I am from a small town in Nottinghamshire and am one of the first in my family to be going to university! I applied for the programme as I felt I would gain a memorable and useful experience from participating. Alongside this, I have such great enthusiasm for my aspirations of one day becoming a doctor which drives me to actively take part in any experiences I can get involved with.
At first, I was concerned about not feeling engaged enough as the programme had to be carried out online. I was also worried that this would prevent me from making proper connections with other individuals in the programme but this was not the case!
There were many highlights of my Sutton Trust programme, however, a particular thing that really captivated me was the teamwork. Despite being online, me and the other individuals in my group were able to work extremely well together, taking part in games, quizzes and much more.
I completed the programme feeling that I had been extremely productive and that I had gained confidence in myself both because of the individuals I had the privilege of working with and because of the tasks I took part in. I came away from every single academic task feeling that I had learned something new. This has encouraged me to keep working towards my goal.
I have just sent off my university applications so am currently waiting to hear back! I am very eager to go and study medicine as it has been an aspiration of mine for years now.
I would encourage anyone thinking of applying to a Summer School to go for it! You may not be 100% sure what you want to go into, however this experience left me with a much more open mindset, more knowledge about university in general, and I had some extremely fun interactions with others while taking part helping me to feel that I am not alone in this process.