Congratulations to Sydny Lum, who is one of three Malaysian students who have been offered a place in Harvard College for the undergraduate class of 2027, where she is planning to major in Economics. With Harvard College receiving a total of 56,937 applications this year, she is one of the 3.41% of applicants accepted which is an outstanding achievement and well deserved for this brilliant student. And it is not just Harvard College knocking on her door, as she has also received an offer from University of Pennsylvania – make a total of two Ivy League Universities offers.
From the outset, it was clear that Sydny had a passion for Economics. She won Gold in the Kijang Economics Competition 2022, was a Grand Finalist of the LSEUMC Economic and Leadership Forum Competition 2022, and was a National Champion of the Global Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge 2022. Her love of economics was also evident at GIS through her chosen Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) on “What are the implications of Bitcoin for developing countries?” – which was an exploration into the potential of Bitcoin in comparison to the current financial systems in place, with a particular focus on the benefits it could have for the world’s poorest people. On top of these achievements she is also a Research Executive for the Association of Malaysian Economics Undergraduates (AMEU). What an outstanding resume at such a young age.
Sydny is also a debate champion, with accolades, such as, National Champion and 2nd Best Speaker – Malaysian World Schools Debate Competition 2022 and Grand Finalist of Asia – World Schools Debating League Asia 2022 (organised by Harvard College Debating Union and Learning Leaders), to mention a few.
Joining GIS as part of our GIS Scholarship programme, Sydny said, “One of the things that definitely impacted my US application journey were the people I met in GIS: the diversity of perspectives, talents and ideas in both the student and teaching body allowed me a new avenue to explore and develop my passions.” Sydny is really excited about the prospects for her future. “Going into a constantly changing field like economics means that I will be able to explore my passions in multiple different contexts, from investment banking and sustainability governance to working on public policy to improve social welfare.”
We wish Sydny all the best for her next steps in her learning journey beyond GIS and we look forward to hearing more about her ongoing achievement in the future.