Seoul National University is one of the most coveted schools in South Korea. It belongs to the SKY group of schools, which consists of Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University.

These schools are considered South Korea’s elite “Ivy” school equivalent.

It’s hard to get accepted into any of the three, let alone Seoul National University. Even some of the most competitive students will find that getting accepted is difficult. However, the Seoul National University personal statement process is also crucial. Writing a strong personal statement can make or break your acceptance.

So, you need to make sure your SNU personal statement isn’t just strong. It needs to be better than what other students have.

This guide will cover everything you will need to know about how to write the Seoul National University personal statement. Additionally, it briefly covers other important details like their acceptance rate, the ghostwriting trend, and how to get better writing help than others.

Oh, and don’t forget: if you’re looking to receive help with your Seoul National University personal statement, feel free to consult with us for a free 30-minute phone call. We’ve helped students like yourself get accepted into some of the most highly-rated schools in the world.

Table of Contents

1. Seoul National University Personal Statement Questions
   • How to Answer SNU’s Short Answer Personal Statement
   • How to Answer SNU’s Personal Essay Question
   • How to Answer SNU’s Study Plan Essay Question
2. How Hard is it to Get Accepted Into Seoul National University (SNU)? What About as an International Student?
3. Can I Hire Someone to Write the Seoul National University Personal Statement for Me?
4. How to Get Help With Your Seoul National University Essay

Seoul National University Personal Statement Questions

Below we’ve deconstructed and analyzed the best strategy for answering the Seoul National University Personal Statement essay questions. While SNU essays may wildly differ from one another in topic, these rules generally apply to all students.

How to Answer SNU’s Short Answer Personal Statement

Below we’ve pasted the SNU short answer personal statement questions.

1. Please describe any unique characteristics of your school or distinctive qualities to your secondary education. Give a brief account of the curriculum and mention any set of courses which were instructively significant in shaping your current academic interests.
2. Please briefly elaborate on any of your extracurricular activities or work experiences in the space below.
3. In relation to your academic interests and personal perspectives, please briefly explain your motives and scholastic purposes for applying to the department of your choice.

Seoul National University short answer personal statement questions

Let’s go over these one at a time.

Please describe any unique characteristics of your school or distinctive qualities to your secondary education. Give a brief account of the curriculum and mention any set of courses which were instructively significant in shaping your current academic interests.

When reading this prompt, ask yourself this: what is SNU actually asking of me in this prompt? While you can answer the question in a literal way, keep in mind that the admissions office is also screening your responses for characteristics and personality traits that they want on their campus.

They’re going to analyze your response to make an inference of your character and temperament, then see if it matches with their school culture.

So, when you mention “unique characteristics” of your school or secondary education, listing off random traits that make it special is probably not going to cut it. Rather, try to give an answer that demonstrates the depth of your analysis of the school. In other words, avoid superficial answers and aim for profound ones that require creativity to conjure.

For instance, mentioning how you took all the hardest classes and how they taught you a lot about Biology, Calculus, and American Literature is probably not going to show the depth of appreciation for your classes. Instead, an answer like this would show that you have a deeper level of appraisal for your classes. Here’s an example of a statement about your curriculum that may work well. We also translated this into Hangul below.

“My classes were a hodgepodge of questions rather than answers; for, whether it involved Mathematics or American Literature, it was the inquisitive nature of exploration that truly brought on profound thought. It helped us students wrestle with the topics we learned and even share diverse perspectives from multiple lenses.”

“제 수업은 답변보다는 질문이 뒤죽박죽이었습니다. 수학이든 미국 문학이든 진정으로 심오한 생각을 불러일으킨 것은 탐구의 탐구적 성격이었습니다. 이는 학생들이 우리가 배운 주제에 대해 씨름하고 심지어 다양한 내용을 공유하는 데 도움이 되었습니다. 여러 렌즈의 관점.”

Seoul National University Personal Statement –Short Answer Question About Characteristics of School and Secondary Education Example Excerpt Pt. 1

Oh, and don’t forget to tie this back in with your academic pursuits and major. Try to draw from the themes and motifs of your answer and correlate them with how they may help you explore your field at SNU.

Let’s take the previous example again and expand on it. Again, we translated the statement to Korean below for your reading convenience.

“Interestingly enough, learning about the industrialists who ‘built America’ and the controversy hanging over their legacies opened up not just questions of business and finance, but ethics and philosophy as well. It’s created an interminable bridge betweent the liberal arts and quantitative finance/business. And, I believe this has added a level of sophistication and higher appreciation for business beyond a textbook level; it’s translated to my passion for business at SNU, and hopefully I may apply this knowledge to my future ambitions in laterally expanding my family’s business.”

“흥미롭게도 ‘미국을 건설’한 산업가들에 대해 배우고 그들의 유산에 대한 논쟁이 비즈니스와 금융뿐만 아니라 윤리와 철학에 대한 질문까지 열었습니다. 이는 교양과 양적 금융 사이에 끝없는 다리를 만들었습니다. 그리고 이것이 교과서 수준을 넘어 비즈니스에 대한 더 높은 수준의 정교함과 더 높은 이해력을 더해 주었다고 믿으며 이는 서울대학교에서의 비즈니스에 대한 나의 열정으로 해석되었으며, 앞으로 이 지식을 우리 가족의 사업을 측면 확장하려는 나의 야망에 적용할 수 있기를 바랍니다. .”

Seoul National University Personal Statement –Short Answer Question About Characteristics of School and Secondary Education Example Excerpt Pt. 2

Please briefly elaborate on any of your extracurricular activities or work experiences in the space below.

For this prompt, the same rules apply. You want to think about what the admissions officers at SNU are actually asking you here.

Do they care that you love basketball? What about your solar panel production project? Or, how about when you interned at Goldman Sachs?

Well, sorta. But, in the context of college admissions, they are primarily using the personal statement section to draw out and infer holistic characteristics and personality traits that they can derive from your statement. You can talk about the great achievements you’ve made during your extracurricular activities and the awards you’ve won. You can also talk about the achievements you’ve made in personal projects or job experience!

But, you shouldn’t forget to write about the small details that show more of your personality. One such detail you can write about includes the things you’ve learned from your experience that have shaped the way you think. Talking about these demonstrates a learning personality that is open to understanding more about your industry without being too narrow-minded.

Here’s an example of a statement doing exactly that. The translation of the statement in Hangul is below again.

“I was fortunate enough to have the chance to work with my father at his law firm as an intern. Of course, as an intern, my job included primarily rudimentary tasks of accounting and bookkeeping for my manager. However, it was during this time that I had the chance to learn a lot about the legal industry, problems with marketing bottlenecks, and other circumstances that opened my eyes to how sophisticated the market really is.”

“저는 운이 좋게도 아버지의 로펌에서 인턴으로 일할 수 있는 기회를 얻었습니다. 물론 인턴으로서 제가 맡은 업무는 주로 관리자를 위한 회계 및 장부 업무와 같은 기초적인 업무였습니다. 그러나 이때였습니다. 법률 업계, 마케팅 병목 현상 문제, 시장이 실제로 얼마나 정교한지 눈뜨게 한 기타 상황에 대해 많은 것을 배울 수 있는 기회가 있었습니다.”

Seoul National University Personal Statement –Short Answer Question Extracurricular or Work Experience Example Excerpt

The useful thing about this statement is that it reveals to admissions officers the kind of personality that you have during your experience. In this case, admissions officers can see that your personality is open and willing to learn despite being put in a position of rote work. You’re not prone to taking the easy way out and would be happy to learn more beyond your position, showing your intellectual curiosity.

Now, you can still talk about the great stuff you’ve done and the awards you earned. Leadership positions and awards all sound great, make no mistake.

But, many of these can be faked. It’s personality and temperament that truly stands out. Why? Well, it’s because modern college admissions processes are very often faked and based on falsehood. Most applications have extracurriculars and work experiences that are “fluffed up” and not merit-based. So, demonstrating your personality through the SNU personal statement essay is crucial.

In relation to your academic interests and personal perspectives, please briefly explain your motives and scholastic purposes for applying to the department of your choice.

This is a tricky one.

You’re going to need to describe why you want to attend SNU for the department and major. Now, this can seem quite obvious: you want to get accepted into a SKY school because it’s one of the best institutions. So, why you want to go into SNU for your major should be a given. After all, almost all students in Korea would be enamored to attend; and, SNU has a reputable and respected notoriety abroad.

So, this brings us to a difficult position. How do we answer “Why do you want to attend SNU for your major?”

When you’re trying to answer this prompt, SNU is measuring your ability to articulate a clear path for future career prospects. They want to see whether you can write a well-fleshed-out description of the dreams and aspirations you wish to actualize. The key here is to show SNU that you have a realistic plan for the future. Don’t be vague. Be as specific as possible without being verbose.

Here’s an example of a statement that’s specific and articulate when answering the SNU motives and scholastic purpose prompt.

“…It’s exactly why I plan to pursue Seoul National University for computer science. I wish to attend to expand my knowledge in a rigorous, competitive environment. For, an environment like this is exactly what would provide me the lateral thinking needed to create better ideas for future programming startup projects. In particular, I wish to develop a project implementing the use of artificial intelligence to measure and quantify linguistic phenomena such as semantic shift. It’s the implementation of utilitarian computer science logic for unraveling linguistic language mysteries.

And, Seoul National Unviersity and the department of…

…그것이 바로 제가 서울대학교 컴퓨터과학과에 진학할 계획을 세운 이유입니다. 나는 엄격하고 경쟁적인 환경에서 지식을 확장하기 위해 참석하고 싶습니다. 왜냐하면 이와 같은 환경은 미래의 프로그래밍 시작 프로젝트를 위한 더 나은 아이디어를 창출하는 데 필요한 측면적 사고를 나에게 제공할 것이기 때문입니다. 특히 의미 변화와 같은 언어 현상을 측정하고 정량화하기 위해 인공 지능을 활용하는 프로젝트를 개발하고 싶습니다. 언어학적 미스터리를 풀기 위한 실용적인 컴퓨터 과학 논리를 구현한 것입니다.

그리고 서울대학교와 학과…”

Seoul National University Personal Statement –Short Answer Question About Motives Example Excerpt

How to Answer SNU’s Personal Essay Question

Again, we pasted the essay prompt below. This time, it’s SNU’s personal essay prompt.

This personal essay helps us become acquainted with you in ways different from courses, grades, test scores, and other objective data. It will demonstrate your ability to organize your thoughts and express yourself. Given your personal background, evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or; discuss some issue of personal, local, or international concern and its importance to you, or; describe a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence. We are looking for an essay that will help us know you better as a person and as a student.

SNU Personal Essay question

There are a few things SNU’s personal essay question is asking for. And, they quite literally tell you in the prompt itself.

1. First, they want to know more about your personal qualities outside of grades and quantitative academic performance. (They even say this twice! Once in the beginning and a second time in the last sentence!)
2. Next, they want to see how capable you are of organizing your thoughts coherently. That is, they want to see compelling writing mastery.
3. Lastly, you have 3 topics to choose from:
   • Talk about and assess an important experience, achievement, or risk you took.
   • Talk about a problem or issue at the personal, local, or international/global level and why it’s important to you.
   • Discuss someone who had a major influence on you and talk about said influence.

Let’s cover these one at a time.

First, let’s talk about SNU’s insistence on knowing you as a person. They mentioned the importance of getting to know you outside of your academic performance and marks twice. This goes to show just how important the holistic elements of your application are.

So, you DON’T want this essay to be a bragging essay.

This essay is not about impressing the admissions officers with how great your achievements were. They will already know this from the rest of your application. Instead, use the topic of your choice to highlight personal qualities about yourself such as your dedication to honesty, your passion for diversity, and your strong sense of justice for the common person just to name a few.

Second point: the admissions office wants to know that you are capable of sophisticated levels of articulation. That means your sentences should be able to use strong vocabulary when appropriate. You’re not peppering your essay with advanced words just to impress them. And, you’re not trying to woo them with purple prose and hyperbole. You just want to have strong writing that’s advanced and conveys profound ideas in a streamlined manner.

Now, let’s talk about the 3 choices of topics you can pick from.

If you talk about an experience, risk you took, or achievement you had, we believe it’s important to focus on the thing no one pays attention to. For instance, if you choose to write about risk, don’t just write about how the risk paid off. That’s just obvious. Focus on the mental wrestling it took to persuade yourself to take the risk too. Talk about the way you debated with yourself in your head before working up the courage. These are all elements seldom seen in essays. They won’t just make you stand out; you’ll also show an element of you to admissions officers that is seldom seen in students.

Discussing an issue at a small or large scale for your SNU personal essay question shows admissions officers your priorities. Your choice of issue says a lot about the things you value in the world. For instance, advocating for affordable education demonstrates a strong sense of social justice and care for those who are less fortunate. However, you can temper these passionate flames with utilitarian logic and practical thinking. Quantitative approaches and practical solutions to these problems show you have a mature problem-solving mindset that isn’t just stuck in emotion alone. It makes you a well-rounded applicant who values both the emotional aspects of advocacy as well as the practical operations management elements.

Lastly, let’s explore the “someone who had an influence on you” topic. This is one of the best topics to choose from the SNU personal essay question. If you don’t know which topic to choose, we recommend this one. Why? It’s because it’s a great way of showing humility and a learning temperament, which are crucial for long-term success. SNU wants students who show promise of future success. You can’t get there without the right personality and character traits. Showing your admiration for others proves you’re someone who learns from others by watching and abstracting. Additionally, you show maturity for your age in recognizing and accepting you have much to learn from others. And, your reverence would prove useful as a mindset that lets you appreciate others and their strengths, especially when you can grow from them and apply them in a cross-disciplinary manner.

Here’s an example essay excerpt answering SNU’s personal essay question.

“I wrote a fantasy short story novel. It’s no Game of Thrones, that’s for sure; for, I’ve still much to learn about writing from other people’s perspectives. And, I still haven’t quite mastered the art of vivid imagery without shoehorning every word in the dictionary. Nonetheless, writing creative fiction was a risk I had to take. It’s the inexorable labor of a creative mind to grow weary of the weight of fantasies brewing in my mind. And, I needed to empty the contents of said fantasy into paper. I didn’t know whether it would succeed; but, I was quite surprised with just how much feedback I received from my small readership. In fact, it grew to a substantial handful; and, I’m ever so grateful to learn from their critiques while I improve my creative writing ability.”

“저는 판타지 단편소설을 썼습니다. 왕좌의 게임이 아니라는 것은 확실합니다. 왜냐하면 다른 사람의 관점에서 글쓰기에 대해 아직 배울 것이 많기 때문입니다. 그리고 아직까지 생생한 이미지의 기술을 익히지 못했습니다. 그럼에도 불구하고 창작소설을 쓴다는 것은 내가 감수해야 할 위험이었다. 내 마음 속에 피어나는 환상의 무게에 지쳐가는 것은 창조자의 거침없는 노동이다. 그리고, 나는 그 내용을 비워야 했다. 판타지를 종이로 표현했습니다. 성공할지는 모르겠지만, 소수의 독자층으로부터 많은 피드백을 받은 것에 상당히 놀랐습니다. 실제로 꽤 소수로 늘어났고, 지금도 그렇습니다. 창의적인 글쓰기 능력을 향상시키는 동안 그들의 비평을 통해 배울 수 있어 감사합니다.”

Seoul National University Personal Statement –Personal Essay Prompt Example Excerpt

How to Answer SNU’s Study Plan Essay Question

Lastly, we have SNU’s Study Plan essay prompt. As always, we pasted the prompt below for your viewing convenience.

Please explain in some detail your purpose in studying at Seoul National University and your plans for study.  Be as specific as you can regarding your academic interests and the curriculum you expect to follow in achieving your goals.

SNU Study Plan essay prompt

This one is a rather straightforward prompt. But, it’s still crucial nonetheless; and, we heavily recommend you brainstorm your answer a lot before writing.

SNU’s study plan essay question is their way of saying, “You need to know what you want to do in the future.” It’s not helpful (nor competitive compared to other students) to be wishy-washy about your interests and academic pursuits. You should have a clearly articulated plan for what you would like to do in the coming years at SNU. In particular, you should be able to connect SNU’s curriculum and its details to your future plans.

Making a future startup? Cool! How do the classes correlate with the success of your future startup?

Want to work for your parents’ company in the future or work in the same industry? Great! How will SNU’s classes teach you to make the most of your experience, maximizing your chances of success?

But, here’s a major problem: most people at this age have no idea what they want to do in the future. In fact, they seldom know the right path toward achieving it.

That’s actually why we recommend you speak with a professional college admissions consultant and reflective editor who can listen to your unique background and needs. We’ve done this for countless students to get them accepted into some of the most prestigious universities in the world. In this case, we would help you brainstorm the right topics and ideas to write and show admissions officers how well-formulated your future plans are. (And, more importantly, how SNU’s classes and curriculum would supplement it.)

Below is an example format for SNU’s study plan essay. Again, it’s an excerpt and not a whole essay.

“I love to think of myself as an altruistic person. But, not in the self-absorbed and self-congratulatory way. Rather, I’ve always wanted to make the most of my hard work, brains, and passion to do the most good for the world. It’s “squeezing the lemon for all the juice it’s worth” in a metaphorical sense. However, over time I’ve come to realize this Maximizing-Return-on-Investment perspective of altruism is best achieved by leveraging the power of Economics and Business. For, it’s the modern marvel of business and economy that truly allow us to do the most good.

This is exactly why I wish to pursue [_____] at SNU. For, classes such as [_______] and [_______] align perfectly with the kinds of ambitions I would like to achieve in the future. In particular, I wish to dive into the electronics and hardware industry; I believe the atomization of hardware and Electrical Engineering components could launch scientific development and societal productivity to unimaginable heights, ones that would certainly lift many out of poverty through advanced computing. And, It’s classes like [_______] that can help me create a startup business that dives into this niche. [_______] would have… “

“나는 나 자신을 이타적인 사람이라고 생각하는 것을 좋아합니다. 하지만 자기 몰입적이고 자축적인 방식이 아닙니다. 오히려 항상 최선을 다하기 위해 노력과 두뇌, 열정을 최대한 활용하고 싶었습니다. 세상에 좋은 일입니다. 비유적인 의미에서 “가치 있는 모든 주스를 얻기 위해 레몬을 짜는 것”입니다. 그러나 시간이 지남에 따라 저는 이타주의의 투자 ​​수익 극대화 관점이 힘을 활용함으로써 가장 잘 달성된다는 것을 깨닫게 되었습니다. 경제와 경영학 우리가 진정으로 가장 좋은 일을 할 수 있게 해주는 것은 경영과 경제의 현대적 경이로움입니다.

이것이 바로 제가 서울대학교에서 [_____]을(를) 공부하고 싶은 이유입니다. [_______], [_______] 등의 수업은 제가 장래에 이루고 싶은 야망의 종류와 완벽하게 일치하기 때문입니다. 특히 저는 전자 및 하드웨어 산업에 뛰어들고 싶습니다. 나는 하드웨어와 전기 공학 구성 요소의 원자화가 과학적 발전과 사회적 생산성을 상상할 수 없는 수준으로 끌어올릴 수 있다고 믿습니다. 이는 확실히 고급 컴퓨팅을 통해 많은 사람들을 빈곤에서 벗어나게 할 것입니다. 그리고 제가 이 틈새 시장에 뛰어드는 스타트업 비즈니스를 만드는 데 도움이 될 수 있는 것은 [_______]과 같은 수업입니다. [________]는…”

Seoul National University Personal Statement –Study Plan Prompt Example Excerpt

How Hard is it to Get Accepted Into Seoul National University (SNU)? What About as an International Student?

Few students get accepted into Seoul National University. However, an even smaller number of students get accepted as international students.

SNU had a total of 29,065 students enrolled. 446 of them were international students.

While the numbers online are all over the place, SNU’s acceptance rate is considered slim. But, perhaps not so much as the United States’ top-tier Ivy League admissions rate of low single digits.

Now, this can be a bit misleading. A higher acceptance rate at SNU does not equate to a better chance of getting accepted. This is due to the school’s prerequisites before applying.

Korean universities often embrace a scoring prerequisite system. They have 커트라인(cut-line) and 안정권 (safety point). Students who score less than the cut-line in their Korean college entrance exam (CSAT, 대학수학능력시험, Suneung) have a significantly “nearly non-existent” chance of acceptance. Scoring over the safety point increases your chances.

Recently, Korean university standards have changed to include elements outside academics. Nonetheless, students who don’t meet the 커트라인 (cut-line) simply don’t apply because their chances are so slim. They choose to apply to schools they know they’ll have a higher chance of acceptance at.

This fills the Seoul National University admissions pool with often the most selective and capable students, spiking the acceptance rate more than it otherwise would if average students applied.

So, if you see Seoul National University having a higher acceptance rate from online sources, don’t inflate your hopes. It’s harder to get in than you expect, and even more so for international students.

Now, here’s an important thing to note: SNU, like other schools, is implementing more holistic admissions.

This means they’re considering non-academic elements like extracurriculars and essays more than they used to a few years ago. Make no mistake: academic performance and test scores are still paramount. But, solid extracurriculars and a set of well-written personal statement essays may increase your chances of SNU accepting you.

There’s just one problem: practically all Seoul National University applicants will have people helping them write their SNU personal statements for them. And, they’re your competition.

Yikes.

Let’s discuss a bit about the SNU personal statement ghostwriting problem (and what you can do to compete.)

Can I Hire Someone to Write the Seoul National University Personal Statement for Me?

Look, we’re just being really honest here.

Almost (and by that, we mean about 90%) every Seoul National University applicant is hiring a college consultant or essay writer. They’re paying them to edit, revise, and often write the whole essay for them.

Why? Well, let’s face it. It’s a SKY school. This is their only chance at getting into the best school in the nation. It’s their only chance to truly bring pride and joy to their family. It’s their one chance to be the envy of their peers. This moment determines whether everything they’ve worked so hard for will be worth it.

Of course they’ll cheat!

Of course, they’ll have people write their essays for them.

And, it’s totally understandable.

When the stakes are so high, academic integrity goes right out the window. Confidence in your ability to write and articulate a solid response also goes out said metaphorical window.

Students often hire writers from prestigious college admissions consulting companies that craft delicate essays. And, ultimately, they are your competition.

For SNU to accept you, you’ll need to write the personal statement essays better than the admissions pool. And, your competition has some of the best writers and editors money can buy.

*Psst, by the way: most of these college consulting firms are not perfect. Students who have consultants write the SNU personal statement for them have a weakness. We’ll get to that later.*

Now, can you hire someone to write the SNU personal statement too?

Well, yeah.

That’s not to say it’s academically honorable! But, roughly speaking, you can pay someone to write your SNU personal statements.

However, we don’t recommend this.

Why?

Well, it’s because most people who hire a writer to craft their SNU application don’t realize their essays sound manufactured, generic, and impersonal. Your college consultant isn’t you. So, when they try to write the whole essay for you, they lose the personal voice needed to make the essay strong.

How to Get Help With Your Seoul National University Essay

This method produces a much, much stronger set of SNU personal statement essays. Ready? Here’s what you do. Pay for an editor who can do reflective writing.

Okay, we know what you’re probably thinking: WTF is reflective writing.

Reflective writing is the act of listening and thematic analysis during the writing process. In the context of college essay writing, your editor will ask you questions and have you wrestle with certain themes and motifs in writing. They’ll also challenge your beliefs and help you conjure much more compelling ideas and topics in your essays by helping you think laterally. Think of it like psychotherapy: the goal is not to feed you answers. Rather, it’s to help you reshape your thinking whilst you write.

Reflective writing is the best way to hire a college essay consultant to help with your SNU personal statement. It’s MUCH stronger than mass-manufactured essays. Hands down. Full stop.

We do this with our clients and students all the time. If you’d like us to provide you with reflective writing for your SNU personal statement, you can sign up for a free consultation call here.

And, it’s helped us work with students a lot. We created solid essays that got them accepted into some of the best institutions in the world including not just SKY schools but also Duke, Yale, MIT, Stanford, USC, UPenn, and more. But, here’s the thing. We didn’t just write out a whole essay and throw it at them to copy and paste into their SNU applications. Instead, we worked alongside them brainstorming, editing, revising, and changing their essay throughout the writing process.

This helped our students stay more true to themselves when writing. And yes: believe it or not, doing this actually makes the essays look much, much better and more competitive. Trust us.

Oh, and as a side note: many college consulting firms prioritize making money off student anxieties. They do it in the States, and they do it in Korea as well. China, Hong Kong, and Japan are no different. If you’re working with any consulting firm helping you with the essay process, be very careful who you work with. They need to be a trustworthy consultant and editor, and not just trying to pick your pocket.