Woes of education. What really makes a successful student?

Why does it have to be the elitist schools for students from favourable socioeconomic backgrounds who dominate the top prospects and universities?

Education systems should be built upon meritocracy rather than capitalism. In this story I explore the habits and conventions that allow the top schools to be successful and how less fortunate students can implement these strategies in order to propel themselves into the positions they want.

Some statistics for you:

• 7% of students in the UK attend private schools but make up 42% of successful Oxbridge applicants
• Pupils from eight schools filled 1310 Oxbridge places over three years, compared with 1220 from 2900 other schools

One of the main factors that contributes to the success of private and top performing schools is the networking structure they have in place. Applicants are in contact with past students that have been successful in the process and seek advice and ‘insider information’ from them in order to give them a competitive advantage. If you are a student from a school where such an existing network does not exist, use online resources such as YouTube videos where students talk about the admissions tests and their interview experiences to gain an insight into the process. Furthermore, speak to your teachers and ask them if they have any contact information on the alumni of your school that went on to the top universities and courses. Something I did was ask my teachers about what was different/what they observed from top performing students that they did not see in other ‘average’ students. Consider doing this and begin to slowly implement these qualities and practices into your life and approach to learning.

Another key skill that students at the top schools gain is referred to as ‘sharpening the saw’. This refers to the complementary attributes that successful students need to develop alongside the knowledge and content of their respective courses. An analogy often used in the academic world is the focus on exam technique. For example, most Oxbridge courses, at the time of writing have written admissions tests which are usually multiple choice and have an intense time constraint where students have to be able to understand and attack a large number of questions efficiently in order to perform well. In order to develop this skill, follow a simple system like this when practicing:

• 100 questions to answer
• 90 minutes to answer them therefore 54 seconds n average to answer a question
• 54 x 0.8 = 43.2 seconds should be your goal in order to ensure that any hiccups in the actual exam do not effect your ability to answer all the questions.

In addition to this, students are given professional help in attempting multiple choice questions. There are strategies that can be learnt to increase the effectivity and time management when in the exam. ‘The E word: Kaplan’s Guide to Passing Exams’ is a great guide to planning the exam preparation and better your approach to the exams.

The recurring theme I found when researching top performing students however was independence. This was almost exclusively what all of my teachers responded with when I asked them about what they observed about past Oxbridge students. One teacher went as far as to say that one of the students they had did not come into class to learn, rather just to consolidate what they had already learnt at home. This leads to the quote: ‘never let school get in the way of your education’. This could not be a truer axiom. Thus, I reach one conclusion, no matter which school you go to or what socioeconomic background you belong, there are always things you can implement in order to reach the standards you wish to achieve.

Successful student = (independence x consistency) + support. If you increase your independent work and consistency, it can reduce the amount of support required to increase your grades and university prospects. Therefore, you do not necessarily need to be in a school with an excellent teaching standard or professional help to excel although it definitely helps. In this equation, the most difficult factor to change is the support and therefore it is the ‘constant’ that may be determined by the school you attend or your background/situation. Therefore, more time and focus should be allocated to the other two factors which are under your control.

I myself have used the tactics I have talked above. These habits allowed me to go from being on the verge of expulsion and being in the bottom 5 students in my year to being in the top 5 in the matter of 18 months. This is not to brag, but rather to contextualise how these techniques really can help anyone no matter how struggling to reach their goals in the sphere of academics.