My background

My name is Askar, and I was born in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where I spent most of my life. Recently, I moved to Shymkent, where I am studying now in 12th grade at the Nazarbayev Intellectual School (NIS). I am now preparing to move to one of the world's most advanced and dynamic regions—Hong Kong/Shenzhen—to study at one of the best universities in the world!

Why Hong Kong

The entire region, which includes cities like Macau, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Guangzhou, is known as the Greater Bay Area. These highly developed cities, financial hubs, and logistics ports are located in incredible proximity and connectivity (about 30 minutes from each other), making this place incredibly promising. Studying and living here means I will be working and waking up in a city no less influential than New York, London, Tokyo, or Shanghai. We are talking about a high level of globalization, high salaries, offices of global companies, and most interestingly, European heritage (Macau is a former Portuguese colony, and Hong Kong is a British one). My university’s education curriculum has similar features and directly correlates with the education curriculum at Oxford and Cambridge Universities, which are top UK institutions. It is a unique opportunity for me to combine Eastern and Western experiences during my studies. I also considered applying to universities in the USA, Hungary, Turkey, and South Korea.

Why the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)

My university is considered the best in Hong Kong and one of the best in Asia, currently ranking 36th globally (QS ranking), outperforming universities like KAIST, NYU, Northwestern, and even Brown and Dartmouth, which are part of the Ivy League. The university is famous for its British system, numerous Nobel laureate graduates and current professors, and has the most stunning campuses in the region. The university also has a second campus in Shenzhen, which is much newer and larger, and where I will spend most of my time. However, I will also frequently be in Hong Kong, as it is just a 30-minute trip away! I was accepted to universities in the USA, local institutions, and all Hong Kong universities I applied to—all with full scholarships—but I chose CUHK!

Stats

I took IELTS only once and scored 7.5. My current GPA is 4.7 out of 5. In my application, I also included a 1550 SAT score and my local Unified National Testing (UNT) exam predicted score, which I had 138/140 on. Also, all my Cambridge A/AS-level equivalent language exams are graded "A".

Nevertheless, I also believe I was accepted with the help of my achievements:

• IGEM gold medal in Paris, France (the largest event I participated in)

• International Economics Olympiad silver medal

• Harvard Global Case Competition regional winner (1.1% win rate)

Extracurricular activities

I have been involved in many diverse things during my school years, ranging from professional sports as a marathon runner to internships in top IT companies and starting my own projects. Over a long time, I worked in different fields. In the IT sector, I worked as a product manager in startups and was even the CEO of a startup that received high dollar valuations from Amazon. I worked in the business field, holding positions of the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and the Chief Vision Officer (CVO). Additionally, I founded the largest multi-location online project in Kazakhstan focused on freedom of speech and media—people who are reading this article probably know which project I am talking about, but I usually do not publicly disclose that I am the founder and CEO of security reasons. In my final years of school, I engaged in research activities, writing a scientific paper on cybersecurity and obtaining a copyright for it.

Motivation Letter

My motivation letter was centered on the idea that we often think about what is better—the Eastern approach, their technologies, their rules of the game, or the Western one. However, we do not consider that the best solutions to all problems come from a symbiosis, harmony, and combination of two diametrically opposite positions, like technology and art, fire and water, or East and West. Perhaps unexpectedly, I applied to the Global Governance & International Organizations program despite my diverse background in biotechnologies, IT, economics, business, and media. I have always believed that humanity can be multifaceted and does not need to choose to be just an IT specialist, engineer, politician, or writer. We can be everything; we should unite diametric opposites in this world. My unique trait is that I am neither a techie nor a humanitarian. My core school subjects were physics and computer science; my standard subject was geography. I am a project manager in biotechnology and IT. I study sociology and politics, and I write scientific papers on cybersecurity. I use all possibilities existing on earth and reveal myself—that is who I am and what my motivation letter was about. My motivation is that I do not have to choose who I will be—I will be everything at once and everything I want.

Helpful resources

Generally, I would recommend improving your OSINT (open-source intelligence) skills and deduction for finding information on the internet. I probably used hundreds of websites and various resources—it would be difficult to specify them precisely. However, I can highlight one interesting Telegram channel and my Instagram account that will be very useful on your path, and you will be able to ask any question! Do not forget that Google is such a unique tool that it can become your unshakeable weapon at any moment—I personally did not ask anyone for help and tried to do everything myself.

Financial aid

I received a full-ride scholarship based on my academic achievements that covered everything. They pay for my education, flights, food, expenses, and fees, and even provide a stipend on top, allowing me to study in exchange. Meanwhile, US universities covered all my expenses based on my financial need.