Interview With A Senior

Interview with A Senior

By Abby Kim, Moses Kim, and Saemi Han

w  What is the difference between third grade GLP classes and second grade GLP classes? Are they of the same difficulty? 

Nope. 3^rd grade GLP is a joke, but that’s only because the teachers aren’t allowed to give us much homework. The classes aren’t as rigorous as the second grade GLP classes are, and most people just doze off in class. I think the school wants you to focus on your AP exams and the midterms in your senior year. You’ll be surprised to find yourself longing for the 2^nd year classes that drained all the energy out of you and made you sleep-deprived.

w  What can we do to prepare for third grade other than the GPA, SATs, APs and other test related things? 

If you are ambitious enough to do unethical things and if your parents are kind and rich enough to support you, then you will find plenty of things to spend money on and fill your application with crazy, bogus achievements you never made.

Otherwise, I would advise you to read during the winter vacation. In September, we were surprised by how much dumber we had become this year. By the time I had to write my essays, I couldn’t form coherent sentences in English. Apart from that, keep doing the activities you have been doing so far. Don’t try too hard to look for unique internships. I don’t think they matter a lot in the end.

w  How is life in Injung building? What are some nice things and not-so-nice things about the environment there?

Life in Injung building is not as different as you imagine. But the classrooms stink like hell because the sewage is right outside the windows. Don’t worry; you guys won’t be using these classrooms next year though. The teachers have agreed that the smell is unbearable in summer. Also, no GLP means that there is no incentive to come to school. Having to wake up every day knowing that you will hate every minute of school is very depressing.

w  What is the one thing that you wished a sunbae told you when you were in second grade?

I posted this question on our class’s Facebook page, and these are what my friends have said:
Senior year is not as easy as sunbaes say; don’t trust the school; check the Commonapp early in the year; get your SAT and SAT subject scores as soon as possible; Don’t wait till the last minute. Do everything in advance; You are on your own. Nobody can help you much.

w  What about your time do you most regret? Most appreciate?

I wasted a lot of time doing things I enjoy, rather than thing I was supposed to do. I’ve learned only recently that scores do matter (not much, but they still matter), so don’t screw your GPA and SATs. Personally, though, I think I would still do the same stuff if I could go back and start all over again.

I appreciate all those wonderful people I’ve met at Daewon. If I could go back in time, I would again choose to come to Daewon because of a dozen awesome friends and five amazing teachers I’ve met here. I know it’s the type of advice a mother gives her five-year-old son, but I’m going to say this anyway: Be nice to your friends. Competition is unavoidable at Daewon, but don’t get too obsessed with it because you will lose the biggest part of what high school is all about.

w  Is senior year really as fast-paced and stressful as everybody says?

Junior year is stressful because you have a lot of exams and homework to do. It’s exhausting because you barely get enough sleep. Senior year, on the other hand, is less stressful in terms of work load once the AP season is over. But it’s still stressful because you have to start thinking realistically about colleges and Mr. Cho ranks your scores and GPA. You will find out where you stand among your peers and how many people have better SAT scores than you do.

w  What three things should we begin to prepare as we enter senior year?

Study Maths and save your GPA ; prepare for the SAT. If you get high enough score in January, your life will be easier next year; keep reading so that your brains won’t atrophy.

w  What is one thing you would like to see change at Daewon? Do you think it's possible?

 

I can’t choose only one!

I want to bring Mr. Bruske and Mr. Busby back, but I don’t see it ever happening. I’ve always thought that when I graduate and visit Daewon two or three years later, I would find all those teachers I’ve respected and have admired doing the same thing and bored (hopefully just a little) in the GLP office. Too bad it won’t happen. I will still track them down to see them, but it won’t be at Daewon.

I will also get rid of those domestic classes you have to take. Minsa and Yongin have their specially designed classes for students planning to study abroad. But we don’t, mainly because the domestic students won’t be able to get good naeshins if you guys don’t take the same tests as they do. Simply put, we’re being sacrificed for their naeshins. It’s not entirely the school administration’s fault though—I heard the domestic kids’ parents are much scarier and more powerful than ours.

w  What should we do during the last days of GLP?

Do something you’ll always remember the rest of your life. Take a lot of pictures, film as much as you can, write letters, make videos for the teachers, do a Q&A session with the teachers, eat cakes, whatever you want. Personally, I remember it as one of the most embarrassing days at Daewon because I cried my eyes out during Mr. Bruske’s party. Now that I think about it, we actually worked in composition class. We discussed David Foster Wallace and some Lobster article he wrote. Prepare something fun and don’t let Mr. D get to you this year.

w  How is the general atmosphere of the seniors during college admission season?

I find it a little scary because some kids are willing to do very devious and disgusting things I can’t even imagine. On the other hand, you can get much closer to your friends and get to know them better because you share a lot of personal things. Some kids succeed in maintaining their sanity while some others go menboong.

w  Are early decision school choices usually shared or kept secret?

Mr. Cho posts everyone’s school choices on TCCI so that you can make reasonable changes. But that’s only a few days before the early deadline, and many people keep it secret until then.

w  How do the essay conferences go? There are rumors that they are financially burdensome, is it true?

There are seven teachers giving essay conferences this year. We reserve a slot on Latisse, and bring our essays at the appointed time. If you have an essay conference during a domestic class, you can legitimately skip the class to go to the conference. I guess the essay conferences don’t seem cheap (50,000 won per conference), but if you go to hagwons for college counseling, the price can soar up to 50,000,000 won. Quite many people still choose to go to hagwons instead.

w  Are the conferences generally awkward? Is it difficult getting such a personal essay reviewed by your teachers?

 

The essay conferences aren’t awkward, but while brainstorming with Mr. Kim I ended up talking so much about myself that I freaked out after the conference. I was really embarrassed. I had never ever told anything personal to an adult. But the conferences were therapeutic in a way because he’s a great listener, probably the best one you can find.

Because I had conferences mostly with Mr. D and Kim, I don’t really know about the other teachers, but I heard they’re all nice and very devoted. Most kids choose two or three teachers and continue meeting them instead of going to seven different teachers. In the end, you will listen to whoever’s opinion you value most. My essay wasn’t personal, so I can’t really answer your second question, but I think getting your crappy drafts reviewed by the teachers is more difficult.

w  What are the seniors planning to do after the admission process is over?

 

We’ll have fun. Party. Drink. Lots of drink. Travel. Get a driver’s license. Get a part-time job.  And I’m going to teach myself Djembe.