APPLYING FOR AN OVERSEAS UNIVERSITY

Ahead of Repton’s online event for parents and pupils aimed at those considering pursuing a university place overseas, we caught up with Ellie Mitchell (G’19) who earned a place at Brown University in Rhode Island – one of America’s eight Ivy League private research universities.

“I first started competitive swimming at nine years old and since then it has been my dream to swim and study in the United States. Studying in the US provides an opportunity to excel in sport at a high level whilst pursuing a prestigious education.

The Scholarship process can be complicated to navigate initially but Repton went above and beyond to support me through the application and help me to achieve my dream. The Admissions Department at Brown were impressed that a recruit was proactively asking questions.

At Repton, every Saturday I spent two hours with my Maths teachers learning topics that would appear in the ACT (admissions test) but were not included in the UK curriculum. Repton’s Economics department were also incredibly committed to helping me earn my place studying Economics and I am very fortunate to have been taught and inspired by such dedicated teachers. I received confirmation that I had secured a place at Brown in the October of my Upper Sixth year. This allowed me to focus on achieving top A Level grades.

Repton School enabled me to successfully find a balance between a rigorous training schedule for competitive swimming and studying for A Levels and the ACT. It has been an enriching experience to study abroad. As well as being part of a world-class seat of learning, I have had the opportunity to visit places such as Boston, New York, Salem and Newport and studying overseas has given me an international circle of friends.

The facilities at Brown are breathtaking. I train in an Olympic sized swimming pool; we have two lifting gyms, hot tubs, ice baths and recovery rooms with each team allocated their own team of physiotherapists. There is also a full-sized indoor athletic track, multiple football and hockey pitches and an ice hockey rink. As well as studying Economics I signed up to 16 additional classes. Brown has a really exciting extra-curricular programme which includes languages, contemporary music and even ice-cream making!"