M'sian Gets Accepted To Cambridge, Edinburgh & UCL But Struggles To Get Local Scholarship
She applied for a scholarship from four organisations and institutions, including the Public Service Department (JPA).
By Aqasha Nur’aiman — 16 Feb 2023, 06:03 PM — Updated over 1 year ago
A Malaysian student, Choong Li Xian, recently revealed on Twitter that she had been accepted to several prestigious international universities
In her tweet, Choong stated that she was stunned to have been offered a place at the University of Cambridge, University College London (UCL), and the University of Edinburgh.
The first-year Universiti Malaya (UM) student went on to say that she is not a student from a wealthy family and that she only attended public schools.
Choong also mentioned that she completed her Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) with a 4.0 cumulative grade point average (CGPA).
Despite her outstanding academic performance, Choong could not secure a scholarship with the Public Service Department (JPA).
"I'm happy to announce [that] I've been offered a place at Cambridge, UCL, and Edinburgh. I've already applied for scholarships and asked from JPA, but so far no luck.
"Please help this anak Malaysia make Malaysia proud!" she wrote.
Speaking with SAYS, Choong said that she not only applied for a scholarship with JPA, but also with three other local firms
"I am currently applying for a scholarship from three local firms including, Kuok Foundation, Maybank Foundation, and Pinjaman Boleh Ubah Institusi Luar Negara Menteri Besar Selangor," she said.
Choong went on to say that she is currently looking for other corporate scholarships to help fund her studies abroad.
She also expressed her desire to study political science, as she is currently pursuing a degree in the subject at UM.
"I am aware that I cannot take the risk and only apply to three firms, especially as my degree of choice is not a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degree," she added.
When asked why she wants to study at those universities, Choong stated that she wants to show Malaysians that STPM students can also study abroad
Choong said that she went through a spreadsheet containing all of the Cambridge 2023 offer holders and discovered that she is the only student on the list who did not attend a private school or university.
"I want to prove that STPM students are just as capable as students of other programmes despite common rhetoric," she added.
Aside from proving herself, she applied to study at the three universities because she believed it would be easier to find a company that would fund her studies if she attended those institutes.
However, she has learned from her experience that it is difficult to obtain a corporate scholarship, even with her incredible achievements.
