My Personal Background & Academic Goals
Hi, my name is Madina, originally from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, currently living in the United States. I spent most of my life in Uzbekistan, and only recentlyâin the summer of 2024âI moved to the U.S. with my family. Having finished my 10th grade at home, I continued my 11th grade in an American public high school in Washington State. Currently, I am a high school senior, planning to graduate in June 2026.
I think Iâve accomplished a lot throughout high school. Until last summer, I didnât have any plans to apply to Ivy League schools, and was unsure what to pursue as a major. After contemplating the matter, I decided to major in businessâspecifically financeâwith a minor in international studies. As for why I chose UPenn, itâs because itâs ranked #1 for undergraduate business programs. Since networking is essential in business, I believe that attending a business school at a highly regarded institution would help me meet like-minded people and gain access to a broader network of communities. Moreover, I applied to UPenn through QuestBridge National College Match as a U.S. permanent resident. Compared to other programs, Questbridge NCM has very early deadlines. I had to submit my first-stage online application by September 30th and heard back on October 21st that I became a finalist. Then, I had a 10-day deadline to submit all of my supplemental essays and other required materials to UPenn and other colleges I was applying to by November 1st. A month later, on December 1st, I was informed that I had been selected as a National College Match Scholar and accepted to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
In addition, Iâd like to highlight that through QuestBridge National College Match, you can apply for free to the USAâs top colleges and be considered for early admission and a full four-year scholarship. I was the first cohort of students accepted for the Class of 2030 to UPenn. I received a full-ride scholarship of $400,000, meaning my family was expected to contribute zero.
GPA, SAT, and Proficiently Test Stats
At first, since I was attending an American high school where English is the primary language of instruction, I thought I didnât have to take any English proficiency tests. However, some of the colleges I was applying to still required the assessment. After I submitted my application, UPennâs admissions committee contacted my counselor to inform that I needed to take a language proficiency evaluation to confirm my language skills. They suggested taking Duolingo, as it is more flexible and quicker, and provided me with a fee waiver code. My Duolingo score was 140, which met the requirements for UPenn. As for my SAT score, I got 1500: 790 in math and 710 in the English section.
Extracurricular Activities, Community Service & Passion Projects
To begin with, I am the founder of two YouTube channels called âMy World Travelâ and â Food for Mood,â which were created to interpret Uzbek culture and traditions in English, attract tourists, and more through short films and documentaries. For my channels, I shot and edited more than 70 films, and Iâve received over 200,000 views in total. Furthermore, my goal was to promote local female-owned businesses through storytelling and vlogs, and to achieve this, I visited women artisans and helped them promote their work through social media, increasing the number of international customers for these female-led businesses, particularly artisans.
Additionally, I am a co-founder of the HEAL Earth environmental project, where we organized cleanups and planted about 500 paulownia trees to promote local sustainability.
Thirdly,I served as a manager for the âEmpowerHerâ project: a nonprofit organization that provides free language, web development, art, and well-being classes to support girlsâ education. There, I taught several language courses, coordinated 74 volunteers, and helped establish country chapters in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan, with over 500 alumni.
I am a founder of the âBeyond the Horizonâ project. It was founded to address educational inequality in Uzbekistanâs rural communities, inspired by my family roots in rural Samarkand. Growing up hearing my parentsâ experiences and visiting rural schools myself, I became aware of the challenges students face, such as limited resources, a lack of teachers, poor internet access, and harsh learning conditions. Through organizing workshops on international exchange programs, writing, and digital learning tools, I aimed at empowering students to overcome geographic and systemic barriers. âBeyond Horizonâ reflects the mission to help students look past the mountains that surround themâboth literally and figurativelyâand reach for broader educational and personal possibilities. I led a one-week workshop at several rural schools, reached over 165 students, and mentored 10 applicants on their essays for the FLEX Exchange and EducationUSA programs.
To continue, I am a board member and multilingual translator guide for Seattle Tashkent Sister City Association, a nonprofit diplomacy organization. I have led 10 national celebration events, shot a short cultural movie for the Seattle Sister Cities International Film Festival, and was featured in the 50th Anniversary book. My other role is being a program manager, preparing Uzbek immigrant children for stage performances (Uzbek music, poems, language), emceeing the event, playing the flute, and performing traditional dances. Also, I was an English language instructor at the E-book Club, where I taught English to underprivileged children for free.
In addition, I was a co-founder of the Ikathanum Project, an initiative dedicated to showcasing traditional Uzbek atlas and adrÄs textiles while supporting the artisans who create them. Motivated by a desire to preserve and promote cultural heritage, I interviewed Uzbek women artisans about their craft and experiences. I arranged workshops for over 100 participants and, together, we prepared Uzbek traditional dishes and promoted Uzbek crafts. I am part of the Superintendentâs Student Advisory Committee, a leadership group composed of students from all high schools in my district. In this role, we collaborate to discuss challenges affecting students and develop solutions to improve the overall school experience. The committee serves as a representative student body, providing student perspectives and input to district leadership on important decisions.
Last but not least,I was a sales consultant and translator for the CEO of Gulnar Art, a local initiative for creating traditional hand-embroidered accessories. There, I provided marketing support for the founder, who has over 500 employees.
Honors and Awards that shaped my Application
First,I was aRise Challengefinalist for 2023â2024, recognized as one of the top 500 applicants out of 80,000, where I led the Rural Youth Workshop Initiative. Next, I was also aTech Girls finalistfor 2023, 4 finalists were selected from 2,400 applicants that year. In addition, I was aYale Young Global Scholarsfinalist for 2025 with a full-ride scholarship to attend. 1,800 finalists out of 13000 applicants were selected for YYGS 2025. I am also a QuestBridge National College Match scholarâa highly competitive program in which about 2,500 applicants were chosen from more than 30,000. Additionally, my film was showcased at the Seattle Art Museum during the International IKAT exhibition. I was honored with an $800 award. Furthermore, I am a third-place winner at the multidisciplinary Math Olympiad and a first-place Grand Prix winner at the multidisciplinary English Olympiad in Hungary. Lastly, I am a member of the National Honor Society at my high school.
What is my personal statement about?
My personal statement focused on my childhood, highlighting the mischievous and humorous moments that shaped who I am today. Instead of writing about large global issues, I chose to tell a deeply personal story, such as sharing memories like trimming my eyebrow with my dadâs shaving brush, wearing my school uniform to bed to avoid being late, and climbing trees to pick fruit. These moments reflected my undisciplined yet energetic nature as a child.
A turning point came when my mom enrolled me in taekwondo. Confident but unprepared, I believed I could defeat anyone, only to lose to a girl much smaller than me. That experience taught me the importance of discipline and became a catalyst for change.
As I grew older, I began channeling my childhood energy into more focused efforts. I combined that same curiosity and drive with discipline to pursue meaningful goals, including my passion project supporting students in rural communities. In my conclusion, I reflected on this transformation: from a child who stood out for childish mischief to someone now recognized for preserving Uzbek culture and contributing to her community.
My final note to students applying abroad
My ultimate advice to students planning to study abroad is to start earlyânot only with applications but also with extracurricular activities, competitions, and honors. Colleges want to see consistency in your passion, work, and interests.
My second piece of advice is to show yourself from different angles in your essays. For example, I highlighted my care for my siblings, my interest in global issues, Uzbek culture and traditions, as well as my commitment to contributing to my community and empowering minority groups. By presenting these varied aspects of myself, I believe admission officers were able to see values that align with what they look for in a student. This approach allowed me to create a balanced mix of academics and personal qualities in my application.
