I've been so busy teaching and looking over students' applications that I haven't posted an admissions update for a while.
The students have brought back some incredible results this time, including medicine and pharmacy, so I'm taking the opportunity to share them.
Every year we hear that admissions are getting harder, but the students who make it happen still find a way.
This was a student I really liked: hardworking and kind. Seeing this result is so rewarding.
She achieved an incredible five offers in medicine and pharmacy, including Inje University Medicine, Eulji University Medicine, and Sookmyung Women's University Pharmacy. You could say she got in everywhere she applied.
I had been unsure about Eulji because it is known for taking few international-school students. Then she messaged to say she had received an initial acceptance offer, haha.
Her profile has just about everything. The offers are impressive enough, but she was also selected for the Overseas Korean Scholarship.
Only 20 recipients worldwide were selected, including graduate students, and she was one of them. She'll attend university with scholarship support. Looking at the photograph she sent from the scholarship ceremony made me emotional too.
She said she'd achieved all her goals thanks to me, but it was her own effort and the outstanding personal statement she wrote. Honestly, all I can say is that it's amazing.
This student sent me the news first thing on my birthday: acceptance to the pre-medical program at Catholic Kwandong University.
I knew how desperately her mother had been waiting, so I was anxious too. As soon as I heard the news, I couldn't help shouting, 'Yes!'
It must be an occupational habit that 'I got into medical school' makes me happier than 'Happy birthday,' haha. After all that waiting, the result is especially meaningful. She was quiet and humble, and I had always hoped in my heart that things would turn out well for her.
These are students who contacted me after a long time and casually dropped their good news into the conversation.
The student who got into Hanyang through the additional-admission round hadn't studied much until the final three months, then worked incredibly hard. Thankfully, they earned a 7 in final Chemistry. Waiting for an additional offer is nerve-racking, but they eventually made it through at the very end. Thank you for sending me the message!
And this student shyly told me they'd been accepted to Yonsei's Food and Nutrition program. Another student I was very fond of.
Thinking about it, the students I felt closest to were often those I taught twice a week. Spending that much time together probably helped us grow close. I'm so glad they all got into the places they wanted.
Thank you, everyone. This is what makes teaching rewarding.