President's Scholar and undergraduate student Caitlin is excited to pursue her passion for Medicine and make the most of her time at Imperial.

The thing that I’m enjoying most about Imperial is the freedom which it gives me to explore my interests both academically and personally. The College provides extensive opportunities to further your knowledge both within the course and through the support of medical societies which put on conferences and teaching days. This includes inviting external professors who are able to widen our interest in particular areas of the course. As well as this the university gives us our own time to explore interests outside of the course, such as providing us with Wednesday afternoons to engage in sport and other extracurricular activities.

I am particularly enjoying our Patients Communities and Healthcare module. This allows us to meet patients in their homes as well as the GP clinic to gain a better understanding of healthcare from a patient’s point of view. This has been of particular interest to me because as well as teaching us the fundamentals of being able to talk to patients effectively, it has provided extensive opportunities to contextualise other areas of the course, which are more science based, aiding in the learning of those areas as well.

Once I finish my degree, I will go into my 2 foundation training years as a doctor to fully qualify. Beyond this I am not certain on which aspect of the medical profession I would like to pursue. However, I am very excited about all the opportunities which this degree will give me in the future.

When deciding which universities to study at, something that worried both me and my parents was the financial prospect of living and studying in London for 6 years. Accommodation and travel are particularly expensive, and it wasn’t certain whether studying at Imperial was something that I would be able to do. The generosity of donors and the university for awarding me with this scholarship made a real difference to my ability to live in London, exemplifying the real difference that it makes to students lives. The awarding of the President's Scholarship was critical in my decision to make Imperial my first-choice university.

I would like to thank Imperial for accepting me as a student, the financial worries of living in London are real for a lot of people, and it would have been less likely that I would have taken up this opportunity if it weren’t for your generosity.

The effect of the award wasn’t only financial, it showed that the university was placing faith in me. Knowing that someone else is confident enough in our abilities to grant us this award is incredibly powerful and has been a massive confidence boost for me personally.

I would like to say thank you for allowing not only me but countless other students the chance to study at Imperial, an opportunity which is life changing to so many.