Mayoora from Dubai, UAE, switched from traditional schools to online education at CGA due to the instability caused by frequent teacher changes over the COVID-19 pandemic. This move proved successful, leading to her acceptance at five prestigious universities across the UK and two in the Netherlands. Her story highlights how online schooling, and quality teaching supported her academic achievements towards a career in psychology.

Initial Scepticism to Online Schooling

Mayoora’s dad saw potential for her at CGA before they had even made the decision. While she was reluctant at first, her dad saw online school as the ‘future of education’ and knew there would be good opportunities for her. After studying at four different brick-and-mortar schools the family decided they needed something different.

With the onset of COVID-19, Mayoora and her family noticed a lot of instability within the traditional school system, especially in terms of teachers who kept coming and going, leaving the students feeling distressed. “I felt that that continuity was missing because each time a new teacher stepped in, you have to completely get used to their style of teaching.”

At CGA, our teachers are not based on proximity of location, ensuring that we have access to the best teachers all over the world - a key advantage that is often missing within physical schools. “They had to keep finding new teachers quickly to replace the ones that were lost. I felt like the quality of teachers was also decreasing. The teachers didn't have as much experience as I would have wanted them to, ideally, especially at this stage of my education. So that's why I decided to go to CGA.” After hearing from a friend that teacher turnover at CGA was almost ‘none’ it was the right time to make the move. 

What drew Mayoora to CGA in comparison to other online schools was the wholesome inclusive experience. Not only was she wanting to study an international curriculum, taking the A Level subjects Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Psychology, she felt that CGA had more to offer within the social environment and online community, particularly with all the extracurricular activities that are available.

CGA: Fifth Times The Charm

When asked how she feels CGA compares to her previous four schooling experiences, Mayoora notes that the teachers offer a unique expertise and passion towards their subjects. “I'm the type of person who asks a lot of questions in class and is always participating actively. I can tell if the teacher is not that interested or involved because of that, since I'm always asking questions. I definitely see that with the teachers at CGA. They are all very eager to have everyone be involved in the classroom, and that is definitely helpful.”

“In terms of academics and getting to university, I would say that the quality of teaching and academics in general is much higher at CGA than what I've seen in your average physical school, at least in this region.” For students looking to balance their personal passions with schooling, Mayoora sheds some light on what that looks like from her classmates at CGA. “There was somebody in drama, acting and a lot of people who do professional sports who don't have time for full-time school. I think the flexibility of CGA is good for those kinds of students… it’s a great option for them.”

With that said, we asked Mayoora the tough question, is online schooling for everyone? “It depends on how much effort you’re willing to put in,” she says. As with traditional schooling, online schools have teachers who guide you and make sure you are on top of your tasks, but Mayoora notes that learning online means that students are held more accountable for their own learning and need to be willing to step up to that kind of independence. “You definitely have to take charge of your own learning with CGA.”

Making Friends, Online

When it came to making the transition to online schooling in the social aspect, Mayoora wasn't afraid to admit “it was not very easy”. However, she goes on to say that it took her the same time to get comfortable with the other students as it did in a physical school environment. “At CGA, everybody in class is reachable, whether it's through Slack or email, and then you can get their socials. It wasn't so hard to make contact with people. There are lots of clubs, and I was in a couple of them, so it was nice.”

“I don't know if it's just me, but people at CGA are so nice,” says Mayoora as she tells us about the global connections she's made since studying with us. She has a close friend from CGA she meets often in the UAE, and others in Japan, India, Russia and Italy, who all share similar goals to study at top universities around the world.

Passion for Psychology

Mayoora knew she wanted to study psychology as it was part of her everyday life, crediting herself as the “therapist in my friend group.” Although she has many other interests including music and her recent obsession with crochet, she aims to give back to other people and saw psychology as her opportunity to do so, providing her with a rewarding experience in return. “I think I just noticed that I had a bit of a natural inclination towards it, and thought it would be a subject where I can give back and can actually help people.”

She makes mention of one of her CGA Psychology teachers, Miss Jay, who inspired her in her studies with engaging and interesting lessons. “Ms Jay is a really wonderful teacher. She makes lessons interesting and engaging, and she involves everyone.” Miss Jay also played an active role in Mayoora’s university applications, ensuring she got all the support she needed to make the right decisions. “Because I was applying for psychology, she was really involved and supported me with everything from writing my personal statement to actually choosing which university was right for me. She was definitely the best person to go to for advice for me.”

For an inside look at CGA's psychology class with Ms Jay read our latest blog below.

The Big University Decision

Mayoora was accepted into all seven university programs she applied to, including King's, Manchester, York, Sheffield, Southampton, University of Amsterdam and Leiden. “Just a couple of days ago, I accepted my offer from the University of Amsterdam.”

She tells us how it was incredibly hard for her to make a choice as she applied to only the universities she really wanted to go to, which made it difficult when she was faced with the surprise of gaining acceptance to all of them. “I didn't want to apply to any university that I knew I wouldn't go to. So all the universities that I applied to, I looked at the course, I looked at the ranking, I looked at the student feedback, I looked at the student outcomes... They were all good in different ways… There was no university that was my top choice or my bottom choice.” She attests that choosing was one of the most difficult decisions she has ever had to make, and ultimately went with her gut feeling and is extremely happy.

Mayoora will study a Bachelor in Psychology and credits her acceptance to seven top universities to the help of CGA’s teachers and university counsellors. “In my previous school, I didn't have somebody whose entire job was to actually help with the university counselling… It’s definitely a lot of value if you go to CGA because you have great quality teaching, but the university counselling also comes with it.” 

Her advice to other students when choosing which university to attend? “Go with student feedback…especially if you're moving to a new country, you want to feel welcome and comfortable in that space. So I think looking at student feedback is really important because no matter how well-run the university is, I felt that if I saw that the student feedback was mediocre, I wouldn’t feel as comfortable going there. But that's just my opinion.”