DP Student Receives Conditional Offer from Cambridge | From AIS with L♥ve

Kato is in Grade 12 at AIS and she is on a mission. The self-determined Belgian wants to become a lawyer. Kato shares her plan with us and exciting news from the prestigious University of Cambridge, in her own words.

“I came to AIS at the beginning of Grade 11. My previous school was in the United States in New Jersey. I was actually born in Belgium. I lived here for 12 years before I came to AIS. I like Belgium. I was glad to be back in my home country, just because I know everything here. I also speak the language. I was kind of sad to leave my friends in the United States because I really got used to it there. But I like being back. It’s just something different. 

AIS is different in the sense that it’s a much smaller school and also has the IB Programme, which I was not familiar with. But it’s very similar to an American High School, so I didn’t feel like I had to adapt that much. The style of teaching and also the style of questions and the way people act are, I feel, very similar. But it’s also probably because my previous high school was also very international. I think everyone knows each other because it’s a very small grade. Other than that, I feel like it’s very similar to most schools in that, you know, there are very fun people here and I really like my friends and everyone here. 

I’m going into law. I either want to be a practising lawyer or be a lawyer or legal advisor for a company or organisation. I’m not 100% sure exactly which direction, but something like that. Being a lawyer is always something that I’ve considered doing, but I was only sure I wanted to do it maybe two or three years ago. So it’s always been something that I’ve considered. I think that in my admission letter to AIS, I wrote that I wanted to be a lawyer when I came to AIS. So that was kind of my goal coming into it because I made a decision that that’s what I was going to go for. Also, just looking into universities and then seeing my grades and looking at opportunities I was more certain that that’s what I was going to be able to do. So, I feel like I learned more about myself and my skills at this school than I did before.

I think the IB Programme is my style of teaching because I know it’s very different for example in Belgian school where the emphasis is knowing and memorizing information, which is something that I don’t like. It’s beneficial, but it’s not beneficial to the same extent that skills are, because you’re going to forget the information that you learn, but I think IB is very skill-based and very skill-centered which is what I like and what I’m good at – which is why I think I’m good at the IB Diploma. There are skills that are going to stick with me like essay writing and making arguments, skills I’m going to be able to use in my future career. 

I applied to Cambridge thinking, ‘I might as well try to see what happens’. Then I got an offer letter in January. I was really excited about it and I was happy about it because it’s definitely a university that I would want to go to. So, I think I will accept the offer and I’m going to see if I’m able to meet the offer, which is a challenge. I can’t say with certainty that I’m going to be able to meet those high grades. I know I have the potential to do so, but I’m not 100% confident. So if I do meet the offer, I will be happy to go there. But, if not, then I’m going to go to a different university which is also good. I’ll still go into the same career and I’ll be happy regardless. I have to get a 42 out of 45 overall. You get your grades on the 6th of July and they will also be sent to Cambridge. Then, if you meet the offer, you are 100% certain to get in. If you don’t, depending on how narrowly you miss, you’ll know by the end of August if they’ll consider it. 

I’m also considering University College, London. I haven’t heard back from them yet, because they got a lot of applications this year so they’re taking longer to process their replies to people. Then in the Netherlands as well, I’m looking at Tilburg University for Global Law, or a university in Belgium because I speak Dutch. I wouldn’t mind going to KU Leuven for example. I’m really up in the air as to what I am going to do. I haven’t decided yet really, but I’d say my first choice is Cambridge. My second choice is UCL and then I’ll just see what happens. 

After college, I think I’m going to stay in Europe. It doesn’t necessarily have to be Belgium. I’d like to stay in Europe because especially when you’re starting your career, it’s just a lot more friendly to you as you’re just starting your career than the United States is. I’m open to moving there later in life, but I definitely think that starting out I would stay in Europe and see what opportunities there are here, which I’m sure there are because Europe also has a lot of governmental and inter-governmental organisations. 

I want to be a lawyer because I feel like the skills that are needed to be a lawyer and also the things that you do in everyday life are the things I like doing now. Like creating arguments, also creating a viewpoint interpreting evidence – those are things I’m very good at. Those are the skills that in my classes today I really like doing. I think if you look at my skills and my interests they harmonize better with Law than any other subject. I think that’s the job that I will honestly like the most because they’ll really play into my skills and I will be successful at it.

In History, you have to make a lot of arguments. For example, during my IA. I’m investigating whether Abraham Lincoln was a true abolitionist or whether it was just a political motivation behind abolishing slavery. So then you really have to interpret evidence and primary sources and come to a conclusion and defend your conclusion because there are many interpretations possible. In an argument like that, while it’s not legal in any regard, it is very similar and requires the same skills I feel you’ll need as a lawyer. I really like doing that. I really enjoy going to a class like that and to make those arguments which is why I want to do that later in life as well. 

I am very excited to graduate just because, especially Grade 12, I feel has been very stressful with all the university applications and grades you need to get. Especially the final grades which everything depends on basically. It’s a lot of pressure and a lot of stress especially because I feel like a lot of people expect you to get very high grades, which is extra pressure for me. So, I’ll be very happy when all of that is over. I know when university starts it’s going to be a new sort of pressure and a whole new chapter with more stress as well, but it’s going to calm down for a few months before university starts and you really get to enjoy your life and the friends that you have from AIS. You’ll just get to look back on what you’ve done without constantly having to look out to the future.”