Background & Stats
Hi! I’m Leen, and I’m a 20-year-old Syrian who’s now studying Electrical Engineering at Harvard University. I went to Al-Moutafowkeen High School, which is a Magnet High School in Syria for academically exceptional students, and there I took the Syrian Baccalaureate curriculum. I had zero IB/AP courses, my GPA was a 97%, and because there were no SAT/ACT test centers where I live, all test-required universities allowed me to use my baccalaureate grades instead, and I only took the Duolingo English Test and scored 130/160, which was more than enough for almost every university I applied to.
Why did I decide to study abroad?
I’ve always been interested in the intersection between tech and education, and that’s what I wanted to study abroad. However, because I lived in Syria, the curriculum for these fields was very outdated, and that gave me the motive to start researching colleges and scholarships abroad. I started looking for opportunities in 11th grade, and first applied to United World Colleges (UWC), but I was rejected. I continued working and looking for scholarships, and found out about the Syrian Youth Empowerment One-Year Program, which is a mentorship program for Syrian students who want to study abroad. I got into SYE after my senior year, and I applied for over 15 schools, yet I was rejected from every one of them. However, I’m a person who believes that there’s no loss in trying again, so I took a leap of faith and applied to more schools again during my second gap year, and many rejections later, the only letter I could see was the acceptance letter to Harvard with a full-ride scholarship.
Extracurriculars and Honors
Most of my extracurriculars focused on education, and I believe that showing colleges that you’re very interested in a specific field and want to make an impact through it is very important.
- I did Debate for 4 years. I started in 11th grade, then got second place in the national tournament in my senior year, and after that, I served as a judge for the national tournament, and I also participated in parliamentary debates during my second gap-year.
- I served as a STEM and Olympiad coach, which had a huge impact on why I love education and teaching.
- I was self-learning the Syriac language.
- I founded a book exchange initiative between students across different Syrian governorates, and what began as a simple idea quietly grew until it had reached over 50 people who otherwise wouldn't have had access to those books.
- I connected low-income Syrian students with volunteer teachers.
- I worked at a kindergarten.
- I volunteered as a leader in a summer club that happened in the countryside of Homs, Syria, where I taught computer skills to kids and teenagers from underserved Syrian communities.
- I was also one of the 50 people who got selected to the Syrian Youth Tourism Summit, where I explored over 4 Syrians governorates and learned about the history of Syria and its culture, and also gave suggestions to help with increasing tourism in Syria.
My advice: Use the 150 characters to show numbers, don’t try to explain the activity, you can always explain what you did in the additional information section, but the 150 characters should mainly be used to showcase impact.
My Essays
Your essays are your portal to showing colleges why they should accept you. They shouldn’t be random; you should focus on a goal, and show universities how going there will help you achieve that goal. Colleges love students who want to have an impact on the world, so always try to showcase that in your essays.
My essays were focused on describing how I want to use Tech to enhance education in Syria, mainly because I worked as a tutor and saw how bad the Syrian educational system is, and I wanted to change that.
As for resources, I mainly relied on my friends’ reviews, as each one of them had something to add to my essays.
The Visa Process
My visa process was very smooth. I applied for the Visa on a Thursday and got it on a Saturday, so it only took 2 days. Yet it’s so different for each person, depending on the interviewer. My advice for international students would be to book your interview as early as possible. The laws are changing constantly, and you’ll never know what can change in a few months.
Academics, Work, and Social Life at Harvard
I’ve been at Harvard for over 7 months now, and it definitely took me a while to get used to a new educational system and culture.
Academically, Harvard is rigorous, and the exams mainly test how well you understand the topic and assess whether you can use it to fix real-world problems. In my first semester, I took Multivariable Calculus, Mechanics and Special Relativity, an introduction to academic writing class, and a general education class that focused on traditions and everyday life.
The educational system was definitely a big change for me, mainly because I’m used to the Syrian system, where we never focused on understanding, but on memorization. Yet here, the exams focus on actually solving a problem, not just memorizing formulas. And it definitely took me a month to adapt to this shift.
I’m currently a board member at WoodBridge organization, which is the organization for international students at Harvard University. And I’m also a part of the Tech for Social Good club, where we mainly use tech to collaborate with the UN, UNICEF, and many other nonprofits.
As for research, I definitely had a hard time at first, considering that I didn’t have any research experience. However, Harvard helps a lot with finding such opportunities, and most graduate students are very nice and helpful. It took me around 20 emails to land my first research position, where I’m working on a project to optimize the robot’s joints.
International students aren’t allowed to intern with any company in their freshman year, so I’m still waiting for my sophomore year. Harvard also helps a lot with finding internships, as we always have career fairs, where many companies from across the country come to showcase what they look for in applicants, and they guide students through the process of interning with them.
Harvard is a college that places a high priority on your social life as freshmen. All freshmen eat together in the same dining hall, and, as part of the housing system, they live alone in their freshman year and then sign up for housing with 8 of their friends in their sophomore year. The housing system in Harvard is really just like Hogwarts in Harry Potter; we have 12 houses, and the house you get selected into will become where you live until you graduate.
My Advice for Students Who Want To Apply to Colleges Abroad
Always remember that you will lose nothing if you apply. I got rejected from over 30 universities, yet the thing that kept me motivated was my mindset. I always ask myself: What will happen if I give up? Keep in mind that if you decide to give up, you’re risking not living the life you want.And finally, always use the opportunities that you encounter. Whether you study abroad or in your home country, that is a privilege. Education is one of the greatest things one could have, and you should always use it as an opportunity to make an actual impact.
