In this blog post, I’ll summarize my academic experiences and school activities during high school, examples of my consideration and cooperation, and my preparations for college.
Academic Experiences and Reflections
I attended the Mechanical Engineering Department at an engineering-focused high school, where the curriculum was primarily composed of hands-on, specialized courses rather than general academics. Since most students aimed to enter the workforce immediately after graduation, it was difficult to find friends preparing for college, and it was hard to obtain information about college admissions even within the school. Preparing for college on my own in this environment was not easy.
Nevertheless, I set a goal to attend a regional flagship university, major in statistics, and become a civil servant in the field of information and statistics. To achieve this goal, I had to overcome the disadvantages of my environment, so I first visited the school’s career counseling center to receive guidance on creating my own career plan. The counselor highly praised my determination, and with that support, I was able to establish a more concrete direction for my preparations.
While developing my career plan, I researched regional universities that offered a statistics program and checked whether they had special admission tracks for students from engineering backgrounds. I identified the key admission criteria—such as the required high school GPA, key items emphasized in the student record, and College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) scores—and created a customized study plan tailored to these requirements.
Since I began seriously managing my school grades and preparing for the CSAT in parallel starting in my sophomore year of high school, I was able to maintain relatively stable grades. For my student record book, I organized assignments completed in hands-on courses into a portfolio format and meticulously recorded all awards from school competitions and club activities to use as part of my college application materials.
For CSAT preparation, I participated in an after-school college entrance exam prep class, studying alongside students from other classes. By sharing information through study groups and studying consistently with a sense of camaraderie—rather than preparing alone—I was able to achieve scores high enough to gain admission to my target department.
Description of Major School Activities and Reflections
The school activity I found most academically meaningful was my participation in a club dedicated to preparing for the Information Processing Technician certification. My department offered many practice-oriented courses, such as hardware, software, computer science, and practical accounting, and since this curriculum was closely tied to obtaining the certification, my club activities naturally aligned with my academic studies.
The club established a long-term, one-year curriculum to prepare for the certification. To cover all four subjects, we allocated approximately two months to each subject and broke down the material into specific units to make steady progress. Study sessions were held regularly, typically two hours per week, four times a month.
The study group was divided into two teams: a theory study team and a practical skills team. We learned in a complementary manner by applying what we learned in the theory sessions directly in the practical sessions, and this method was very helpful in preparing for both the written and practical exams simultaneously.
For example, the “Commands and Control” unit in the General Electronic Calculator course required a great deal of memorization. Initially, we determined that individual memorization time was more effective than presentation-based learning, so we adjusted the learning sequence to have participants directly enter commands and check the results during the practical study sessions. Since there were also units where hands-on practice first aided understanding, this flexible adaptation of our study methods led to positive results.
According to our original plan, we were supposed to finish the course in eight months, but due to changes in our meeting schedule and other factors, it took about nine months. We spent the final three months summarizing the entire curriculum and intensively reviewing difficult sections. In particular, for subjects that required more time—such as spreadsheets, presentations, and understanding operating systems—we used a projector to review and check each other’s practical exercises, thereby improving the quality of our work.
As a result, through a year of club activities, I earned the Information Processing Technician certification, and the knowledge gained in the club tied in with my academic coursework, helping me improve my grades. It was an experience that confirmed the power of systematic planning and team learning.
Writing About Examples of Consideration, Sharing, and Cooperation, and My Reflections
While preparing for college admissions, I came to realize that studying together is more effective than studying alone. There was only one college preparation class at my school, and because the atmosphere focused on employment rather than college admissions, there wasn’t enough information available regarding the admissions process. Consequently, about ten interested students voluntarily gathered after school to share information and organize study groups.
We researched the admission criteria for our respective desired majors and tailored our elective “Career Exploration” courses accordingly to study together. We chose “Principles of Accounting” and “Commercial Economics” as our common Career Exploration subjects and learned the basic concepts together. For the core subjects—math, English, and Korean—we watched EBS online lectures together in the classroom after school, taking notes as we progressed through the material.
Whenever we had questions while studying, we resolved them by consulting the faculty office. We maintained our motivation by encouraging and competing with one another while sharing analysis materials for past exam questions and information on private mock exams. Because we were a small, elite study group, we were able to collaborate by compensating for each other’s weaknesses, which was a great help in preparing for the actual exams.
Through this process, I learned the value of collaboration—going beyond simply sharing information to coordinating our study methods and solving problems together. Even at moments when I might have given up on my own, the encouragement and support from my study group members allowed me to persevere.
Efforts and Preparation Related to Motivation for Application and Career Plans
My motivation for applying to the Department of Information and Statistics stemmed from the experiences I gained in my high school major. While studying information processing and practical accounting, I developed an interest in data and computer processing, and set a goal to contribute to the nation as a civil servant with expertise in the field of information and statistics. In particular, my long-term goal is to work at government agencies related to information and statistics, such as the National Statistical Office.
To this end, I obtained the Information Processing Technician certification while in high school and built a solid foundation in software application and computer programming. Once I enter college, I plan to systematically study major-specific courses such as statistical databases and statistical programming.
Meanwhile, recognizing the need to strengthen my mathematical skills, I intend to thoroughly complete courses in statistical mathematics and mathematical statistics during my freshman and sophomore years so that I will be well-prepared for advanced courses such as quantitative analysis and regression analysis in my upperclassman years. Since I prepared for high school math solely with a focus on the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), I plan to systematically pursue university-level mathematical studies.
Furthermore, just as I did in high school, I will participate in major-specific study groups and career preparation groups in college to solve problems and improve my skills alongside my peers. By collaborating with others, I aim to address my weaknesses and gradually build the qualifications and practical skills necessary for a career as a civil servant.
