**Decision: Deferred **
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): (710 CR 800 M 720 W) superscored 2230 (did not send to Yale)
ACT (breakdown): 33 C (34 E 31 M 32 R 36 S); 33 C (33 E 34 M 34 R 30 S); sent both to Yale (35 super)
SAT II: 760 math II, 750 US history
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 / 33
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP World (5), AP Comp Sci. (4), AP Human Geography (4), AP Chem (4), AP English Lang (5), AP Macroeconomics (5), AP Calculus AB (5), AP US History (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: Japanese II, AP US Gov, AP Eng Lit, AP Calc BC, AP Physics 1, P.E.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): regional awards for debate and outstanding delegate at Harvard Model Congress Asia
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Harvard Model Congress Asia [9-12] [Captain 10, 11, 12] [Honorable Mention 1x] [Outstanding Delegate 2x]
Online Model United Nations [Executive Administrative Officer for Korea] – Organize debates online for students who enjoy MUN around the world. I teach parliamentary procedure and moderate debates, which give me excellent experience for a MUN conference later in the year.
Varsity Tennis [Captain 12] [Most Improved 10] [Far East Tennis 9-12] – Not much to show.
Student Council [Class VP 9] [Class President 10] [Class Parliamentarian 11] [Class Secretary 12]
Hiking – I enjoy hiking on weekends.
Minjoo Party of Korea – Worked for a local representative’s office during the 2016 Korean parliamentary elections.
Seosan Law Firm – internship at a law firm that helped me understand the courtroom better and confirmed my initial interests in the law.
DoDEA Pacific Advisory Council – selected to represent over 10,000 students at an education board that includes the director of our school region.
Global Mission Church – Pianist for the praise team; humanitarian projects through the church.
Job/Work Experience: summer translator job online (Korean-english, english-korean)… did not include.
Volunteer/Community service: through church, NHS… also did not really mention.
Summer Activities: some listed above, and if there were a short essay about my summer, I would have written “spent hours perfecting my serve.”
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App – 7/8 : I’m not sure about this essay (which is a really, really bad sign). First thought it was really good, but now it sounds like the essay could fit someone else. I wrote about how my curiosities lead me to do different things, and basically used a story where my curiosity about Robert’s Rules of Order (checking out the book in a library) and the book’s deceptive cover led me to wonder why governments have to have such strict procedure, revealing me to the world of debate.
Why major – 7 : A bit quirky. I said that political science doesn’t include just Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, and as a lover of history, I would be able to study multiple fields related to politics and advance my knowledge.
Why Yale – 8/9 : Talked about the protests about renaming Calhoun College, how President Salovey was extremely patient with students who were exercising their right to freedom of speech, and how I would fit in with these students.
Short Takes – 6/7 : Maybe they nailed me because I listed J. Edgar Hoover as the person I would live as (though he really is… charismatic guy… would love to give politicians the **** that they deserve).
My inspiration: Dylan Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night”
Yale course: Studying Military Brats: Forgotten Americans Living Abroad
Suitemate dynamic: Encourage intellectual discussion about a critical political event.
Short Essays – 7 : Why I really ran for student government. I said I thought people were too focused on mainstream media’s exaggeration of the importance of the Presidential race. I said I wanted to encourage local participation as local government is what really matters.
Wrote my second essay about hiking. Wrote about the patience and endurance that hiking builds, along with the camaraderie I enjoy with friends.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: 9 – APUSH teacher. Great letter. We’re really close, and it showed.
Teacher Rec #2: 6 – AP Chem / AP Physics teacher. I’m not sure about this one… I gave him a guideline about what to write, but I have not read it.
Counselor Rec: 7 – Have not read it; we’re close, but I feel like she uses a template. Not sure.
Additional Rec: Nada
Interview: Nope (the disadvantages of being overseas).
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Poli Sci / Ethics, Politics, Economics.
State (if domestic applicant): Resident of CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public Department of Defense
Ethnicity: Asian (Korean)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 60~70K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): nope.
Reflection
Strengths: GPA, one focused academic activity (debate), tennis (which I actually enjoy), and hiking (I actually enjoy)
Weaknesses: ESSAYS. IDK WHY I THOUGHT THEY WERE GOOD IN THE FIRST PLACE. MUST MAKE THEM UNIQUE TO ME. FIRST THING TO DO THIS WINTER BREAK.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: ESSAYS.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: applying RD to 10 other places now. Applied to UVA early as well as USC (scholarship deadline). UC Irvine, Berkeley, and LA submitted as well.
General Comments : At least I wasn’t rejected!
