62 Successful Boston University Essays

Prompt: Reflect on a social or community issue that deeply resonates with you. Why is it important to you, and how have you been involved in addressing or raising awareness about it?

Growing up attending an all-girls school, through occasional coed interactions, I noticed the discrepancies in the way boys and girls were treated. This became even more evident when I attended courses on economics and finance. Let’s just say there was more cologne in the room than perfume. Also, being a ballerina myself and being cognizant of the ballet industry’s inequities, including underpaid ballerinas worldwide and body image pressures, I aspire to champion women’s rights and equality.

Having lived in Japan for 15 years, I’ve been a first-hand witness to a persisting social issue: the gender wage gap. Despite global coverage, progress remains stagnant despite the passage of time. East Asian countries, such as South Korea, grapple with this problem. In 2022, South Korea’s wage gap was 31.1%, one of the largest globally. If this issue is left unaddressed, it is likely to further exacerbate the women’s “birth strike,” which could have detrimental consequences for the workforce over the next 10–20 years. Many South Korean women have aspirations to work, but the government’s pro-natal campaign, which includes financial incentives, inadvertently contributes to this “birth-strike” phenomenon, as women push back against the country's traditionalist values in pursuit of respect and equality. Nonetheless, rectifying this problem is exceptionally challenging due to South Korea’s deeply rooted values and seniority system, which favors long-serving staff, putting women on maternity leave at a disadvantage.

In response to this pressing issue, I decided to undertake research on the gender wage gap, with the hope of identifying the factors that perpetuate it and contributing to the solution. While my findings aligned with previous research, I realized that contributing to the visibility of this issue can serve as a catalyst for societal transformation. In a free and open society, sustaining dialogue and raising awareness may indeed be the key to finding the solution to this deeply entrenched problem. Just as a choreographer carefully crafts every movement, I intend to choreograph a future where fairness takes center stage.

Prompt: What about being a student at BU most excites you? How do you hope to contribute to our campus community?

March 6, 2017. A 10-year-old opens YouTube and clicks a few buttons on his grumpy PC.

Create YouTube Channel: "[Name Redacted]"

From then on, every single evening after school became an epic quest for me.

Whether it was making magical hats that could detect heatstrokes, mystic lunchboxes that heated up, or filming stunning tutorials on PCB Design, I always had my magic wand—a variable temperature soldering iron—to conjure up all sorts of creations to help the people around me.

But even after going through high school to study electricity and currents extensively, there’s still a 10-year-old kid in me who’s fascinated by the sorcery of electricity. To me, electricity is nothing less than magic. I consider myself a wizard. And BU is my Hogwarts.

Participating in thought-provoking classes such as Wireless Communication, Machine Learning, and Electromagnetic Systems at BU would not only get me out of bed every morning but also deepen my understanding of creating hardware products in real life.

Conducting research at the WISE Circuits Lab under Professor Rabia Yazicigil on wearable wireless communications and bioelectronics would help me understand the nuances in the field of wearable technology and allow me to continue my work toward crafting wearable devices for Alzheimer’s patients and the elderly.

After speaking with my Terrier friends, I realized that the electrical engineering ecosystem at BU is perfect for me as it’s the sweet intersection of both hands-on learning and theory that isn’t found anywhere else in the world.

As someone who spent hours taking care of my grandma, I’d love to provide care and warmth to elders like her at Alzheimer’s Buddies. I also see myself leveraging my experience as the founder of various web startups by being a part of hackathons like HackHardware to create software that connects Terriers with unique campus experiences that genuinely interest them.

May 19, 2028. Commencement day at BU. “Today—as I create cutting-edge innovations in engineering and run businesses with fellow Terriers—I'm reminded of that curious 10-year-old. Thank you, BU. With the skills and passion fostered here, I aspire to keep innovating and change the world.