My background

I was born and raised in Tashkent, though my parents are originally from Sirdarya and Jizzakh. I went to three different schools throughout my education. My first school was a typical neighborhood school where barely anyone cared about academics. Then, I moved to a specialized mathematics school, but even there, only two or three people in each class were truly focused on studying. Finally, I was admitted to the Tashkent Presidential School, one of the most prestigious and competitive schools in my country, and that’s where everything changed. The students were serious, the academic environment was strong, and the competition was healthy. I majored in Computer Science and minored in Mathematics, and as I am starting my junior year, I want to take some advanced courses like Computer Vision, Algorithmic Problem-Solving, Predictive Analytics, and Causal Inference.

Why study abroad

My family has always supported me. My dad studied abroad, and my mom knew English, so they made me start learning English in the second grade. They supported all my interests and gave me freedom to explore, whether it was intellectual games or sports. That freedom made a big difference in my journey. I knew I wanted to study abroad because I felt there were no good university options in Uzbekistan. I wanted a strong education, global opportunities, and access to world-class knowledge. Studying abroad was the only way to reach those goals truly. Once I got into the Presidential School, my plan became clear: I was going to apply internationally.

Why New York University in Abu Dhabi?

Initially, I didn’t plan to apply to the United States. I was looking for universities in places that felt culturally closer to home. That’s why I focused on the Middle East, specifically the UAE and Qatar. In the end, NYU Abu Dhabi stood out to me as the perfect option. It offered an American-style liberal arts education, but in a Muslim country, which made me feel more comfortable. The diversity of the student body, the opportunity to take classes across different disciplines, and the promise of strong financial aid made it an ideal match. Looking back, I sometimes think I should’ve also applied to U.S. schools, but I have no regrets about where I ended up.

Stats

I took the SAT in 10th grade(in the 11-year system) and got a 1510 superscore. My IELTS score was 7.5, and my predicted A-level results were three A*s. These numbers helped strengthen my application, but I never felt like they told the full story of who I was.

Extracurricular activities

The most important extracurricular activity has been Zakovat, an intellectual quiz game in Uzbekistan. I’ve loved intellectual games since I was a kid. I used to watch Russian versions of Jeopardy and quiz shows like “Что? Где? Когда?”, the russian version of Zakovat. In eighth grade, one of my teachers noticed how well I answered questions in class and invited me to join the school’s Zakovat team. We started competing in a few tournaments, and things really took off in 10th and 11th grade when the government began funding the game more seriously. That year, we won three national championships, along with several city and state-level ones. After that, I started a Zakovat club at school.

Aside from Zakovat, I also founded a radio club and participated in some volunteer work.

Essays

For my college essay, I wrote about the importance of being a team player. I talked about how I’ve always tried to prioritize group success over individual recognition. I tied that idea to my experience in football, especially my admiration for Kevin De Bruyne, as well as to Zakovat and my leadership at school. The essay came together quickly. After a couple of months of thinking about it, I wrote the first draft in a single 3-hour session.

Application timeline

Because I took the SAT earlier than my peers, in Grade 10, I was able to focus entirely on my application by the time 11th grade started. I began brainstorming essay topics during the fall and wrote my personal statement fairly quickly. The rest of the application, including the Common App activities section and supplements, didn’t take long. I submitted everything by mid-December, without too much stress.

University Life

My first week at NYUAD was packed with orientation activities. I met a lot of people during that time, but I’d say most of those early connections didn’t last long. The adaptation process was tough at first because I had to learn how to manage my own time and live independently, which was a big shift. But over time, I adjusted and found my rhythm. Making friends wasn’t easy at first. I had to keep trying until I found the right group of people, the ones I genuinely vibed with. But in a university like NYUAD, people are very open and outgoing, so once you put yourself out there, it’s not that hard. Right now, I feel like I’ve found a healthy balance between academics and life. In freshman year, I overloaded on difficult classes and burned out. Since then, I’ve learned to pace myself. Outside of academics, I’ve stayed pretty active. I started with football, then got into dragon boating, and later MMA and jiu-jitsu. The university offers tons of options for extracurriculars, and you can even create your own club. Therefore, we created our own Zakovat club at NYUAD.

Helpful Resources

The main resource that helped me was College Essay Guy. His materials on writing personal statements and supplements were incredibly useful. Besides that, I used free online resources: Telegram channels, Reddit threads, and YouTube videos. Compared to a few years ago, there are so many more tools available now. Anyone applying today should take advantage of all the free help out there.

Financial aid

I received a full scholarship that covers tuition, housing, meals, flights, books, supplies, and even provides a stipend every semester. As for the application process itself, I didn’t pay anything in university fees since I used a Common App fee waiver. I did spend around $500 total on standardized testing and prep: about $300 for three SAT attempts, $200 for the IELTS exam, and another $200 for a few months of SAT prep.