About Me and My Background

I’m Anna from Klin, a small town near Moscow in the Moscow province. During my last school years, I studied at a lyceum with a bio-chem major.

Since childhood, I have always wanted to study abroad because I have traveled enough when it didn’t cost a lot. So I always wanted to continue my studies abroad to see another life and communicate with other nationalities and different people.

I've wanted to study abroad for as long as I can remember. However, around 8th grade, I started actively preparing—working on projects, researching the application process.

I’m currently taking a gap year and studying in an international foundation program at Jiangsu University in Mainland China. My program includes a lot of Chinese language classes, as well as math and physics, all taught in Chinese. I’m in the science-engineering stream.

Stats and Exams

• 5/5 GPA

• 6.5 IELTS

• SAT Optional

• 75 Unified State Examination for the Russian Language

• 80 Unified State Examination for Maths

• 80 Unified State Examination for Biology

My IELTS is not that good, even though I have taken it two times. First, I got 6.0, then 6.5 (all 6.5, and reading 7.0).

Honors and Awards

Honors and awards listed in the Honors section of university applications:

1. K.A. Timiryazev Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences School Olympiad - Biology

   • All-Russian

   • Winner - Biology, Prize winner - Chemistry

2. Case-championship in economics and entrepreneurship in Higher School of Economics

   • Regional, All-Russian

   • Regional absolute winner, National finalist

3. "Emotional Code" – an adaptation program for visually impaired people

   • Regional

   • Received training on the peculiarities of interaction with visually impaired people

4. iGEM Summer Camp 2023 Nazarbayev University

   • International

   • Best Project Award

5. Municipal competition of project and research works "Science Day-2023"

   • City-/District-wide

   • Winner with project "Real world applications, problems and ideas of using AI"

Activities

Extracurricular

1. Research about Artificial Intelligence in Russian education

   • Analyzed, researched Al in education (applications and problems), presented on 3 forums, proposed Al solutions for Russian schools;

2. Founder, Chief Marketing Officer, Programmer in BIRD

   • BIRD (Be Immediate in Reaching Dreams) Conducted self-development workshops, launched Bot with sharing thoughts mode, led a team of 35+ people from 5+ countries, promoted mental Health for 5K+;

3. Volunteer, leader

   • Volunteer in "Emotional Code", Lyceum No10, Youth Initiatives League, BIRD;

   • Amassed 300+ hours of volunteering, investigated infrastructure for blind, assigned tasks for volunteers, participate in 30+ school and municipal events;

4. Founder, Idea Initiator, PantoL app

   • Developed an app using Al for sign language gestures translation into text, partnered with 4 charities, involved 150+ app testers, published in press;

5. Team leader, translator in "ClimateScience"

   • ClimateScience - non-profit organization created easy-to-understand climate education for everyone Led Russian translation team, handled 80+ tasks/week, translated/modif.web-site, articles, courses, books (Eng to Rus);

Work Experience

1. 100points - online-school

   • student mentor in mathematics

2. Lyceum №10 named after D.I.Mendeleev

   • secretary typist

The most significant impact activities: PANTOL and BIRD.

My mission in applying in the second year was to build a healthier future for people both mentally and physically.

So these two projects are about that. PantoL is the app that translates sign language and makes it easier for people with hearing problems to live fuller. With these projects, we won a bunch of projects (regional stage of HSE case-championship in entrepreneurship and economics; quarter-finalists in tech ovation girls; SberZ finalist business acceleration; we gained mentorship from the best people in spheres of economics, entrepreneurship, and so on; we signed a bunch of contracts with charitable organizations; we were published in press).

BIRD is a project that helps people gain knowledge about psychology and self-development. I made a team of 30+ volunteers, we worked on 7 platforms, posted podcasts, did webinars, and more than 5k subscribers worked on 3 languages.

University Applications

Universities I Applied

First Year:

• NYUSH – I love the campus, vibe, and majors. Accepted with a $52K scholarship per year.

• Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University – Good major, strong iGEM team. Accepted with a 30% scholarship.

• CMUQ – Applied for fun. Rejected.

• DKU – Applied because of the scholarship (they didn’t even have a suitable major for me). Rejected.

This Year:

• HKUST – My vibe!! A really nerdy university (just like me), an amazing campus by the sea, and Hong Kong—lots of opportunities, places to work, and I can work while studying. They also have a club that’s really “mine”—they do projects for the healthcare industry. A top-tier university in my field—engineering. Accepted with a full tuition scholarship + Beyond Academic Scholarship (50K HKD).

  

• CUHK – Great major (biotech, entrepreneurship, and healthcare management), located in Hong Kong. Accepted with no scholarship.

  

• PolyU – Just applied to apply. Accepted with a 30% scholarship for the first year.

  

• CMUQ – Again, for fun. Rejected.

Differences Between Applications (1st year & 2nd year)

My first application was pretty much the same in terms of honors and extracurriculars—I only changed the topic of my essay.

In the first year, I wrote about my unique future—how I work with numbers every single time I see them. But the essay wasn’t really about my ideal goal or anything like that.

NYUSH – Hopefully, I’m not committed because of money. Why hopefully? Because I found my uni.

For my second application, I completely rewrote my essay, emphasizing my experiences, my objectives, how they connect, and my ambitions for my university studies.

Sharing my essays

For BAAS

My talent lies in building an efficient team to help others live healthier.

PantoL is a volunteer project aimed at helping people with hearing problems. It was created to integrate into hospitals and help people contact doctors to get the necessary medical help in time, it has developed into something more—a sign language interpreter app. BIRD is a volunteering project, popularizing psychology and self-development and providing psychological support by "talking out."

Both of these projects stem from my passion for making the world healthier; thanks to PantoL and BIRD, it can be done physically and mentally. By combining my leadership skills with my dedication to volunteering, I'm able to help people on multiple levels.

The BIRD team started out with 4 people, but as the project grew, I noticed that we needed to expand the team in order to successfully realize all of our goals and reach a larger audience. I conducted a successful team selection from 200+ applications, analyzing their experience and motivation to participate in our project, choosing people with the most similar vision of the project and the world. That's how we reached 5,000+ users of the BIRD on 7 platforms, 3 languages and a team of 30+ people.

In PantoL, I also selected people and was a leader. I was looking for energized people who believed in the idea as much as I did and were willing to work for the good of the people. That's how I found my beautiful team of 3 people. As soon as we started the project, I was already looking for opportunities to find funding for the project, to talk to experienced people and to introduce PantoL to a larger number of people. So, we participated in mentorship, won the regional stage of the All-Russian Case-Championship in Economics and Entrepreneurship from the HSE (Higher School of Economics). Also, with PantoL, we were trained with mentors at SberZ business accelerator and presented and defended our project in front of investors and entrepreneurs. Then I found projects and we signed 3 agreements with charitable foundations to popularize PantoL.

I received a certificate for working with blind people from the All-Russian volunteer project "Emotional Code," aimed at creating an accessible environment for the blind. That helped me to volunteer and communicate with more people with some disabilities to see their opinions.

I'm confident that I'm an ideal candidate for the BAAS because I bring relevant experience, motivation, and a clear, global goal. I'm proactive and have a track record of initiating projects, building teams, and solving real-world problems. My knowledge and mentorship from top universities and corporations in Russia have further shaped my ideas.

At HKUST, I plan to continue developing my projects on a global scale. I hope to integrate PantoL and BIRD into university, supporting individuals with visual or mental challenges and collaborating with city institutions to create inclusive environments. After completing my studies, I aim to transform both myself and the world through innovative solutions for people's health and well-being.

for HKUST

I want to study Biological Engineering with an Extended Major in Artificial Intelligence at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology because I believe that combining these areas can make a huge difference in healthcare worldwide and build a healthier future for people.

Throughout my middle school years, I really hated biology as a subject. In 9th grade, I attended a biological-chemical camp, and everything changed. Passionate about camp, I wrote a research paper on extracting DNA at home. Two years later, at the same camp, I was no longer a student but a teacher. My love of biology continued in high school. I studied in the biological-chemical major with advanced lessons in biology, math, and chemistry to further pursue my degree in these fields.

I really enjoy doing research projects and participating in competitions that can be used in real life to help people, which is something I can actively engage in at HKUST. I learned about the iGEM competition and was selected for the summer camp of iGEM at Nazarbayev University, where we studied immunotherapy and how it could be improved. Our team, after a week of hard work, was awarded "The best project". I am passionate about learning and solving the world's problems. My project—Panto L—combines my interdisciplinary love for solving global health problems and artificial intelligence. This startup taught me a lot: leadership skills, programming and public speaking while pitching the project to entrepreneurs in business accelerators and All-Russian championships.

In 11th grade, I became the winner in biology and a prizewinner in chemistry at the All-Russian Olympiad from Timiryazev University, which allowed me to be accepted there, but I chose a different path and am trying hard to get into HKUST to pursue my goals in career and to make a big difference in healthcare through technology and science. So, I decided to continue my studies in China, where I can learn even more discipline and strong study skills from the Chinese. I am studying in an International Foundation Program at Jiangsu University. I came here to determine whether I want to pursue higher education in China and to live in this beautiful and interesting country. I think I do well in this program because I have a strong background from high school—I graduated with honors and a "gold medal" for excellence.

I really enjoy the rigorous preparation, but at Jiangsu University I greatly miss international community, which will allow me to learn about problems, solutions, and ideas from people across the globe, which could help me study these issues in detail and devise solutions. Moreover, studying in Hong Kong will help immerse me in internships to obtain professional experience and for further progress in my career path.

My path has been one of constant learning and growth. Unfortunately, without a scholarship, I would not be able to afford the tuition fees at HKUST. The scholarship would not only provide crucial financial support but also offer recognition of my potential, enabling me to fully dedicate myself to my studies. I hope to continue my studies at HKUST, where I can learn, exchange experiences, and develop to change myself for the world and change the world for people, using biological engineering, AI, and entrepreneurship.

My Gap Year

I studied abroad for my GAP year, and I chose China to experience Asia because I had never been there before. I didn’t choose Europe because I already have a clear idea of what living there would be like. But I had no idea about life in Asia—its people, culture—so I came here to see if it was a good fit for me.

This decision really shaped my ideal university and country.

I really enjoyed China as a country, but there were some disadvantages, like the language barrier (even though I know Chinese pretty well), the need to use a VPN, many international platforms being banned, and the inability to work as an international student.

That’s why I researched Hong Kong and found it to be the best fit for me.

Difference Between Hong Kong and US Applications

The main difference with Hong Kong universities compared to the others I applied to is the number of automatic scholarships available for good academic results—really good scholarships, actually (For example,, if you score 43/45 on the IB, you get full tuition, and with a perfect 45/45, you get full tuition plus 60K HKD. This applies to AP, HKDSE, and other worldwide programs as well)

For HKUST, I could only submit 5 honors and 5 activities, but for other Hong Kong universities, this number varies. As for essays, there’s no common personal statement for all universities—just a motivation letter for each one, plus additional essays for extra scholarships (for HKUST, it was for the BAAS program; for PolyU, the STARS program).

The deadlines are pretty similar. For early decision, it was around October, and my results were released between December and January. Regular deadlines were in December or January, as usual.

Why HKUST?

As I mentioned:

• Club SIGHT – Student Innovations for Global Health Technology—I haven’t seen similar clubs at other universities that do exactly what I was doing and what I plan to do.

• Amazing campus – Sea + mountains = perfect.

• Incredible people – The people I’ve connected with have been so supportive! They always check in on me, message me, and genuinely help. It already feels like family.

• Top university – Ranked 47th in QS, and one of the best in engineering.

• Diverse student body – Lots of international students.

Scholarship

I received:

1. Full tuition scholarship for all academic years—renewable if I maintain a 3.0+ GPA (Merit-based).

2. Beyond Academic Awards Scholarship – Given to me because of my activities and honors. It’s a one-time 50K HKD grant. I applied for it after submitting my main application.

For BAAS, I had to write an essay and provide a brief description of three activities and honors, focusing on specific results.

My Major at HKUST

At HKUST, I’m definitely planning to major in Bioengineering. For my second major, I’m considering AI or another engineering field—I’d really love to try something like Aerospace Engineering. I might also minor in Economics/Business, but we’ll see! It all depends on my availability, but Bioengineering is for sure.

Plans During Studies and After Graduation

• Be a part of the SIGHT Club, invent something, and win the iGEM competition.

• Gain work experience—I really love Hong Kong, especially HKUST, because they actively help students find internships and jobs! HKUST is one of the best universities in terms of employability.

• Happily live in Hong Kong!!

After my bachelor’s, I’m currently planning to do a master’s—not sure where yet, it will depend. But if I get a good job offer, I might work for a while first.

Advice to Other Applicants Abroad or HKUST

Know why you’re applying, what you’re doing, and what your future plans are.

I think my first application year wasn’t great because I didn’t fully understand what I wanted to do, what I had already done, and why I did it. So, first, you need to define your goals, and then clearly show those goals to the admissions committee. That’s the key to success.

Only apply if you truly believe you can study and thrive there. Show that through your academics, recommendations, honors, and activities.

And most importantly, find your own reason for why HKUST (or another uni) is the right place for you.