韩同学's Journey

I'm a student-athlete who spent most of high school in training and competitions, with maths grades genuinely at the bottom of my class. When I decided to study abroad, my coach and teachers thought applying for a maths-related programme was pure fantasy. But I refused to accept that — if I could train my way to provincial team level in sport, I could train my way up in maths too.

My 3.6 diagnostic was truly awful. But Dr. Chen was actually optimistic: 'Athletes have one enormous advantage — you understand what deliberate daily practice means.' That struck straight to my core.

I took the summer boot camp plus foundation course combination. I treated the three-week camp as a 'maths training camp' — just like physical training, up at 6am for morning quiz problems, lectures in the morning, practice in the afternoon, Q&A in the evening. Ms. Wang gave me extra attention because my fundamentals were so weak, often providing private supplementary sessions during evening Q&A.

After camp my mock reached 5.2, then foundation brought me to 5.8. In the final two months, a few 1-on-1 sessions with David targeted my calculus and sequences weaknesses. My 6.6 might not seem impressive to high achievers, but for a student-athlete it was the best proof that anything can be improved through training. When my Manchester Maths & Finance offer arrived, my coach posted on social media: 'A champion on and off the field.'