24th July 2023
We caught up with Joseph who is in Year 12 at St Brendan’s just before he headed off for what looks like an action-packed summer break. He has lots of things planned, including an exciting trip to New York to get a taster of life at Yale University – an opportunity funded by The Sutton Trust that he accessed via our ASPIRE Programme.
Entry to The Sutton Trust US Programme is highly competitive and Joseph was one of the lucky 150 chosen from nearly 1000 of the UK’s brightest students!
Joseph has just finished his first year at college, studying Maths & Further Maths, Chemistry and Biology. In addition to his studies, Joseph has made the most of a number of the opportunities provided by our Careers Team. With an interest in pursuing a future in maths, economics or finance, our Careers Team helped Joseph to find and apply for experiences within these sectors. This included a virtual work experience placement with J.P. Morgan – a global leader in financial services, a LSE (London School of Economics) Springboard programme which gives participants a taste of university-level teaching and learning as well information needed to apply to LSE and other high-tariff universities; and most recently the UNIQ residential at the University of Oxford – to check out what Oxbridge life would entail. Needless to say, Joseph has excelled in making the most of what our Careers Team has to offer!
As well as opportunities provided by our Careers Team, students on the ASPIRE Programme are encouraged to access specialist schemes, including The Sutton Trust US Programme – a once in a lifetime opportunity to explore what studying in America is like. Aware of the intense application process, Joseph put his all into securing a place alongside keeping on top of his college studies. During his application Joseph completed essays, video interviews, google classroom assignments and the ACT (a standardised admissions test for American universities) – with funding and support from The Sutton Trust throughout.
After receiving the news of his successful application, Joseph had a new challenge to face – choosing from over 4,000 American universities to apply for; luckily The Sutton Trust help with this too by working directly with 75 universities. To make his decision, Joseph created a criteria for his dream destination – he wanted to be close to nature, near the coast, somewhere with an engaging student body and experts in his subjects (maths, economics and finance).
To help with this decision and to meet other applicants, Joseph attended a residential in Nottingham and an American university exhibition hosted in London. At the residential, Joseph joined fellow applicants from all over the UK to hear from current students, alumni of the American universities, and experts in the admissions and test prep field. As well as coming away from the weekend with all of his questions answered, Joseph added to his group chat count and made a bunch of new friends. During his day at the exhibition in London, Joseph researched and refined his shortlist to 10 universities.
With this research and his wish list of must-haves, Joseph selected Yale University as his base for the US taster week. During this trip he’ll stay in the dorms, take part in campus tours, information sessions and cultural activities. So that he can find out more about the other universities on his shortlist, Joseph will have the opportunity to meet with representatives at a university fair that will be hosted at Yale University. Along with the other trips, The Sutton Trust provide full funding for this week-long residential.
We can’t wait to hear all about the trip and we’re equally excited to see what Joseph decides to progress onto after completing his A-levels next summer!
If you’re joining us in September and would like to apply for The Sutton Trust Programme, find out more here: https://us.suttontrust.com/about/. Once you’re at the college, our Careers Team will be able to assist you with further details and many other opportunities.
