About Me

I'm Mary Grigoryan, from the village of Nor Artamet in Kotayk region. I'm currently studying and living in Germany at Constructor University (better known as Jacobs University Bremen). I'm in my third year and will be graduating in a few months. I'm studying Computer Science with a minor in Data Science. Before finishing high school, I applied to US universities and was accepted to the University of Minnesota, but I didn't receive much financial aid, so I decided to consider European universities for the following year. I became a member of the EducationUSA Competitive College Club (CCC) in 2021-22 and applied to universities in both America and Europe, but I received more funding in Europe. Then I won the AGBU Scholarship and the Sona Mnatsakanyan FemInno Female Talent Scholarship and came to study in Germany. I chose Germany because technology is advanced there, and the university itself offers many opportunities.

Gap Year

During my gap year, I did a VR internship at American Councils and worked with Girls in Tech Armenia on FemInno.

The Application Process

Besides having an exceptional background, it's essential to have significant accomplishments. For example, I graduated high school with honors. During the application process, I initially considered the US, where prices were very high. I applied to the US, but didn't receive full funding, so I decided to apply to Europe. One of my friends, who is now studying at Brown, suggested that my other friend and I apply to Constructor. So, all three of us applied, all three of us were accepted, I went to Constructor, and they went to Ivy League schools.

Essays

You can apply to Constructor through both the Common App and their own portal. What's in the Common App are the university's requirements. Besides the Personal Statement, when I applied, the university required an essay on "What family traditions do you have that you'd like to bring to Constructor" and there was also an essay for the German Embassy. Many people think that since getting into Constructor isn't that difficult, studying there won't be hard either, but I'd say that the 3-year program is quite intensive and challenging.

Differences Between 3 and 4-Year Programs

I've compared my program with friends who study at the American University of Armenia. For example, we take a full course on Algorithms and Data Structures, while they have separate Algorithms and Data Structures courses, which they take in their 2nd or 3rd year (I learned this in my 1st year). Our first-year program is called Choice, meaning you choose what additional subjects to study, which can later become your minor. You can take as many extra classes as you want besides your main courses. During the year, we complete 60 credits instead of 30. I finished my college year in the 2nd year, and for the 3rd year, I chose additional classes that I wanted to appear on my transcript, such as robotics, electrical engineering, and others. This semester I'm only taking mathematics and will write a thesis at the end.

Also, an interesting thing about Constructor - after the 2nd year, it's mandatory to have an internship, for which you receive credit. I got an internship at Siemens, but it wasn't approved because it required 6 months full-time commitment, and 3 out of those 6 months were during the academic period. So instead, I did a 6-month part-time internship at Constructor Technologies, which is our university director's second organization. There, I worked on an AI program, and my supervisor was a Nobel Prize winner in Physics.

Funding and Scholarship

I received an 80% scholarship from the university.

Grades

I took the SAT, but I didn't send it to Constructor. For English, I took the DET, and my GPA was 4.0/4.0 since I graduated from high school with honors.

Extracurricular Activities and Achievements

1. I have participated in many MUNs, one of which was DiliMUN at UWC Dilijan.

2. In 2022, I won the Perspektywy Women in Tech Summit and went to Poland for 5 days.

3. I am a winner of the Justice Accelerator program organized by the American Councils US Office in 2020, and I won a grant of about 4,000 euros.

4. I taught Web programming classes for 2 months at Girls in Tech Armenia.

5. I organized a summer math camp with Onemarketdata (OMD) and FemInno.

6. I worked on projects at TUMO with students from Harvard and Stanford.

7. I have 2 scientific publications within the framework of the EducationUSA Armenia program's CCC (Competitive College Club).

8. I was a volunteer researcher at Oqni.

9. I completed a VR internship at EducationUSA Armenia.

About the University

Our university has many student-organized events and clubs. Student life is very enjoyable because we live in residential colleges and organize competitions and sports events among ourselves. I'm a peer mentor and represent my college. I was even recognized as the best peer mentor last year. I'm personally quite active in student life. We have a Google Developers Group, where I became a technical lead in my first year, and in my second year, I conducted workshops and CV training sessions. This year, I'm once again a technical lead.

In my first year, I received an invitation from Google, visited their office, and celebrated Women's Day with the employees. Last year, I was selected as an IBM Ambassador from our university. Every year, a few ambassadors are chosen to participate in a round table. I was one of those few last year. The round table was attended by the director of IBM's UK office, officials from the World Bank, and other well-known individuals. The round table is private, and you can ask any question that interests you.

Also, we invited someone from IBM's Hamburg office to our university to teach, and then we organized some great workshops, which resulted in us receiving a grant from IBM's New York office. Subsequently, we received an invitation from IBM Lab Böblingen in Germany, but we couldn't go. Instead, we selected two people from our university who are currently interning there.

Future Plans

I'm graduating in a few months, and my issue is that I don't want to immediately pursue a master's degree because experience is important to me. Right now, my definite plan is to find a job, and if I work for a year and decide to continue my education, then I'll apply for a master's program. As someone who completed their bachelor's degree in Germany, I'll have access to free master's programs throughout the country, and I think I'll eventually take advantage of this opportunity.

Tips

Just be confident in yourself - it's very important to speak confidently about yourself. There's an English saying, "don't be ashamed to sell yourself," which means that if you don't present yourself well, no one else will. You never know who you might meet at any moment in life. For example, I went to a gathering where startups were meeting, and I asked for 1 minute to present my idea without any preparation. Be confident and speak and present yourself with assurance.