Ridwan grew up in a South Asian family in London, where he attended Chelsea Academy. On A level results day, Ridwan has secured a place at King’s College London to study Dentistry, getting an incredible three A*s! He is on the path to become “the kind of dentist that can help as many people as possible.”
Three years on The Access Project
Ridwan joined The Access Project at the start of Year 11. “I decided to join because I needed a lot of help with English. I was getting 8 or 9 in most subjects, and a steady 4 in English, so it was easy to identify that difference. The Access Project helped me get from a grade 4 to a grade 7 in English by the end of that year.”
Ridwan’s English tutor helped him think more creatively. “My English tutor taught me to think outside the box, which is very useful in that subject. I didn’t have a lot of imagination at the time. I had to step outside of my comfort zone.”
“My second tutor was for Chemistry and he helped me a lot, too. He moulded my passion for chemistry, which is now my favourite subject. He was very good in teaching me the different concepts of chemistry, and he also drew in some fun facts about chemistry which made learning more interesting.”
“The mentor I had at the start of Year 13 carried my personal statement.”
Ridwan takes part in The Access Project’s Medicine and Dentistry Society, which supports students who are applying for more challenging subjects at selective universities. “The Medicine and Dentistry Society introduced me to UCAT, which is the admissions test for Medicine and Dentistry courses. Before that I had no idea what UCAT was or how to study for it. I had to book my test on the day of the event!”
Ridwan also worked with his in-school mentors to submit highly competitive applications to his choice universities. “Both my mentors were very helpful during the application process. The mentor I had at the start of Year 13 carried my personal statement. She helped me develop my thoughts and sound a lot more professional. That’s what made my personal statement stand out from others.”
“After I wrote my statement, that mentor left The Access Project. But I got a new mentor, who had applied for Medicine while in sixth form, and then did medical interviews and got offers. It was a blessing that he came in at that perfect time. He offered mock interviews and he was always open to helping me, and I did multiple mock interviews for all four of my real interviews.”
“I want to remove any stigma towards dentistry as a whole.”
Ridwan has wanted to study Dentistry since Year 10. “At the end of Year 10 I did work experience in finance and I did not enjoy it at all. Then I did some research and discovered more about Dentistry. I did work experience at a dental clinic and I saw the skills required to be a dentist, which overlapped with my skills.”
With support from The Access Project, Ridwan has been working hard to achieve the grades he needs to study at his firm choice, King’s College London. “I had my eyes on King’s since I started researching Dentistry. There are a couple of top universities with very highly ranked Dentistry courses, so I went with King’s because it felt the most right for me.”
Ridwan tells us that he aspires to be able to educate a lot of people on how to prevent oral diseases. “I don’t want to be very specialised. I want to become the kind of dentist that can help as many people as possible. People of South Asian heritage tend to be very negligent of oral health. I want to remove any stigma towards dentistry as a whole.”