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Nadia Ntow-Aninkora, Cambridge Graduate
Interview Jennifer Engmann
For my undergraduate degree, I did a Bachelor of Arts in international relations and for my Masters I did a Masters of Philosophy in development studies at the University of Cambridge.
The application process was actually quite short. I had to write 2500 characters, which is about 500 words and you have to submit your CV with 2 references. I applied at the end of October and mid-November I received an offer. The process is quite short, but it can take up to 8-weeks of waiting time. For me it was only 2 and a half weeks so I was very grateful for that.
I have been in private school my whole life; so from year 3 to year 13. From 2006 to 2015 I was at the City of London Freeman School in Surrey and then from 2015 to 2017, I was at Epsom College which is also in Surrey. It was a difficult experience because I was one of the only black people in my year group, so it was quite intense.
In terms of barriers in education, I think it’s more about what the institution expects from you. If you were not feeling mentally well and your performance dropped, they may not necessarily pick this up because the fact that you are there, is good enough for them, and you should be grateful that you are there in the first place.
The experience can be very mentally draining, especially where there isn’t anyone to relate to in terms of teachers. That can also affect your studies as well.
I would say the support at Cambridge is very strong; they have a good counselling service. When you sign up, within 4-weeks you are seen by someone.
There are many people and members of staff who are there to support you. So you’ll have an academic tutor, a personal tutor and a member of the MCR, which is a mini student union inside each college.
Every college exists for purely pastoral services so you would always have someone to talk to, then there is the ACS as well. The ACS has its own welfare officer.
If you have a lot of workload and you feel like you can’t handle it especially with the pandemic, then you can write to your personal tutor who will then advocate on your behalf to your academic supervisor and they will work together to give you the appropriate extension, and it has no impact on your overall score.
I would say that there are many tools available in Cambridge that can help you mentally, because it is a very intense environment and they know that.
The changes I think need to be made in education for it to be made more accessible to students, is seeing examples of black people or people of low socio economic backgrounds and seeing how they are doing is very important. When I was applying to Cambridge, I used to watch Courtney Daniella and Ibz Mo. It was really inspiring to see what they were doing.
I think seeing someone who looks like you, makes it feel like you have a realistic chance of being there.
More action is needed from the colleges specifically in their outreach. The colleges there are like autonomous bodies; they are in control of their own thing. More colleges need to work in making Cambridge more accessible and not just some colleges. Some of the richer colleges hide behind the more forward thinking colleges.
I enjoy helping young people get into Cambridge. People often reach out to me on Linkedin. I enjoy helping them with their personal statements also.