Blazing a New Trail JeeHyun 'Jen' Song
Jen never thought about attending high school in the United States until the restrictive South Korean education system stuck her in a school that was not a good match. Although she knew little English, her parents packed her off to relatives outside Seattle, where she enrolled in a small Lutheran high school. With the help of an educational consultant, Jen applied to 15 schools and heads to Washington University in St. Louis to study comparative literature.
SAT scores: 750 math, 680 critical reading, 620 writing
GPA: 3.96 nonweighted
Extracurrics: Drama, choir, band
Essay topic: Her conflict with her uncle (and guardian) over attending her junior prom
Best move: Following up a lead in America's Best Colleges and connecting with a local college counselor ("my safety blanket") who talked her through the process, helped clarify her abilities, and offered practical tips
Heads-up: The Common Application is very helpful, but make sure you tailor your essays and personal statements to each school.
Tipping the balance: In the end, Jen had a "hard" choice between her finalists-Washington University and Emory. But Washington flew her in for its multicultural weekend. Her reaction: "I fell in love with the campus ... their students looked happy."