In this blog post, I’ll summarize my academic efforts, school activities, examples of consideration and cooperation, and my career preparation process during my time in high school.

Academic Experiences and Reflections

I tend to dive deep into subjects that pique my interest, so at times I might have seemed unorganized from the outside. However, thanks to my determination to see things through once I became interested, my grades in certain subjects tended to improve steadily. This tendency served as both a strength and a weakness for me.
During a counseling session in my sophomore year, I was advised that significant grade disparities across subjects could be a disadvantage when applying to college. So, I made reducing these disparities my top priority and decided to use my spare time to solve challenging problems. In particular, I focused on improving areas where I usually lost points due to careless mistakes or where I understood the concepts but struggled to apply them.
At first, tackling difficult problems took a lot of time, and I often lost interest and gave up. I found it more enjoyable to take practice exams and review my wrong answers, so I was reluctant to spend a long time on challenging problems. So I changed my approach: rather than spending a long time trying to solve a single problem, I decided to quickly solve just one or two challenging problems that could be tackled in spare moments.
Specifically, I collected questions I frequently got wrong—such as Korean or foreign language grammar problems—on a single sheet of paper, cut them out, and pasted them onto a separate sheet. Then, during breaks or on my way to and from school, I would focus on solving them one by one. Finishing one problem in a short amount of time improved my concentration and reduced boredom, and since this led to repetitive practice, it was effective in reducing the types of mistakes I made.
Also, when I categorized the problems I frequently got wrong, I found they were a mix of “problems I truly didn’t know how to solve” and “problems I got wrong because I didn’t want to think about them.” For the latter type of problems, I made a conscious effort to confront them head-on and solve them, striving to minimize my mistakes. As a result, I was able to significantly lower my error rate on problems that had seemed difficult and stabilize my grades.

Writing about major school activities and reflections

My interest in IT began simply out of curiosity—wondering, “Could I make a lot of money doing this?” I was drawn to the field after witnessing the smartphone and app boom during middle school, and when I heard there was a related club in high school, I joined immediately. Although it started as vague curiosity, I quickly came to understand the reality of the field through my club activities.
The club included members who had already built apps in middle school, others who had experience in distribution, and still others who had consistently developed their ideas to the point of forming teams. Standing before them, I sometimes felt intimidated, thinking I wasn’t prepared enough. However, their passion and drive inspired me, and realizing there was much to learn, I decided to participate actively.
At first, I helped run the club by handling menial tasks and administrative duties. As the treasurer, I managed membership fees and event logistics, which made me realize just how important it is to ensure the club runs smoothly. At the same time, I picked up small technical skills by observing my friends who were developing apps, and I gradually built my skills by gathering and sharing information about competitions.
I also studied development on my own, and as my dedication became apparent, my friends naturally began to help me. Eventually, we participated in a competition together, where we fleshed out our ideas and carried out development. This process allowed me to truly appreciate the value of collaboration and the importance of hands-on experience. I learned that even tasks difficult to accomplish alone can be achieved by combining each other’s strengths.

Writing About Examples of Consideration, Sharing, and Collaboration, and My Reflections

One of my strengths is quickly absorbing information and conveying it to others. I discovered this ability when I took on administrative duties for my club. While handling membership fee management, resolving minor disputes related to festivals, and communicating the club’s schedule, I received feedback that communication had become much smoother.
Thanks to the role I played within the club, tasks were handled quickly and accurately, and waste of resources was minimized. Through this experience, I realized that my ability to gather and convey information is not merely a personal skill, but a competency that can provide tangible benefits to an organization.
I wanted to apply this to my classmates as well, so I created a Facebook page exclusively for our class. By keeping track of not only assignments, exam schedules, and event announcements but also small details like classmates’ birthdays, our class’s assignment submission rate increased and the overall atmosphere improved. Although it was a bit of a hassle to spend my personal time creating announcements and sharing information, I felt a great sense of fulfillment seeing how much my classmates benefited from it.
What I learned through this process was the value of information sharing itself. I came to realize firsthand that quickly and accurately conveying necessary information to others ultimately helps one another and fosters cooperation. I believe this experience will help me reduce conflicts and increase efficiency when working in teams in the future.

Efforts and Preparation Related to Motivation for Application and Career Plans

Although I haven’t yet decided on a specific product or software design, I have a clear goal: to contribute to the development of systems that help people. My motivation for this career path stems from my desire to participate in designing and improving computer systems that enhance people’s convenience.
While I may currently lack the development experience or technical skills that some of my peers have, I intend to make up for this with passion and perseverance. I am acquiring technical skills through club activities and self-study. Although balancing this with college entrance exam preparation makes time management challenging, I have consistently studied and practiced, even sacrificing sleep. My shortcomings actually serve as motivation to fill those gaps with even greater passion.
I am inspired by examples like Mark Zuckerberg, who used simple yet innovative ideas to capture people’s interest and enhance their convenience. That is why I aspire to become someone who can collaborate with diverse individuals to generate ideas and navigate the development process together. I intend to gain extensive experience collaborating with others to refine my ideas and develop the ability to bring them to life.
I firmly believe that studying in the Computer Engineering Department at the university to which I am applying will greatly help me achieve my dreams. I will do my best to address my shortcomings, pour my passion into my work, and deliver results. I am confident that my perseverance and commitment to learning are second to none.