This blog post explores how an applicant dreaming of an economics major, who has accumulated diverse experiences, can effectively weave their career goals into their personal statement and academic plan.

The habit of consistently sticking to study time: the force that shaped me

The aspect I focused on and worked hardest at during my academic journey was cultivating study habits. During my first year of high school, my most respected homeroom teacher told me, “Studying is like a dietary habit.” Just as poor eating habits can cause weight gain or loss, academic ability is determined by how you cultivate study habits. The teacher often emphasized, “Consistently securing study time each day and studying at a fixed time daily is most crucial.” I took those words deeply to heart and made ‘adhering to study time’ my top priority throughout high school.
However, sticking to a fixed daily study schedule proved far more difficult than I initially imagined. My first plan was to secure a total of 7 hours: 1 hour in the morning, 3 hours during evening self-study, and 3 hours after returning home. After making the plan, I stuck to it as resolved, consistently sitting at my desk and studying during the allotted times.
However, as time passed, fatigue gradually built up, and physical difficulties began to mount. There were days when I wanted to rest, and days when I was so sleepy that even sitting at my desk felt like a struggle. Often, when my health wasn’t good, I thought about taking a day off. But I endured those temptations and trials, viewing it as a process to build a habit, and studied unconditionally. I strictly applied the principle to myself that I must study during the set time, no matter what.
Surprisingly, as I repeated this for days, weeks, and months, my body and mind began to change little by little. When the set time came, I naturally focused, and sitting at my desk no longer felt like a burden. In fact, it started to feel awkward when I wasn’t studying. Sometimes, when study time came around, I’d suddenly feel energized. I even experienced moments where mild fatigue or body aches seemed to disappear while I was studying.
That’s when I truly realized, “Studying is a habit,” and “Once that habit takes root, you gain the power to study no matter the circumstances.” This habit became more than just study time; it formed the foundation of my self-management and became the standard for structuring my life. Of course, I’m still not perfect, but I continue to strive to maintain this habit and work hard to live each day more fully.
I believe a study habit is not just a skill, but an attitude toward life and a promise to oneself. Having learned the power of consistency, I want to move forward unwaveringly in the face of any challenge, building on this experience. For me, this experience was not merely a phase of high school, but a precious lesson that will become a lifelong asset.

Writing about major school activities and reflections

Newspaper Debate Club: My First Encounter with ‘Economics’
I was originally a passive child. Growing up as the eldest, I developed a quiet and calm personality, rarely stepping forward actively. Naturally, expressing my own opinions felt difficult. However, joining the ‘Newspaper Debate Club’ brought about a significant change in me. Within this club, which communicated and operated in a way completely different from my world, I gradually developed a more proactive personality and learned the basic posture for debate and how to express my thoughts.
The club’s activities revolve around two pillars: ‘newspapers’ and ‘debate’. First, the newspaper reading activity takes place every morning. We consistently read three different newspapers, summarize their content, and share it on the club’s dedicated Facebook page. Thanks to this habit, ever since joining the club, I’ve started every morning with newspaper reading, except on weekends.
At first, reading the newspaper was really difficult. There were many unfamiliar Sino-Korean terms, and incomprehensible words appeared one after another. The business section, in particular, felt especially foreign to me. The terminology and issues scattered throughout the articles were completely beyond me, making me reluctant to even read them. Surprisingly, though, it was precisely that business field that gradually captured my interest.
Once, during a vacation, I participated in an economics-related study group. Back then, I made a list of unfamiliar words and memorized them. As it turned out, most of those words were terms frequently appearing in the newspaper’s economics section. When I read the economic articles again, based on what I had organized and studied, the sentences started to make sense in a way they never had before. Even if I couldn’t grasp the entire flow, I could understand the background and context behind questions like ‘Why shouldn’t economic indicators fall?’, ‘Why shouldn’t certain companies merge now?’, or ‘What are the reasons for investing or withdrawing at this point?’, and it gave me things to think about. That’s how I gradually developed an interest in economics, and reading the newspaper became more than just a habit; it opened up a new perspective.

Learning to Present Opinions and Listen

Just as much as reading the newspaper, ‘debate’ was another crucial activity that transformed me. At first, debate itself felt burdensome. Rebutting someone felt like saying something bad, and when my opinion was criticized, it felt like a personal attack, hurting my feelings. But once I moved past these emotions, I realized the true meaning of debate.
I learned that debate is a ‘dialogue for each other.’ Everyone thinks differently, and even when observing the same phenomenon, interpretations inevitably vary based on individual perspectives. We debate to bridge those differences and move toward a better direction. Through the process of sharing opinions, refuting, listening, and understanding, we naturally examine our own thoughts. In this process, I sometimes recognize my own biases and gain the ability to view myself objectively through other perspectives.
Through the newspaper debate club, I learned how to present opinions logically and developed the attitude of listening to the other person’s position. Above all, I learned not just to determine right or wrong, but to acknowledge differences and cultivate an attitude of learning from them. This experience significantly broadened my thinking, and I believe it will remain a valuable asset in whatever I pursue in the future.
The Newspaper Debate Club was more than just a club activity. Those times spent reading newspapers daily, learning unfamiliar words, discussing social issues, and growing by listening to each other’s thoughts gave me not only knowledge but also confidence and depth of thought. The fact that I, once quiet and passive, now confidently share opinions and strive to understand others is undoubtedly the greatest gain from this activity.
Moving forward, I aim to become someone who views the world more broadly and understands it more deeply, building on the ‘habit of reading and thinking’ I learned then.

Examples of Consideration, Sharing, and Cooperation, and My Reflections

“The information I encounter? Let’s share it with others!”
The area where I invested the most effort was precisely ‘practicing sharing information’. I had the habit of reading newspapers frequently, which allowed me to quickly access diverse information. While nowadays, people often find information online through blogs or communities, the fastest and most reliable information was still often found first in newspapers, or ‘print media’.
In contrast, blog information was often written in a casual style and sometimes contained inaccurate content, making it difficult to trust. So, I had relatively more information, and rather than keeping it to myself, I wanted to share it with my friends.
At first, I created a KakaoTalk group chat with a few friends and started sharing information related to college admissions and education. Whenever new admissions systems were announced, application methods changed, or educational issues arose, I would find and share relevant articles as quickly as possible.
However, over time, the number of friends joining the group chat steadily increased. Many friends were waiting for the information I shared and expressed gratitude, saying it was genuinely helpful. Since it was difficult for them to find the information individually, they welcomed my organized delivery, and this made me feel fulfilled.
My friends’ praise and reactions became a huge motivator for me. I developed a desire to ‘organize things better and share them more effectively,’ which led to changes in how I shared information. Previously, I would simply post links when I found a good article. Now, I started organizing everything by topic and sharing ‘link collections.’
For example, I categorized articles by topic—study methods, essay preparation, aptitude test info, admissions systems, CSAT-related articles—and shared them with brief headlines or summaries for each. It went beyond simple sharing; I systematically organized things so friends could easily find what they needed when they needed it.
Through this activity, what struck me most was the true meaning of the saying, “Praise makes even a whale dance.” My friends’ warm words pushed me to grow further and challenged me to organize and share information in new ways.
That experience brought positive change to me as well. Realizing how powerful ‘praise’ can be for people, I resolved to become someone who praises others. It was a precious experience where I personally felt how a small word can change someone’s actions and, furthermore, make the world a little warmer.

Efforts and Preparation Related to Motivation and Career Plans

“I aspire to be someone who discovers new information first and processes it to share with the world.”
Throughout my three years of high school, I consistently maintained the habit of reading and summarizing newspapers every morning. What began as simple curiosity gradually deepened into a fascination with the power of newspapers as a medium and the vastness of the information they contain.
The three newspapers I subscribed to poured out different issues and perspectives without fail, every single day. Society was changing moment by moment, and those changes filled the newspaper pages in tiny print. That was when I truly realized it for the first time: the expression ‘information overload,’ which I had only read about in books, was no exaggeration.
Amidst the countless pieces of information pouring in day after day, I suddenly wondered: ‘Who gets to know all this information first?’ ‘Who analyzes and refines this information to convey it to the world?‘ I thought those people must be the ones at the center of the world, leading the times.
Then, I first encountered the word ‘economist’ in a newspaper article. Through an article summarizing a forum of global economists, I learned of their existence and was deeply impressed by what economists do. They were people who keenly observed the world’s currents, analyzed complex data, and predicted the changing society. Above all, I was profoundly moved by the fact that business leaders and policymakers worldwide paid close attention to their words.
In that moment, I was certain: ‘Yes, I want to become that kind of person.’ That was how I first harbored the dream of becoming an ‘economist,’ and to achieve that dream, I applied to major in Economics at ○○ University.
My career plan is clear. First, my top priority is to dedicate myself to my university studies, firmly mastering the fundamentals and core concepts of economics. I want to unravel the complexities of economics one thread at a time, cultivating the ability to understand and explain the workings of this intricate world.
Second, I aim to pursue graduate studies. After building a solid foundation during my undergraduate years, I intend to continue my academic exploration through master’s and doctoral programs. My medium-to-long-term goal is to grow into an expert equipped with both theoretical knowledge and the ability to analyze real-world economic phenomena.
I aspire to become an economist who is among the first to access new information, analyzes it, and communicates its significance to others. Newspapers opened my eyes to the breadth of the world; now, I wish to explore its depth using the tools of economics. I intend to take that first step at ○○ University.