If you follow me on Twitter, you may remember the minor emotional outburst I had two weeks ago when I got into my dream university. You may also have noticed the ensuing radio silence on this blog as I dealt with the armloads of paperwork and advance academic work that that had demanded, and for a little while, Puck Reads had to be put on hold — but I’m back now and all the better for it!
Anyway, in that brief hiatus I thought a bit about the direction I want to take this blog, and realized three things: one, that books are only one facet of who I am and what I like; two, that there are plenty more things that I could share with the world; and three, that one of those things is pretty unique and could possibly help a lot of people.
I neglected to go into detail the first time I announced my uni acceptance on Twitter but now I’m excited to share the specifics: I’ll be attending the University of Oxford to do an undergraduate Masters Degree in Biology — for FREE! (That means that at the end of my four years, I will receive an MBiol in Biology instead of a Bachelor’s Degree.)
A question that I expect a lot of people to ask — particularly rising high school juniors and seniors — is how in the name of Merlin’s baggy Y fronts I managed to do that as a third-world Asian who can’t afford a new laptop, much less an Oxford education. (At least I’m hoping you’ll ask, as that’s what the rest of this post hinges on, really.)
Three years ago, I was pretty much in that same position, scrounging the internet for resources and generally obsessing over a dream that everyone around me thought was impossible — I think I would have very much appreciated some answers to that question myself. With that said, I’d like to introduce a new section of this blog dedicated to my academic journey: Puck Reads Biology!
In case of confusion for any non-UK nationals —
read /rēd/
verb.
1. to look at and comprehend the meaning of (written or printed matter) by mentally interpreting the characters or symbols of which it is composed.
2. to study (an academic subject) at a university.
(Please humor me as I am very proud of having thought this one up.)
In this part of my blog, I’m hoping to address some questions that any Oxford-/other similarly ranked university-hopefuls may have about the application process, qualifications, scholarships and financial aid, study advice, and the like. I’m also planning to just talk about my experience and share some of the interesting things I learn at university with you guys.
Of course, I fully intend to keep the fiction books side of Puck Reads alive under the name Puck Reads Fiction. Fair warning, though: as I get deeper into my academic work I might update it less — hopefully that doesn’t turn you off.
Also, just a disclaimer: I’m not doing this to brag or show off. I really want to give back to my community, and I think this is a good way to do it!
And please, if you know anyone who might be interested in Puck Reads Biology, send this their way! Let’s reach as many (broke) international students as we can. And if y’all have any questions, please let me know down below or on Twitter!
Ttfn —
— Puck
Puck Reads 