Prompt: Please tell us how you have spent the last two summers (or vacations between school years), including any jobs you have held, if not already detailed on the Common Application
Sorry. Changed this one entirely as well! Please comment! :D Happy New Year!
I am, by default, a Korean. I have parents that are both Korean, and I have Korean citizenship. However, in recent years, I have come to realize that I am, in fact, not really a Korean. In order to become more of a true Korean, I spend my summers being bombarded with the "An Nyung Ha Se Yo", and kimchee, in Korea. Even though I do relax by going shopping in the malls, dining out with my Korean friends, and visiting my relatives, summers provide me with an opportunity to improve the Korean side of my character. When I have nothing to do during my free time in Korea, I often read a Korean novel, or listen to "true" Koreans speaking eloquently with a desire to speak as fluently as they do.
Last summer, however, was slightly unusual. During the first weeks of my summer, I met people from Australia, UK, Singapore, Taiwan, China, and Hong Kong at a conference hosted by HKUST. As I was attending various plenary sessions and lectures about the global environment, I started to understand more about common environmental problems. Making new friends at the conference was also memorable because talking to the English boy with the heavy British accent, talking to the intelligent boy with the heavy Singaporean accent allowed me to improve my understanding of their respective cultures.
My year 12 mock exam marks for IB biology was a "tragedy". Even though it was not entirely my fault, I was still disappointed in myself for being unaware of my own progress, strengths and weaknesses. I was morose that I had to suffer under a lazy teacher. Rather than moaning about the problem and not make progress for weeks, I decided to take action and fill my gaps in learning by registering for a SAT II Biology course at Kaplan Korea.
I always look forward to the summers. Not only do I have the opportunity to relax and shift my focus away from school work, but I also constantly attempt to improve myself as a person. What I do during the summer also ensures that I start the next school year on a high note.
I think the overall of the essay is pretty well done, but may I suggest you use another example for your essay?
I don't consider hearing out a HKUST to be very connected to your half of essay about becoming a korean. I think you should stick to that topic, but I think say something from what you have learned in Korea ever summer is better. Besides, Princeton asks you about the last TWO summers, so you can probably elaborate some on that as well.
However, these are just my thoughts, and the way I wrote my princeton summer essay. Just hope this helps,
Angela
