This blog post examines what kind of story determines acceptance in an economics department academic plan. It guides you through core strategies, focusing on how to naturally connect your actual experiences, learning process, and suitability for the major.
Writing About Academic Experience and Reflections
“Tailoring my economics studies to the time available”
In high school, I studied economics diligently, aiming to become the king of economic knowledge. I wanted to build my skills to compete in economics-related contests and certifications, achieving tangible results. However, excelling in economics right from my first year of high school proved difficult. So, I started with self-study of the core curriculum to build a strong foundation. After thoroughly studying economics textbooks, I set the goal of mastering reference books, tackling advanced study materials, and eventually reading introductory economics texts.
To achieve this goal, I maximized time efficiency. Since I couldn’t dedicate time solely to economics, I had to simultaneously manage school assignments and other subjects. Therefore, rather than setting aside specific time for economics, I focused on making it a habitual part of my daily routine. While I scheduled time for all other subjects, I integrated economics learning into my daily life to acquire knowledge naturally. For example, if I had a 10-minute break, I would read an economics glossary. The more economic terms I read, the easier newspapers and books became to understand, so studying whenever possible was very helpful.
Also, if unexpected free study time suddenly opened up, I used it to read my economics textbook. Since I already had a solid grasp of the basic concepts, I focused on reading the advanced sections and the passages in the learning activities, checking unfamiliar terms as I went. Sometimes I even had half a day to study. When I had extended periods, I used that time to read economic newspapers, gaining current affairs knowledge. I compared articles from multiple media outlets to deepen my understanding, rather than relying on just one newspaper. Economic newspapers were such excellent study materials that no amount of reading felt excessive. For important articles, I would even clip them out separately for review later. Finally, when given a full day, I would place my economics textbook and Mankiw’s Economics side by side for comparison, studying by contrasting high school-level explanations with more advanced ones.
Writing about major school activities and reflections
“Running a business through the Business School Project”
I participated in an economics study group during my sophomore year of high school. It was a study group dedicated to thoroughly reading through Mancur’s Economics, and since all members were students aspiring to major in economics-related fields, we connected well. Around the time our studies were nearing completion, my friends wanted an opportunity to apply the economic theories we’d studied in practice. So we searched the school website for announcements to find programs we could participate in. We found the ‘Business School Project’ supported by the Korea Entrepreneurship Promotion Agency and decided to join.
The Bizcool Project was a program supporting youth to directly participate in business and experience economic activities. As high school students, we couldn’t easily engage in profit-seeking economic activities, so actively realizing this was meaningful. So, we gathered during study time to discuss potential business ideas through meetings. While not at the level of actually starting a business, we collected ideas suitable for sales activities within the school.
I proposed utilizing festivals and markets. I thought the school festival was the best market to raise initial capital for a business, and that using markets would be effective when starting new ventures with that capital. Other study group members agreed with my opinion, and we discussed what specific activities to undertake at festivals and markets. During meetings, we didn’t just talk about anything indiscriminately. Instead, we clearly defined key elements aligned with a business plan outline: who the target customers were, what the market characteristics were, and what the business objectives were, then gathered opinions. Since our target customers were our school’s students, it was crucial to first understand their interests and what excited them.
To conduct market research, we distributed survey forms to each class. The survey asked what items students needed in their daily school life and what products they currently most wanted to purchase. The results showed the highest demand was for daily necessities related to popular male idols. Among needed items, personal tumblers, stationery, and blankets ranked highly. Reflecting the survey results, we produced stationery, blankets, and t-shirts featuring the idols’ images or initials. We utilized funding received through Bizcool to produce these items.
The manufactured goods were sold to students during the two-day festival. Even without elaborate booths or displays, the idol-branded merchandise flew off the shelves. These products were particularly effective because they met students’ needs as daily necessities and were affordably priced, perfectly targeting their purchasing desires. Naturally, sales varied by product. When this happened, we developed bundled items on the spot, adjusted prices, and employed sales strategies like selling pens and necklaces together. As a result, every product sold out completely, generating over one million won in profit and concluding the festival successfully.
Cases of Consideration, Sharing, and Cooperation and Reflections
“Donating Business Profits to Local Development”
Participating in the Bizcool program supported by the Small and Medium Business Corporation while studying economics was a significant experience. The time spent struggling to secure capital for the festival and conducting market research to gather ideas were all valuable lessons in economics. We mobilized everything we had learned about product sales strategies and economic theory to maximize the application of our knowledge throughout this process. The outcome was successful, and we recovered a higher-than-expected amount of capital at the festival. Calculating the net profit after subtracting the initial investment from this amount yielded just over one million won. We used this money to open another market.
This market wasn’t solely about raising capital. The primary purpose of the business itself was a social initiative focused on sharing profits. Therefore, it was crucial to identify neighbors in need of support and plan activities that would benefit them. Through the Anabada Market, we created a space for sharing goods. To do this, we collected various household items through donations from students on campus. We received donations of gently used clothing, school supplies, and clean secondhand goods, which were then exchanged or resold at the market. While running the market, there were instances where the initial capital returned to the purchasers or generated even greater profits.
Ultimately, we achieved a profit slightly exceeding the initial capital. As planned when we first conceived the Ana Bada Market, we decided to donate the proceeds to neighbors in need. So, through Bizcool, we sought out organizations in our local area that required sponsorship funds. Near our school was a mining community falling into a welfare blind spot. We shared our profits through this community’s Sharing Culture Foundation. To donate our entire net profit, we personally visited the foundation to practice sharing. We also donated some items collected through the market, requesting they be used for the foundation’s benefit. Through this, I learned that economics and sharing are not separate but interconnected, and that profit circulates.
Describe a meaningful extracurricular activity during high school that contributed to your growth
“Learning the Meaning of Cooperation Through Economics Study Activities”
If asked what I did best during high school, I would say it was participating in economics study activities. In fact, even in my first year of high school, I tried to study economics entirely on my own. Self-study had the advantage of allowing me to plan independently and use time efficiently. The personal satisfaction gained from achieving all planned tasks within the allotted time was also significant. However, studying alone made it difficult to resolve unfamiliar concepts and hard to obtain information in areas I couldn’t cover thoroughly on my own. Therefore, to enrich my economics studies, I gathered a study group and began.
Studying with friends who had diverse interests and goals proved very helpful. While I had previously focused only on economic articles related to real estate and construction, my friends were also interested in stocks and securities, allowing us to exchange information. Furthermore, when studying Mancur’s Economics, many concepts were difficult to grasp alone. Studying with multiple friends, each with different areas of expertise, meant we could act as teachers for each other. When learning economic terms, studying alone meant just memorizing them. But with friends, discussions about those terms became longer, which really helped me remember them. Later, when I read articles and encountered terms we’d studied, the conversations with my friends would come back to me, and I’d naturally recall the terms.
Through this study group, I truly experienced the benefits of collaborative learning. Beyond academics, the process of jointly planning and executing external economic activities through the Bizcool project was immensely valuable. Market research, product planning, and production activities—things I never would have attempted alone—became possible because I had friends to tackle them with. It was great to be able to challenge anything together. Moreover, it was deeply meaningful not only to engage in diverse economic activities but also to experience sharing by distributing the profits we earned together to the community.
