"You have no family," my father roughly said to me. Those words echoed inside my head as my mother and I approached our new rented house. I could tell by the paraphernalia in the trunk and the pain on my mother's face that I would not be seeing my father for a long time. Because my dad had to work in South Korea, I only saw him during the vacations until I was in ninth grade. After he retired and...

Why Columbia? I felt the rush of adrenaline as I stood before the meeting place of the UN Security Council. At this place, history was changed with the decision to send peacekeepers to the Congo, to place sanctions on North Korea, and to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons. After traveling across one of America's most vibrant cities to the Upper West Side, Columbia's incredible Beaux-Arts architecture and active student body immediately amazed me. However, I find Columbia's location in New York...

Why Brown? I Am The Free Quark Crying "Equality!" As I lamented the discrimination against leptons with my postmodern snowball poem in English class, I combined language, mathematics, physics, and philosophy into art. With this interdisciplinary endeavor, I channeled my love of various academic fields. With its liberal learning and open curriculum, Brown provides me a unique opportunity to pursue all of my interests beyond a public policy major. Embracing the Diverse Perspective Courses, I'd love to analyze the means...

Why UPenn? “What’s your name?” asked the immigration officer. “Byung Ju Min,” I hesitantly replied. “Could you spell that? I have no idea what you said,” the officer responded. Since Uncle Sam opened the gates of America to me, the “immigrant life” has never been a breeze. The language barrier that my father faced prevented him from getting a job or taking out loans. These challenges left him financially insecure and forced him to remain in South Korea for...

Georgetown SFS - Briefly discuss a current global issue, indicating why you consider it important and what you suggest should be done to deal with it. The international illicit drug trade has harmed the economies of nations, the safety of civilians, and the well­being of the future generation. According to the LA Times, 125 million to 203 million people use marijuana, 14 million to 56 million people use amphetamines, 12 million to 21 million people use opioids, and 14 million to 21 million use cocaine. Illegal drugs...

Georgetown - Indicate any special talents or skills that you possess. Tick... Tick... Slam! Breaking the monotony of the chess clock, the pawn marches menacingly next to my black king as it opens the barrel of the gun for his bishop. Gradually, the neurons begin to hijack my body: in the past, I have found myself in positions similar to this one, and I lost. However, I recall my favorite equation: E=mc2! No longer are my pieces blocks of...

Imagine yourself in a tutorial at Williams. Of anyone in the world, whom would you choose to be the other student in the class, and why? “Fighting for women’s rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that this has to stop,” Emma Watson boldly proclaimed at the UN. I’d attend a tutorial class with Emma Watson. After having enhancing my political knowledge with Extemporaneous Speaking, I�...

UVA - We are looking for passionate students to join our diverse community of scholars, researchers, and artists. Answer this question, which corresponds to the school/program you selected above, in a half page or roughly 250 words. What work of art, music, science, mathematics, or literature has surprised, unsettled, or challenged you, and in what way? After nearly four hours of Jane Eyre, I couldn’t take my eyes off the chef d’oeuvre. Because I could fully understand the...

Beep! Beep! Beep! The sound of the YMCA buzzer pierced my ears as I was finishing my 50-yard freestyle. Although boys and girls usually don't swim together, my swim coach decided to pit us against each other because there were too many swimmers. "One minute ten seconds! Nice job!" he yelled as I scrambled onto the wall. Even though I came in second to last with the girls my age crushing me, I was happy that I shaved off a...

1) Location, location, location. What better place to go to college than in NYC? Columbia provides access to the Met, MoMA, and so many art museums many of which are free. I also wouldn't have been able to intern at MSNBC for one full year without having been in NYC. 2) Core Curriculum - the Core is really great--it gives all students a multidisciplinary approach to whatever field in...

Overall, the interview has very little impact for elite institutions. However, the interview is important to break potential ties for applicants from the same school or to solidify the love for the school you are applying to. In my district, the Harvard interviewer and Yale interviewer were oddly cold...

Excluding perhaps the summer of senior year, I would recommend applicants go to a variety of summer camps where the camps do not necessarily pertain to what one is interested in studying in college. For instance, I went to math camps, political camps, and science camps even though I wanted to major in political science. Because...

I plan to attend Law School or work for the U...

Almost half of the dorms at Columbia are...

I believe the application process depends significantly on the race/geographical location/income of the applicant. If the applicant is not URM, not from a underrepresented state, not low-income like most applicants (and me), I will present what I learned. Your SAT score is critical; it should ideally be above 2350 if you want to score the HYPMS range, while for the lower range Ivies and Columbia, 2300+ is sufficient....