LEMBAH BERINGIN: A year ago, Tengku Muhammad Aiman from Selangor says studying abroad felt like “a very far goal.” Dominic Benjamin from Sabah puts it more bluntly: before joining Kolej Yayasan UEM (KYUEM), he says he “never thought of – or even dreamt of – studying abroad.”
Today, both are part of KYUEM’s Class of 2026, a cohort of graduates received conditional offers in some of the most competitive universities in the world. Aiman is headed to Imperial College London to study civil engineering. Dominic is off to the University of California, Berkeley, for a double degree in chemistry and economics.
They are not alone. Lim Ethan from Malacca and Tan Kae Sern from Kuala Lumpur are both bound for the University of Cambridge – Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, and Computer Science, respectively. Muhammad Ridhwan Fahim Jasli from Rawang is headed to St Anne’s College, Oxford. Rishika Suntharam from Negeri Sembilan secured a place at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Tan Wen Bin from Johor Bahru is going to the University of Pennsylvania, and Chow Yu (Zoe) from Ipoh, a Shell scholar, will read Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology at Jesus College, Cambridge.
“None of them thought it was possible”
What stands out across their stories is not just where they’re going, but how far that felt from where they started. For students arriving from daily schools and small towns across Malaysia, the idea of an Oxbridge or Ivy League offer was, for some, not even on the radar.
Aiman credits the environment at KYUEM for closing that gap. “Being surrounded by so many brilliant students – it made that dream more possible, more attainable,” he said.
Much of that, students say, comes down to scale. With only around 20 to 25 students in each class, Aiman said teachers were able to give the attention students needed to thrive. “You form close bonds – and that creates a long-lasting friendship that picks you up whenever you fall,” he said.
For Dominic, it came down to something simpler. “KY makes you feel like it’s home away from home,” he said.
Support, on demand
Several graduates pointed to the responsiveness of KYUEM’s teaching staff and University Relations (UR) department as central to navigating the demands of competitive university applications.
“You can basically just WhatsApp your teachers a question and they reply within an hour,” said Zoe. “And the University Relations department – whenever we needed anything, we could get it in such a short time.”
Tan Wen Bin had a similar experience. “The UR counsellors are very patient and approachable. They guide you on how to better prepare for the university application process,” he said.
What they’ll actually remember
For all the talk of offers and rankings, several students were clear that the grades were not what stayed with them.
“I had university applications, SAT exams, interviews, leadership roles – all at once,” said Rishika. “But the moments I remember were not the grades, not the university offers. It was the time I spent with my friends.”
Tan Wen Bin offered similar advice to students coming after him: “Be humble. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. And grow together with your friends.”
For each graduate, the moment the offer finally arrived was one they describe in vivid detail.
Ethan recalled finding out on a Friday night at a restaurant. “I jumped out from the table – I was screaming. The whole restaurant was staring at me. But I didn’t care. I was overjoyed,” he said.
For Rishika, the email arrived early in the morning. “I saw a bunch of beavers across my screen. And the message: congratulations. I started crying. Mum started crying as well,” she said, referring to Caltech’s beaver mascot.
Aiman, meanwhile, was overseas when his offer came through. “When I got the offer, I was in Madinah. That sense of joy – it can’t really be described,” he said.
Believe in yourself
Asked what advice they would give to students walking a similar path, the graduates kept returning to one idea: self-belief, more than ability, was what carried them through.
“Believing in your abilities is more important than the abilities themselves,” said Fahim.
Tan Zhan Yang from Kedah, a Petronas scholar headed to the University of Southampton, echoed the sentiment. “Try everything. Don’t be scared of people judging you. Just be brave,” he said.
Aiman summed it up simply: “Just trust in yourself. And believe.”
Zoe, reflecting on her two years at the college, offered what may be its clearest pitch yet. “KYUEM is the launchpad to top universities. It’s a perfect platform to learn, to grow – and to dream high,” she said.
As KYUEM’s Class of 2026 prepares to scatter across continents – to Oxford, Cambridge, Caltech, Imperial, UPenn and UC Berkeley among them – their stories point to something the college has long staked its reputation on: that the distance between a small Malaysian town and the world’s best universities is shorter than it looks, given the right environment, the right people, and a little belief.
