In this blog post, I’ll summarize my academic efforts, experiences with school activities, examples of collaboration and consideration, and my career preparation process during high school.
Academic Experiences and Reflections
In my senior year of high school, I set my sights on attending a university in the science and technology field and devoted myself to preparing for the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT). In line with this goal, I carefully selected my core subjects and elective science courses, and devised detailed study plans for each subject to maximize my results in a short period of time. Since I hadn’t been able to fully focus on my studies during my sophomore year due to numerous extracurricular activities and club participation, I decided to cut back on other activities during my senior year and concentrate on preparing for the CSAT.
I devoted the first six months of my exam preparation to building a solid foundation in the core curriculum. I believed that only after thoroughly understanding the concepts could I solve problems more efficiently. For two months starting in July of that year, I focused on solving questions from mock exams. Since it was right after the June mock exam, I was debating which practice book to choose when I came across the EBS explanatory lectures. Even though I didn’t usually enjoy watching online lectures, I enrolled in one for the first time specifically to listen to the explanations.
Through these explanation lectures, I was able to understand how to solve questions that I had previously found difficult, and I also gained insights into how to use mock exams effectively and develop strategies. In particular, I discovered an online lecture provided by EBS called “Perfect Score Final Review,” which was formatted like a mock exam, and through this, I adopted a study method involving solving problems similar to the actual CSAT in the “envelope mock exam” format.
Rather than focusing solely on conceptual explanations, this course had me first solve the commercially available EBS envelope-style mock exams, followed by watching solution lectures for three sets of problems per subject. The major subjects were organized into Type A and Type B formats—mirroring the actual CSAT—allowing me to choose which to solve, and I would conduct a final review using the solution lectures after completing the problems. This repetitive learning helped me become familiar with the CSAT question format and reduced my error rate through analysis of question types.
By consistently reviewing the question types and predicted problems covered in the solution lectures, I also improved my time management and problem-solving approach. I learned that to study efficiently in a short period, it is more important to understand the examiner’s intent and practice applying that understanding to similar problems than to simply memorize facts.
Description of Major School Activities and Reflections
During high school, I was active in a climate change club supported by the Korea Meteorological Administration. As this club was part of a nationwide program involving schools across the country, we were able to share information and collaborate with clubs from other schools. Within the club, we organized activities such as choosing a club name and managing a blog and online community. To ensure the club’s continued operation, we also conducted promotional efforts to help shift public perception.
Club members each researched the causes and current state of climate change, then discussed promotional strategies based on their findings. During meetings, we concluded that changing public perception and lifestyle habits were key to mitigating climate change, and we developed a promotional strategy that included creating slogans, conducting surveys, and producing promotional items such as stickers. I participated in selecting the promotional plan by presenting the results of my research.
The slogan contest was open to the entire student body and promoted via school bulletin boards and large-scale posters; to encourage participation, we offered small gifts to selected entrants. After holding three rounds of the contest—with approximately 108 participants in the first round and over 150 in the third—we successfully raised the club’s profile. Witty slogans such as “Three polar bears live in one house. Huh? But where is the house?”
After the contest, we began operating environmental booths and producing novelty items in earnest. During the event period, we set up booths in two locations—the school’s club activity area and along the path to school—and, after discussing product ideas in teams, decided to produce stickers and eco-friendly planters. The sticker team was responsible for designing images of Arctic animals incorporating environmental messages and the selected slogans, while the planter team crafted egg-shaped, paper, and wooden planters, painted them, planted succulents in them, and prepared them for sale.
Since succulents store water and can grow for long periods without watering, they were a product that aligned well with the environmental protection message. The proceeds from selling these novelty items were reinvested into preparing for the next campaign and promotional activities, ensuring the sustainability of the initiative. Through this process, we gained hands-on experience in planning, design, production, and sales, and learned the importance of communication and dividing roles.
Writing About Examples of Consideration, Sharing, and Cooperation, and Reflections
The most memorable experience during our club activities was producing a promotional video. We devised a plan to film a user-generated video (UGC) with our smartphones, upload it to YouTube, and share the link on Facebook to increase its reach. Since video production requires personnel, equipment, and planning, it demanded more time and meticulous preparation. Rather than simply creating a perfunctory video, we aimed to produce a piece that would be talked about for a long time, so we set aside two months for production.
During the first month, we focused intensively on planning meetings. Throughout these sessions, we maintained a considerate attitude toward one another to gather as many ideas as possible and foster an atmosphere where everyone felt free to express their opinions. We believed that rushing the brainstorming process could actually stifle creativity, so we encouraged members to share their thoughts comfortably. As the meeting leader, I arranged a separate space for our discussions to create a more natural environment for dialogue.
The following month, we proceeded with filming and editing according to the planned storyboard. We adopted the idea of conveying the campaign’s core message through a song, so we produced the campaign song first and developed choreography that was easy for anyone to follow. Club members practiced repeatedly according to the storyboard, and eventually, nine students were able to successfully perform the choreography in perfect sync.
After filming was completed and the video was uploaded to YouTube, it recorded approximately 1,000 views within a week and spread widely on Facebook thanks to active sharing by classmates and teachers. Seeing friends humming the melody we created, the club members felt a sense of fulfillment that matched the time they had invested in preparation. Through this experience, I truly realized that consideration, cooperation, and the division of roles during the planning stage lead to tangible results.
Efforts and Preparation Related to Motivation for Application and Career Plans
I consciously selected and developed activities that align with UNIST’s vision of fostering self-directed learners. My experience conducting scientific research as part of the club was directly linked to the regular curriculum, and through this, I developed the ability to independently set research topics and collect and analyze data.
In my Earth Science class, I learned how to scientifically analyze the causes of climate change and natural phenomena, and I expanded upon the research assignments given in class by linking them to my club activities. The topic I chose was “Climate Change Caused by the Five-Day Workweek,” and I formulated a hypothesis that the increase in Saturday traffic likely contributed to higher fine dust concentrations and rising minimum temperatures.
To test this hypothesis, I personally collected and analyzed publicly available data from Statistics Korea and the Korea Meteorological Administration. I selected data from 2006—before the five-day workweek was widely adopted—and data from 2010 onward for comparison, and examined patterns of change by calculating the relative proportions of fine dust concentrations by day of the week. The analysis revealed that while PM2.5 concentrations on Saturdays were relatively high in 2006, the distribution of concentrations between weekdays and weekends was fairly even.
In contrast, data from 2010 onward showed that PM2.5 concentrations on Saturdays had increased compared to 2006, and a trend was observed where concentrations on weekends and around weekends rose sharply compared to weekdays. Furthermore, a rising trend in minimum temperatures was confirmed, suggesting that changes in traffic volume may have influenced the local climate and air quality. Through this project, I was able to extend my classroom learning to club activities and gain hands-on experience working with real-world data, which helped me solidify my interest in and preparation for a career in fields related to the environment, urban planning, and climate.
