A TEENAGER who had the chance to study at a top United States university is hoping her time abroad will help her studies at home.

Fiona Muir, aged 17, of Cliffe Road, Appleton, saved money from babysitting for three years to fund a dream trip to take part in an eight-week summer school at Harvard University, in Massachusetts.

She discovered the course when she was aged 15 and started saving after securing a place.

Fiona, a pupil at Withington Girls’ School, in Manchester, wanted to get a taste of the course to help her decide what direction she wanted to take at university.

As part of her work, she calculated the probability of life in outer space and studied calculus.

She said: “I did astro physics as well as maths. I just wanted to go to Harvard for the experience.

“I was one of two girls from England among 1,500 people. I shared a flat with seven other girls and was the only one who spoke English as a first language.”

She said the only thing she didn’t like while in student digs was sharing a bathroom with so many people.

Fiona, who is studying A level physics, maths and German, said calculus was the hardest area of maths she has ever studied.

Her favourite part of her time at Harvard was meeting people from different cultures and working on a project about alien life.

She concluded from her research that there probably is not anybody out there — but she hopes that there is.

She said: “I loved Harvard. It really does look like the picture postcards, with people sitting under trees.

“But I don’t think I would like to study for a degree there because the courses last four or five years.

“I missed Harvard when I got back home but it was good to be back. I would like to go again though”

Fiona said her school friends are probably tired of hearing about the visit but said the summer school made her realise that she definitely wants to study physics at university.