South Africa Students states reasons why she rejects US Scholarship offer, opts to study in her country
Aphiwe Hlatshwayo, a talented South African teenager, declined a scholarship opportunity to study in the United States.
The girl earned six distinctions in her matriculation exams at Reddford House The Hills in Pretoria. She was given the option of continuing her education in the USA, but she decided to attend a higher education institution in South Africa.
Aphiwe, who is also the head girl at her school, chose to attend the University of Cape Town in South Africa to study medicine instead.
The greatest graduating student claims that after spending a lot of time participating in extracurricular activities, she noticed a decline in her first and second-term grades and knew she needed to make a change.
The gifted student claimed that a significant portion of her time was devoted to planning school events, representing the school in contests, and helping the students.
When someone comes to me for help, I will avail myself in that moment, pushing everything of mine aside to help the next person until I no longer have time left for me,” she said.
Her various commitments, along with procrastination and inadequate study time, caused her grades to decline.
She then had to think on herself and realign her priorities. As a result, Hlatshwayo earned six distinctions and placed in the top 5% of applicants for the Independent Examinations Board across the country for many courses.
Following her outstanding achievement, Seattle University in the US awarded Hlatshwayo admission to study anatomy for four years and medicine for an additional four years as part of its postgraduate program.
However, she turned it down on the advice of her mentor, who cautioned her against traveling to the US because she would have to wait an additional four years to finish her four-year medical degree.
Hlatshwayo said: “I understood where she (mentor) was coming from because you can get the same education here for six years (instead of eight), which works because I will be here (in South Africa) around my family so that I can have my support structure with me. So, it is kind of a blessing in disguise.”
Her main obstacle is money, she said, adding that she is set on studying in South Africa. She expressed concern that the US’s different educational structure and lack of support would prevent her from excelling there, even though she understood that she would be missing out on a huge opportunity.
She said: “I may be losing more quality education, but I am gaining more support here in South Africa.”
Hlatshwayo added that the caliber of education she received at the private institution prepared her for further study at UCT. If given the chance again, she claimed she would only accept it for the postgraduate program.
