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I am planning on majoring in Marketing and Communications.
Objective:
ACT: 33 (34E 33M 31R 34S, 10 Essay)
ACT: 34 (superscore)
SAT II: 740 Physics, 800 Math 2, 800 Korean
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: Unweighted - 3.89 / Weighted - 4.74 (strong upward trend)
Rank: Nope — Although I know I am top 9% of my class because of UC ELC.
AP/IB:
(Taken)
AP Human Geo: 3
AP Physics 1: 2 (Not sending)
AP World: 5
AP US: 4
AP Calc BC: 4
AP Calc AB (subscore): 4
AP Physics C Mech: 4
AP Lit: 3
I’m in our school’s business magnet program so I took classes like international business, marketing, entrepreneurship, finance/accounting, IB business management already.
Senior Year Course Load: AP Comp A, AP Gov, AP Lang, AP Econ, Capstone H, AP Stats, Debate H
Number of other ED applicants in your school: One other i think
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): Naw
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.):
- 2 time qualifier to the Tournament of Champions in PF debate
- Superior Distinction by the NSDA
- AP Scholar w Distinction (2018) AP Scholar (2017)
- Double-Octo Finalist at Stanford Invitational
- Octo-finalist at Arizona State Invitational
- 3rd Speaker at UNLV Invitational
- AP World History Student of the Year
- Speech and Debate Department Award
Some other minor awards here and there
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description):
- Co-captain of Speech and Debate (9-12): Ranked T50th in the nation and T20 in CA. Coordinate weekly after-school lessons to prepare middle school and novice debaters; lead meetings
- President of Student Engagement Association (9-12): Worked with Professor from MIT Sloan to integrate interactive cross-cultural communication activities to unite the student body. This was mainly to help international and domestic students understand their cultural differences.
- Editor in Chief of School Newspaper (9-12): School newspaper; oversee student-run journalism outputs; meet with section editors for growth; manage annual agenda/meetings; organize recruitment
- Founder/President of LaunchX (11-12) Recruited 30+ students; design & implement curriculum; Planning school’s first ever pitch competition in front of teachers, professionals, parents and students in February.
- School Ambassador (9-12)
- Varsity Basketball (9)/Golf (10-12)
- Student Reporter for a local Newspaper agency (9-12)
- Yale Young Global Scholar Alumni Ambassador (10-12)
- National Honors Society member (11-12)
Job/Work Experience:
- Basketball Coach/Mentor for Autistic Youth
- Conduct research & coordinate activities to facilitate improvement of dexterity & mental-emotional development. Earned $500+, purchased gear for youth.
- Civic Engagement Fellow for OCA-GLA
- Worked to increase youth civic engagement and advance socio-economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans by facilitating 4 on-campus voter registration drives and educational seminars.
- Middle School Debate Coach
- Successfully coached students to late elimination rounds at various local tournaments and 1st the 32nd Stanford Invitational in JV.
Volunteer/Community Service:
- Chief Financial Officer of NEP (non-profit organization): Coordinate, execute fundraisers ($14,000+ total); establish partnerships with local entities; Founder/President of School Club; create/manage organization’s website.
Project #1
- Founded a project to break the social stigma surrounding mental health.
- Coordinated a community two talent show to spread awareness about mental health; Worked with 80+ students from 7 - schools across the region to raise $11,000+; Donated proceeds to local organizations to support teens suffering from mental health issues.
Project #2 - Lead a project to enhance students’ bilingual experiences by creating mobile libraries across multicultural communities.
Worked to establish partnerships with the Korean Institute of Southern California, local churches and Diamond Bar Library to gather over 1,000 Korean Novels; spearheaded a rent-and-return system for the youth attending the Korean-English language school every 3 weeks.
Project #3 - Currently working on developing another sub-project to end the cycle of poverty and homelessness in Orange County. Conducted research analyzing the causes of increased homelessness and potential solutions; established partnerships with local shelters and job training centers to hold a resume training session for the homeless.
[I don’t want to mention its specific names b/c others might who I am]
Volunteer Awards
President’s Volunteer Service Gold Award
Certificate of Recognition by Korean American President Chamber of Commerce
Certificate of Recognition from the City Mayor
Summer Experience:
- Yale Young Global Scholars 2017 Sustainable Development and Social Entrepreneurship Session
- MIT LaunchX 2018
Teacher Recommendation #1: (10/10) —> English Teacher, very close over the last four years.
Teacher Recommendation #2: (9/10) —> Marketing Teacher, advisor for LaunchX, she has seen me grow tremendously over the last 4 years.
Counselor Rec (8/10) —> haven’t heard much about his ability to write letters so I don’t know. I had a great relationship with him.
Additional Rec (10/10) —> Non-profit advisor. Harvard College/Harvard Med School Grad currently doing residency at Duke. Worked with her over the last 4 years and she’s really seen be develop into a leader who understands the purpose of the non-profit and its mission.
Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):
Why Penn: (9/10): Talked about my experience with my non-profit and how that made me want to pursue social impact marketing. I was really specific mentioning programs and opportunities at Penn.
CommonApp Essay: (9/10): Talked about my experience living in South Korea and how the culture demanded everyone to conform. However, I always difference since the moment I born, from being diagnosed with brain hemorrhage to being the only person wearing red shorts out of a thousand students. Those “differences” were not accepted in Korea but it was celebrated and cherished when I went to a small charter school when I first came here in the 7th grade. I learned how to cherish other people’s differences and create that type of collaborative, supportive environment for others. It was funny and unique to myself.
Interview (9/10): It was great. I had a phone interview with a real-estate finance guy from New York. I was able to talk to him about how Penn has always had a special place in my first because it was the first American College I’ve ever heard of when my friend’s brother got accepted to Huntsman. I also visited Penn and took Wharton classes during the school year. I shared what I saw in class, some of the contents of the lessons, especially for finance and real estate. Overall, it was awesome. about 55 mins.
Other:
Date Submitted App: 10/30/18
Applied for Financial Aid?: no
U.S. State/Territory or Country: California —> I am born in South Korea.
School Type: Small Private School with about 140 kids in class.
Ethnicity: Korean (International)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: 300k+ I think
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athletes, development): RIP No
Reflection
Strengths: Extracurricular, Recommendations, Essays
Weaknesses: Grades/Scores lack of post AP Calc BC math courses relative to my peers
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: N/A
What would you have done differently?: Took math and sciences more seriously. Wish I visited Penn during the school year a bit earlier so I was able to write it in my essay. Better grades and Scores I guess.
Other Factors: This year was by far the hardest time of my life. A tragic event took place recently and I think my recommenders included that in their letters.