandeis University

Why Brandeis is a question I could spend days answering. Firstly, the proximity to Boston was a major factor, and what initially drew me to the school, but not what kept my attention. I’m sure I attended every information session and student chat that was hosted, lol. You don’t have to do that, but I did because I genuinely loved learning about Brandeis.

Brandeis is actually the second smallest R1 university. That means it’s a top research university, but at the same time, small enough to prioritise not only post-grads but undergrads as well.

Brandeis had the perfect blend of liberal arts learning and career preparation to help me achieve my goals of helping improve environmental policy back in Zambia.

The biggest push for me to ED to Brandeis was Professor Charlie Chester. I had reached out to him about some of his work, which overlaps with my interests, and he was so helpful and walked me through how I could achieve my goals.

I learnt about student life through Brandeis’s social. I think their team does a very good job of showing prospective students what they can look forward to. I cannot wait to join campus next fall.

My Experiences with Materials Beyond Essays

I needed 4 letters of recommendation, and in Zambia, recommendation letters are very generic, so this worried me at first. But thankfully, my teachers were all very helpful and open to learn about the unique style of writing American colleges look for.

My school did not have a guidance counselor in the traditional US sense, at least, but we did have a careers and guidance committee that helped us out in things like this. I had one of the teachers write my counselor letter for me, as she had been my homeroom teacher for my first two years of high school.

My other three letters came from my RE teacher, my physics teacher who was the JETS coordinator, and Mr. Banda, who was my agricultural science teacher slash mentor.

My Regrets and “Glad I Did That” Moments

Well, I’m glad I didn’t wait till senior year or my gap year to start getting involved extracurricular-wise, but I still believe I started late.

I wish I had started my essays earlier, and I wish I had prioritised all my 9 subjects. In the end, I did get 1s across the board, but during high school, my grades were uneven in the pure sciences.

I’m glad I reached out to Zambians studying in the US—they really helped out a lot. I’m glad I applied for EducationUSA even though I didn’t think I would get in. I’m glad I had good relationships with my teachers which allowed them to write authentically.

My Advice for Students Who Want to Study Abroad

My biggest advice is to start early. I mean it. In 8th grade, start figuring out your passions and start getting those grades up.

What I think got me into Brandeis is that I picked them because I thought they’d want me. That’s something I believe is often overlooked in college applications: realizing that schools are searching for their best fit at the same time as you. So search for schools that have your values, and look at those rather than rankings.

Stand out by crafting and telling a complete story of who you are—more than just scores or grades. Tell a full story with your essays and ECs.

My Financial Aid & Scholarships

Brandeis gave me a very generous package as a result of my being selected as a Wien International Scholar, which is a merit-based scholarship that seeks international students like myself passionate about making change in their communities.

The Wien scholarship makes it cheaper for me to attend Brandeis than school here in Zambia, and for that, I am forever grateful. My tuition, room, and board are covered, in addition to my flight to Brandeis and back each semester.

I did have to submit quite a number of documents as proof of income and savings—Brandeis is unique in that way. My advice is to read through the school’s website carefully to avoid getting stuck along the way.