My journey to WBS

From completing her exams to the nerve-racking wait for her A-level results, BSc Management student Cassylda describes her journey to WBS.

In this blog, I will reflect on my journey to WBS including my experience of applying and getting into Warwick Business School, which was neither a quick or easy journey.

The University of Warwick was always on my radar as a university that I always knew I wanted to attend. Two of my mentors had gone on to study at Warwick and would never stop talking about the plethora of opportunities available to them, how great the environment was and how they knew I would love it as my university. They both went on to achieve great things, and I was determined to follow in their footsteps.

I did Economics, Spanish and English Literature for my A-levels, and in Year 12 I was convinced that I was going to do an Economics degree. However, that was before I visited WBS. The modern architecture, bright lecture halls with blue seats, the exclusive undergraduate study spaces and WBS café were all just perfect! When I visited the Warwick campus for the undergraduate open day I found it completely surreal, I remember sitting in the Piazza with my Mum eating from the classic Warwick street food vans. It was a bright sunny day, and I just felt complete peace. It was as if visiting the University confirmed my aspirations and my desire to study there – I knew this was the university for me. I remember walking around the WBS building and just imagining myself studying there, in the beautiful building, sitting in a lecture hall in the next stage of my education – the dream was too good to be true!

When looking at potential universities to apply to I decided I was interested in exploring my options within business for my undergraduate degree. Since I studied both Economics and Spanish for my A-levels, I had to decide whether I wanted to do International Management (which meant I could travel abroad to Spain but not study Spanish as part of my degree modules) or study International Business with Spanish (which meant I would study Spanish as part of my degree). I decided that I wanted to continue with my language studies so that I could strengthen my command of the language so that when I did go on my year abroad, I would actually be able to put what I had learnt to practice.

In preparation for my UCAS application, I realised I needed to get 3 As, including an A in Spanish. This was going to be tasking, especially because I ended year 12 with a B grade in that subject. My predicted grades, however, were A*AA and so after waiting months (and receiving offers from all the other universities I had applied to), I finally received my offer from Warwick! I was through the roof with excitement and it felt as if my dream was finally coming to fruition. Now, all I had to do was get the grades. In my December mock exams, this was not looking likely. After barely scraping a pass in Economics, and only performing well in English, I was worried about the following months – I needed to get into Warwick, at whatever cost. I knew this was where I was meant to be, and so I needed those 3 As. For the next few months, I worked so hard and did past papers and practice essays every week.

My spring term mocks then came alongside my final predictions which were A*BB. I was distraught. How was I going to get those grades up within the next 2 months? So I watched Warwick ‘studytuber’ videos to find out their experience of applying to Warwick and what revision tips they used to get their As and A*s. Then, I worked hard to implement some of their advice, using their videos as my motivation to study as hard as I could so I could accomplish my dream of studying at Warwick. During exam season, I think I became EconPlusDal’s most watched subscriber of all time. I learnt every requirement of every exam and went into the exams far more confident. On results day, I remember going into school before opening UCAS. I wanted to be prepared and know what my final grades were rather than solely seeing a Warwick acceptance or rejection because, at the end of the day, Warwick was all I wanted. I got A*A*B in the end, but I was still nervous about whether that B would impact my offer. I opened UCAS and to mine and my Mum’s delight, I WAS IN! I broke down into tears knowing that all my hard work had paid off.

In the following weeks, I travelled, saw friends, partied and all-round enjoyed myself before starting this new chapter of my life at WBS. On my first day at WBS, I was so happy and excited; all of my hard work had paid off, and now I was finally there. Looking back, I wouldn’t have changed my journey to WBS as it has made me the person I am today.

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