A new adventure at Oxford awaits
“I KNEW I wanted to do something in social sciences and humanities, as I am interested in politics and economics,” said Chee Gee Ren.
Chee has been offered to pursue Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at The Queen’s College, University of Oxford.
A Jeffrey Cheah Entrance scholar from the A-Level programme at Sunway College, he achieved 4A*s in the June 2019 sitting of the Cambridge Assessment International Examination for Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Economics and Physics.
The former student from Wesley Methodist School, Kuala Lumpur, was one of a few among his classmates who chose to do his A-Level at Sunway College. Being shy around strangers, he admitted he found the first few weeks intimidating.
“I had to step out of my comfort zone and managed to make new friends from different states and cities,” shared Chee.
“The Sunway campus is a nice study environment, with state-of-the-art facilities and library, friendly and high-quality teachers. There are also a lot of eateries and cafés nearby.”
With an enthusiasm for Maths, Chee spent half of his classes figuring out Maths and Further Maths equations. Although Further Maths was tougher, he is still passionate about it.
The A-Level was enriching yet challenging for Chee as he learnt to enjoy living in the present while searching for answers to his unresolved Maths questions. He appreciates the guidance from his classmates and lecturers throughout his journey at Sunway College.
Outside the classroom, Chee also actively participated in extra-curricular activities. He was a videographer and event writer for Sunway Echo Media, the Sunway Campus’ newsletter run by students. He made some videos and covered various Sunway University and Sunway College events held on campus.
His passion for public speaking was expressed through his involvement in the Sunway Debate Club (Sundec), where he learnt the skills and techniques used in debating, and also how to compose a speech and the delivery.
Having prepared himself to pursue a degree in the field of social sciences and humanities, Chee looks forward to further his studies at Oxford.
“I was even given an assignment before starting classes there. They asked me to read a book and answer an essay question. I do hope my time in Oxford would be a great experience. It is a great opportunity which would enable me to grow intellectually, discover what I want to do for my future and most importantly of course, to have fun,” he said.
When asked why he chose the study the PPE, Chee said, “In the A-Levels, I really enjoyed my economics classes as it was something I have never learned before – it is interesting as it is different from science.”
For Chee, the study of economics means he can know more about economic indicators and a country’s economy.
“For example, if the central bank forecast that unemployment is going to rise, I will know what it means, and that it’s not just a random thing. To me, all this is very interesting, applying the knowledge gained to understand what all these things mean and this is also why I find politics interesting as well.
“In regards to politics, I read a bit on political theory, a lot of news and opinion pieces. For application to any university, one has to write a personal statement. When I wrote mine, I had to touch on all three subjects. Unfortunately, at the time I was not very familiar with philosophy. So, I went and got a book, which is like an introduction to the subject. I read the whole book and actually found myself enjoying a lot of the points and could see myself studying this subject, which is good.”
Chee, who had just started his classes in October this year, received the Jardine Scholarship from the Jardine Matheson Group to pursue the three-year Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) degree programme at The Queen’s College, University of Oxford. The scholarship covers tuition fees and living allowances.
Sunway College has been offering the Cambridge GCE A-Level Programme for over two decades. Over the years, Sunway College A-Level students have been consistently obtaining 100% passes in the Cambridge International Examinations. This year is the 12th time since 2010 that Sunway College students achieved 100% pass.
The Cambridge GCE A-Level is one of six pre-university programmes offered at Sunway College.
■ For further details about the programme, call 03-7491 8622 or email info@sunway.edu. my or log on to https://college.sunway.edu.my/ programmes/pre-u/a-level
Alternatively, drop by the campus on Dec 14 and 15 from 10am to 4pm for the Sunway Education Open Day.