My background

Hey! My name is Aruzhan, and I am from Astana, Kazakhstan. I graduated from School-Gymnasium #91, a public school, in 2024. Since then, I took a gap year to focus on applying to universities abroad and pursuing my personal and academic goals.

Why Hong Kong and what other countries I considered

Interested in education, pedagogy, and policy studies, I have chosen to apply to different universities in the US, Hungary, and Hong Kong. I ultimately chose Hong Kong because it offers both a rigorous education and the opportunity to be part of a truly international community.

Why Lingnan University

In addition to Lingnan University, I was accepted to the Education University of Hong Kong, Barry University in the US with a Presidential scholarship and was nominated for the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship to study at a Hungarian higher education institution. However, Lingnan stood out to me for its liberal arts approach, strong emphasis on service learning, and commitment to social responsibility. I was also impressed by its small class sizes, internship/exchange opportunities, and strong student support, which made it feel like a place where I could thrive personally and academically. Moreover, Lingnan awarded me a full-ride scholarship, covering my tuition, accommodation, and other academic/daily expenses. In the 2023 THE Impact Rankings, Lingnan University was ranked 2nd globally for “Quality Education.”

Stats

My GPA was 4.94 out of 5. I took IELTS once at the beginning of my 11th grade, getting an overall score of 7.0 (Listening 7.5, Reading 7.0, Writing 7.0, Speaking 6.5). I applied to universities as a test-optional candidate, without submitting SAT or UNT (Unified National Test in Kazakhstan). For Lingnan University, Kazakhstani applicants are required to submit either the Certificate of Secondary Education, UNT, or SAT results. I chose to apply with my Certificate of Secondary Education.

I believe that my strong academic performance at school, extracurricular activities, and clear sense of purpose compensated for the lack of standardized test scores.

Extracurricular Activities

In the summer before 10th grade, I started the Winner charity project to provide free foreign language education to children from low-income families. Since 2022, around 800 language learners from 9 countries have been engaged as tutors and students. We also collaborated with American Corner, Borderless, My Extra, and Bayitu organizations on a 2-week marathon for 400 people who are interested in English learning, admission abroad, and project creation. A year later, after Winner was launched, it got national recognition from two news media in Kazakhstan.

During my gap year, I was accepted to the STEMulate summer program and authored an 11-page research paper on the effectiveness of Kazakhstan's education system in promoting student creativity. It was published in the International Journal for Multidisciplinary Research. Along with writing this research paper, I qualified for a highly selective (4%) internship at Nazarbayev University and assisted in research on craft businesses in Uzbekistan. Over the course of my assistantship there, I also worked alongside PhD students on a book about entrepreneurship in Kazakhstan, which is named “Tamyr Reflections: 33 Narratives of Heritage and Entrepreneurship in Qazaqstan.”

One of the activities I loved the most was Janaiqai, a 50-page comic book against child abuse and harassment. With this project we raised awareness about the problem of child abuse not only in Kazakhstan but also in other Central Asian countries. We have covered 8 real-life anonymous stories in a comics format, partnered with psychologists, and fundraised money, sending it to the local community fund against violence in Kazakhstan. 7 articles from the largest national and international media were published about the Janaiqai comic book and our team.

In high school, I also did several internships in US- and London-based educational startups, started independent media on educational issues and inequality in Kazakh schools, opened math and business clubs in and outside of school, and got selected as a youth delegate to the leadership summits in New York and Malaysia.

Motivation Letter

I started my motivational letter to Lingnan University with the personal story that sparked my deep interest in education and student creativity development. Applying to the Social and Public Policy Studies major, I highlighted specific courses, professors, and research opportunities at the university that align with my academic goals. I tried to clearly state the reasons for my interest in these offerings through my past experiences in research, project development, and community service.

Application process

I applied to Lingnan University through the early admission cycle and submitted my application in November. In December, I got an invitation to the program interview, and in January, to the scholarship interview. Two weeks later, I received an unconditional offer along with a full scholarship from the university.

As for the application process as a whole, I began preparing in the summer before 10h grade out of 11, which was a bit late—but I managed to make the most of the time I had.