Congratulations to Ryan in Year 13, who has received offers from University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, University of Michigan, Ku Leuven, The University of Edinburgh, Warwick University and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology to study Engineering."Bangkok Prep was generous in giving me the latitude to pursue ambitious projects while trusting I could still excel academically. That freedom, more than anything else, helped confirm that I want to be an engineer. I hold a core belief that everything is solvable. And going to Cambridge feels like loosening the guardrails on what I can apply that belief to."🎓#BangkokPrep #PREParingforLife #AcademicExcellenceWe caught up with Ryan for some Q&A's about his journey to university:What motivated you to make your university and course choices?As a 16-year-old finishing high school, I was looking for two things: universities that were open to younger applicants who were ready to be there, and courses I was honestly passionate about. I'm half-Irish, so the UK was a natural fit, and Cambridge stood out because they were willing to assess younger students on their own merits. I've since been fortunate to receive a deferred offer to read Engineering at Jesus College for 2027 entry.The course choice was actually the easier part. I'm a budding inventor and entrepreneur at heart - I've always loved taking things apart to understand how they work/figuring out how to make them work better, so engineering for me is the most logical next step.What made me choose Cambridge was the General Engineering structure. I don't yet know whether I want to specialise in mechanical, electrical, aerospace, or something else entirely, as all of it fascinates me. Cambridge gives you the first two years to explore many discplines within Engineering before committing, which is exactly theplatformI'm looking for.My goal at university is to narrow this broad fascination into something I truly, deeply love.What subjects did you study in Sixth Form and IGCSE?In Sixth Form I'm taking International A Levels in Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry. This is deliberately STEM focused to prepare me for engineering. Alongside these I completed an EPQ on Japan's Superconducting Maglev, which was probably the most rewarding piece of independent research I've done so far.For IGCSEs I took quite a wide range: Triple Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology), English Literature, Spanish, Maths, English, Computer Science, and Design & Technology (Graphic Products).A few stand out. I sat my Maths IGCSE at 13, which allowed me to take AS-Level Maths during what would normally have been my IGCSE Maths year. I worked through the AS specification in about half a year and came out very happy with the result. Computer Science I sat at 12, because I was already deeply into both consumer and industrial technology and wanted something a bit more formal. Spanish for me was a different kind of challenge. I joined the Year 10 class with no background while my peers had been studying it since Year 3, so I immersed myself over the summers and ended up with one of the top scores in my year.Design and Technology (Graphic Products) was where I really threw myself in - I scored 100% on the coursework. I wrote five to ten times more than anyone else and spent twenty to thirty times more time on it. I learned laser cutting, CAD, 2D design, and (most importantly), iterative prototyping. All of it fed directly into the engineering work I do these days.English Literature really surprised me. I went in expecting to tolerate it, and came out with a real love of reading and writing - I happened to accidentally memorize a book by the end of the course. That's stayed with me.How has your time at Bangkok Prep prepared you for your university studies?Bangkok Prep has been remarkably warm and open about my bespoke learning path, and I'm grateful for it. As a school with serious standards to uphold, they took a real risk in believing in me, letting me work two years ahead of my age group, allowing time off for projects when I needed it, and trusting that I'd still hold my academic side together.The resources here are excellent, and the teachers have an exceptional depth of subject knowledge. I also really enjoyed the fluidity of interaction, meaning, how easily you can talk to teachers, engage with peers, and the extent at which intellectual conversations happen between classes.Can you share a specific example or story where a teacher particularly helped you in your university application process?It's Mr Jake McIntosh, my maths teacher,without hesitation. Utterly exceptional maths teaching, lesson after lesson, and he had a personal drive that was contagious. Seeing how seriously he took his job pushed me to raise my own standards, which compounded into everything else, including the preparation that made Cambridge possible.Which ECA, Community Service or Work Experience activities were you involved in both in school and outside, and how did these experiences influence your university choice or career aspirations?Three things have shaped me most:A. Music. I've been honoured to make music with Mr Jhonas, a professional cellist who plays in the Thai Philharmonic Orchestra. He is the warmest, most energetic, most positive teacher I'veever met, a model of what a teacher can be. We've collaborated on duos, trios, and increasingly ambitious chamber and recording work, both in and out of school. He's also one of the hardest-working people I know: straight from school to orchestra rehearsals, home at midnight, up to bring his kids to school in the morning.B. The Pure Air Project. Over the past two years I've designed, built, and deployed over 60 low-cost HEPA air purifiers, around $30 each, achieving roughly 88% of commercial unit performance, for families in Khlong Toei, Bangkok's largest low-income community. This started independently, outside of school, and has grown into something much bigger: community workshops where residents build their own units, a partnership with the Bangkok Community Help Foundation, and ongoing R&D into mosquito trap integration, passive cooling, and an upcoming summer internship with senior researchers in the U.S. There were stretches, particularly during half-term in February and March, where I worked 8 to 9 hours a day on it for weeks straight. Bangkok Prep was generous in giving me the latitude to do that, knowing I could still hold my academic work together. This project, more than anything else, confirmed that I want to be an engineer.C. Teaching violin in Khlong Toei. Every weekend I teach at the Immanuel Music School, students aged 11 to 17, in quartets, chamber ensembles, and one-on-one lessons. The air purifier project actually started here, because I noticed how often my students were coughing and getting nosebleeds. But beyond that, teaching there grounds me. It's so different from school: you're not chasing a grade or a petty score. You teach because you want to, and they learn because they want to.Are there any awards that you've received while studying at Bangkok Prep that you are particularly proud of?Honestly, I don't put too much weight on awards. But last year's awards ceremony really surprised me. I came away with Top in Year for Chemistry A-Level, Further Maths A-Level, EPQ, and Thai Studies,and the EPQ was 50/50 UMS, which I was later told was the first perfect score in the school's history.I'm proud of those not for the recognition itself, but because last year I was still piecing things together, building my study habits, figuring out how to balance the non-academic side of life (which is just as important), running the air purifier project, teaching, reading. To still come out top in a year group two years above mine, while juggling all of that, meant something to me.Outside school, being named a Davidson Young Scholar and earning Gold in the British Physics Olympiad mean a lot too.What are you most excited about as you transition to university?The expansion of boundaries. Until now, my proactiveness and curiosity have mostly been pointed at things I've found for myself, meaning projects at home, a few things within school. University, especially Cambridge, opens up a vastly different scale: studying with the best professors in the world, learning theory deeply, building things at the Dyson Centre, doing internships, networking with people working at the frontier of the field.I hold a core belief that everything is solvable. And going to Cambridge feels like loosening the guardrails on what I can apply that belief to. The realm of what I can explore is about to get much, much larger, and that's exactly what I'm most excited about.What advice would you give to current students who are about to start the university application process?Two things, and the first is non-negotiable -stay off ChatGPT, Claude, and other AI tools for your applications.They gut the soul of your essays and effectively leave you with a superficial representation of yourself. Don't waste this opportunity to write! And, besides, universities can tell.Second - don't underestimate how long this takes. It's not a one-day job, not a one-week job, not a one-month job. Realistically it's three months of serious work, and the process is genuinely hard, particularly for STEM students who aren't used to writing about themselves at length. You will go through phases of excitement and demotivation, and what matters is that you don't shortcut your way through it.Year 13 isn't actually as demanding as people make it sound, once you've developed a decent learning system (and provided you're also studying effectively when you do study). The time is there, so use it.Forge something painstakingly on your own.Looking back, what would you have done differently during your time at Bangkok Prep to better prepare for university?Two things.First, carry a small notebook and write down ideas as they come. I had some really good ideas for both my UK and US applications in the months leading up to them, and a lot of them simply disappeared because I didn't capture them. Don't trust your memory!Second, deliberately spend time alone, away from screens, before you start writing. When I sat down to think about university, it felt like staring into a black box - too much thinking, my brain operating system crashed. Articulating who I was and what I wanted did not come easily, and I think that's because I hadn't given myself enough quiet time to figure it out beforehand.So, my honest advice, which might sound far-fetched but works: go to a rural area for three to six days. Three is the minimum. No phone, no YouTube, no school timetable. Go camping with family or a friend. Just be in the wild for a bit. Whatever resets in those days will help you with applications, exams, relationships - everything. Bangkok Prep is supportive, but real independence has to be developed away from any system, including school. That's the thing I'd build in earlier if I were doing it again, and the thing I'd most encourage current students to try.
