Quick Note to Start…

Before I start answering the questions, I think my story isn’t what people would expect. I am not a top-performing student, didn’t have many leadership roles, and didn’t have very good grades. I hope through this interview I can provide more hope to current students applying to universities, to relax and enjoy life rather than listening to their teachers every day. I will also do my best to deliver my experience as it is. 

My Background

I am a Chinese national living in Japan. I attended K. International School Tokyo for five years and participated in both the IGCSE and IBDP programs. Currently, I am attending the University of California, San Diego, majoring in General Biology.

Why the US and UCSD?

I didn’t want to stay in Japan or China, the two countries I’d had previous experience living in. As I am in an international school, studying abroad is the best way to express my differences from other groups of students. Therefore, my focus was the US, mainly because I want to go to a place far from home and experience diversity in cultures and people. All my applications were submitted to US Universities, except for one in Singapore. 

After all my applications had been filled out, I had a choice between Boston University and UCSD. Ultimately, I made my choice on:

1. What kind of people, culture, and experiences would I have outside of the university experience

2. The strength of the university in perspective of my major. I believe life in California will suit me better (I love diving and marine bio) and a stronger community in biology with more labs/industries.

Extracurriculars

I mainly focused on art, sports, and teaching to build up my extracurriculars. In school, I was part of the JV and Varsity volleyball teams, the yearbook team, and part of the media committee. Outside of school, my passion for art took up a majority of my time, with things such as museum visits, awards, and writing papers. From art alone, my CAS hours were over 2000 hours. 

Additionally, Scuba Diving, Free Diving, and Snowboarding are some of the sports I did individually, as well as teaching beginners.  For sports like diving, I would hold pool sessions to train others with professional supervision to allow them to learn the skills necessary to dive. During my actual dives, I would monitor marine environments, and attend sessions such as coral reef conservation, removal of invasive species, etc. As part of the process posters, and videos would be made about ways to raise awareness of environmental concerns.

For snowboarding, I would usually teach a group of Chinese IT workers living in Japan to enhance cultural understanding and have fun with snowboarding. Many of my activities have been done over many years. I also did a 2-week short-term internship over the summer before G12, they were very happy about my performance and gave me a full A rubric to show my universities.

My Stats

My school had an IBDP system, which I used to apply to universities. For my final DP Exams, I had an actual grade of 39/45, and a PG (predicted grade) of 41. I had a Duolingo score of 135, and SAT 1390. As the UC schools are test blind (they do not consider SAT/ACT scores in applications), I did not submit my SAT score.

Common App + Essays

My college essay was about me rescuing a person during one of my diving sessions in which I felt the importance of community and reliance on others as part of my self-growth. To students writing their essays now, pick an outstanding story and connect them to bigger ideas to show self-reflection and enrichment of your own identity.  

Most of my UC applications were done in a rush. I only took 2 days to write 4 essays and put everything together within a week. It worked out fine. Because there were 3-4 schools every month, it was about how quickly I could finish my essays while handling my schoolwork. I certainly recommend others plan better, but things will get easier as you write more and face similar prompts.

Financial Aid + Costs

Applying to the universities cost about 80 USD each, and I applied to around 12 in total. 

As the UC schools are public, scholarships are very rare for international students. Hence, I unfortunately do not have a scholarship. Living in the USA costs around 300 USD per month, although my cost may be lower because I cook for myself.

Uni Life!

For universities, the first 2 years are mainly just for building fundamentals. You just get over the first two years and maximize your time in enriching your CV by attending more clubs, and social, building connections.

In the first 2 weeks, I was a bit nervous about my English and academics, but I realized that my previous school prepared me well. One major difference is that it is a lot harder to make friends. Due to the large class size, professors and classmates will find it difficult to remember you unless you are actively reaching out to them. Outside of normal class, my days are usually filled with information sessions, office hours, and lab tours. Clubs have also been very helpful for finding new friends and people with common interests!