Background & Pathway to NIS

Hi, my name is Aizhan, from Shymkent, in the southern part of Kazakhstan.I studied at Nazarbayev Intellectual School (NIS) in Shymkent. During my childhood, I had never considered studying abroad until I enrolled in a top school, where many students were accepted to top overseas universities. There, I realized I also wanted to try my luck and began applying to universities in Hong Kong, Qatar, and Italy. Then, I received offers from universities in Hong Kong, but they did not offer full financial aid.

Among all American universities in Education City, I focused my application on Northwestern University, which specializes in majors like journalism and communication and has minor studies in six fields. The main reasons I chose Qatar as my preferred study destination are its top ranking as the safest country, the shared religion with my home country, and the presence of the world’s top 30 universities.

Extracurricular Activities & Stats

In high school,I participated in numerous volunteering activities, such as ecology-related initiatives, which helped maintain the ecological health of our city. Additionally, I have experience volunteering at Model United Nations (MUN), where I assisted in organizing the event. I also completed an internship at Nobel Explorers, led a passion project in which I organized a speaking club for children to learn English fluently, and conducted a research project for Global Perspectives, a subject in our school. I maintain my own YouTube channel where I share visuals and highlight beautiful moments. Furthermore, I served as a marketing specialist at an education platform, where I created and posted stories for their Instagram account.

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My Application Path to NU-Q

In my Common App essay, I wrote about how I applied to NIS. First, I applied when I was in sixth grade, but unfortunately, I was not selected. Then, I started preparing for the entrance exams with my tutors. At that time, I had many pensive and pessimistic thoughts; however, fortunately, another NIS was opened in Turkestan, a city two hours away from my home. I was admitted to NIS there and later transferred to the NIS branch in Shymkent. In my essay, I demonstrated how failure shaped my persistence and perspective and combined it with my passion and goals.

To write my essays, I watched many College Guys videos on YouTube and sought feedback from my mentors. NU-Q requires one mandatory essay asking “Why Us?” and another supplemental essay. The points I highlighted were my passion for filming and my YouTube activities, where I upload my precious moments and rewatch them constantly to recall the feelings I experienced at the time. Due to their communication program centered on cinematography, directing, and editing, I stated that I want to choose communication because I have a deep interest and lasting experience in filmmaking. During my studies, I would like to select classes like screenwriting to improve my writing skills and advance my video editing abilities. Overall, I described and encompassed every detail that aligns with NU-Q courses so that they know I am truly interested in the university.

The supplemental essay asked a question like: “Painting ‘The Rock’ is a tradition at Northwestern that invites all forms of expression—students promote campus events or extracurricular groups, support social or activist causes, show their Wildcat spirit (what we call ‘Purple Pride’), celebrate their culture, and more. What would you paint on The Rock, and why?” I wrote about a white canvas. Because I was a new student, I compared myself to a blank canvas that would be filled with beautiful colors, knowledge, and amazing memories.

To attend NU-Q, I received financial aid from the Qatar Foundation, which covers my tuition and housing, amounting to 95% aid. Regarding NU-Q admission policies, I don’t have a specific answer for why they accepted me because, compared to my peers, I had pretty average statistics. Nevertheless, I believe that creativity and critical thinking matter more to them than numbers.

My Student Life, Networking & Career

The first year, you can go undeclared, and starting in your sophomore year, you will be required to choose one of the majors. From the moment I was accepted, I started wondering how my student life in Qatar would be, as it is an Arabic country, and the idea of integrating into Arabic culture and meeting its societal expectations scared me. However, after arriving at Education City, I realized that most of the faculty and students are international, and it is easy to adapt to the community since they are all from different countries and backgrounds. Especially at my university, there were many Kazakh students. Here, I gained a lot of networking opportunities and built friendships with international students.

After graduation, I plan to pursue a career in marketing in a country where the communication major is more developed and in demand. Regarding part-time jobs, our university offers many opportunities for students, and I am currently working as a course assistant at my university.

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Final note to students who want to study abroad

My top motivation for students who want to study abroad would be to:

1. Don’t be too devastated by your statistics, such as GPA, IELTS, or SAT scores—other aspects like your recommendation letters, personal statement essay, and extracurricular activities can help you stand out in the admissions process. Also, I think, “Why not apply to universities you like and do your best? Even if you’re not accepted, there are many other options you can consider and find your path.”
2. Prepare for the SAT and IELTS earlier—ideally starting from 10th grade—so you can retake the exams if you’re not satisfied with your scores.
3. Writing and refining an essay takes time and requires thoughtful brainstorming. Therefore, start polishing the draft of your personal statement and other supplemental essays early.