What you'll walk away with
- 1
An Essay Map for every essay on your list
Every essay, its deadline and a reuse plan, plus 3 personal statement topic candidates. Session 1.
- 2
A full personal statement draft v2, ED/EA-ready by Oct 31
Drafted, then revised with a rubric and peer review. Sessions 2-3.
- 3
A Why-Us template + 2 supplement drafts you can reuse
A research method you can repeat for every school, and drafts of your two most important supplements. Session 4.
- 4
A rewritten activities list + a submission checklist
Activities and honors rewritten, and a checklist for RD and ED2. Session 5.
Grade 12 · grade 11 welcome
Your personal statement,finished~ in five Fridays
A live essay workshop for grade-12 students applying to US colleges, with a plan for every essay on your list and drafts of your two most important supplements.
Fridays, Oct 16 to Nov 13 · 21:00–22:20 KST · Live on Zoom · Max 30 households
- 1
Live, not recorded
Five Fridays on Zoom
- 2
Leave with a finished PS
Submission-ready draft v2
- 3
ED/EA-ready by Oct 31
Ahead of Nov 1 deadlines
- 4
Max 30 households
One small, capped cohort
See exactly what you'll make
Session 1
Every essay on your list, its deadline, and what you can reuse.
Essay Map
11 essays across 4 schools → 6 to write from scratch (your personal statement counts once)
Illustrative sample. Not real student work.
Most ED and EA deadlinesfall on
November 1 before our last session.
*So the personal statement comes first: sessions 1 to 3.
ED and EA deadlines are usually November 1.
That is before our last session, so the personal statement comes first: sessions 1 to 3 are built to get you to a finished draft by Oct 30-31. Supplements, UC PIQs (Nov 30) and RD essays (early January) follow in sessions 4 and 5.
A personal statement rarely works on the first attempt.
Students often change topic and start again, sometimes more than once. Restarting is normal. Restarting alone, in the last week of October, is the problem.
One-to-one help is hard to find in October.
Consultants are busiest exactly when you need them. This workshop does not depend on anyone's spare editing hours: you learn to draft and revise in the room, on a schedule.
A group class that still moves your essay
Five Fridays.Five real outputs.
A group class can't be personal if all you do is listen. So you don't just listen. Every session runs on the same four steps, and your own essay moves forward in each one.
- 1
Learn
60 minutes of teaching and 20 minutes of Q&A. Questions are typed and anonymous, so nobody has to ask out loud.
- 2
Draft
10 to 15 minute drafting sprints during the session, cameras optional. You write while the idea is fresh.
- 3
Get feedback
Hot seat: 2 or 3 volunteer drafts are critiqued live each session, anonymized and with consent. Then structured peer review in breakout rooms, using a one-page rubric.
- 4
Carry it forward
A worksheet between sessions, about 60 to 90 minutes a week. Each one produces what the next session starts from.
Curriculum: personal statement first
- 6 sessions
- all live
- ~7 hours
Fridays, Oct 16 to Nov 13 · 21:00–22:20 KST · 80 minutes (60 teaching + 20 Q&A)
Before session 1 · Thu, Oct 15 · 21:00–21:30 KST (Zoom, in Korean)Parent briefing (Korean, 30 min)학부모 브리핑 · 한국어 진행 · 30분
- The essay timeline from now to January: ED/EA, UC, RD
- What the student does each week, and what parents can expect to see
- How to help without rewriting
You leave with: Parents know the timeline and their role.
Session 1 · Fri, Oct 16Plan of attack & your narrative
- Turn your school list into an inventory of every essay you owe
- Spot the essays that can be reused across schools
- Find a one-line application narrative and brainstorm topics
- A quick test of whether a topic is strong enough
You leave with: Essay Map (every essay, deadline, reuse plan) + 3 personal statement topic candidates.
Session 2 · Fri, Oct 23Personal statement I: from topic to draft
- Strong vs. weak essay walkthroughs
- Structure options and sensory detail
- Live drafting sprint
You leave with: Outline + first 300 words.
Session 3 · Fri, Oct 30Personal statement II: revise like a reader
- A self-revision checklist: the five traps (sounds like anyone, missing context, weak second paragraph, over-built structure, wordiness)
- Peer review in breakout rooms with a one-page rubric
- Hot seat: live critique of volunteer drafts
You leave with: Full personal statement draft v2, ED/EA-ready by Oct 31.
Session 4 · Fri, Nov 6Supplements that get read
- A research method for Why-Us and Why-Major essays
- Community, "how will you contribute" and activity essays
- UC PIQ mapping and reuse across schools
You leave with: Why-Us template + 2 supplement drafts.
Session 5 · Fri, Nov 13The rest of the file
- Short answers (including cutting an existing essay down) and the additional information section
- Activities list and honors rewrite
- Final polish, and when to scrap and restart
You leave with: Rewritten activities list + submission checklist for RD/ED2.
Your instructor
Rex Park (박정호)
Harvard Ed.M. candidate · Columbia graduate · IB Diploma alum
Rex studied the IB Diploma himself, then went to Columbia, where he graduated in Political Science, and now to Harvard's Graduate School of Education. He has spent six years teaching IB Economics and Business and mentoring students through US applications, and he works with undergraduates at the Harvard College Dean's Office. He has been through the process himself, from IB to Columbia to Harvard, and he helps students write their applications every year.
- Ed.M. candidate, Education Policy & Analysis, Harvard Graduate School of Education ('27)
- B.A. Political Science, Columbia University ('26)
- IB Diploma graduate, Brent International School
- 6+ years teaching IB Economics & Business
- Student Ambassador, Center for International Development, Harvard Kennedy School
- Graduate Assistant, Harvard College Dean's Office
- HLAB Global Mentor (Tokyo, 2023)
“Short sessions, real output. I keep every session focused, and every one ends with something on the page. That's how a five-week sprint gets you a finished essay instead of a folder of notes.”
For parents 부모님께
You are making this decision, so one part of the program is for you. Before session 1 there is a separate 30-minute briefing in Korean, for parents only. It covers the application timeline, what your child will produce each week, and how to help without rewriting.
Student sessions run in English, because the essays are written in English. Pricing is per household: one fee covers the student's five sessions, the parent briefing and all worksheets.
What parents receive
- A 30-minute parent briefing in Korean, before session 1
- A clear timeline of what is due and when
- A defined role: how to support the writing without taking it over
부모님께 드리는 안내
- 학생 수업은 영어로 진행됩니다. 에세이를 영어로 쓰기 때문입니다.
- 첫 수업 전에 학부모님만을 위한 30분 한국어 브리핑이 별도로 있습니다. 지원 일정, 매주 학생이 완성하는 결과물, 그리고 부모님의 역할을 안내해 드립니다.
- 에세이를 대신 고쳐 쓰지 않고 자녀를 돕는 방법을 구체적으로 말씀드립니다.
- 수강료는 가정 단위입니다. 학생 수업 5회, 학부모 브리핑, 워크시트가 모두 포함됩니다.
Is this for you?
A good fit
- You are in grade 12 and applying to US colleges this cycle.
- You want a finished personal statement before ED/EA, and a plan for the rest.
- You will write every week: in the session and about 60 to 90 minutes between sessions.
- You are in grade 11 and want a head start. Grade 11 is welcome.
Not a fit
- You want someone to write the essay for you.
- You need one-to-one editing of 15 supplements. This is a workshop, not a private editing service.
- You are looking for an admissions guarantee. Nobody can honestly give one.
With every place in this cohort
Included:worksheets for every session + the peer-review rubric
- 5 live sessions
- Korean parent briefing
- Session worksheets
- One-page peer-review rubric
- Essay Map
- Hot-seat feedback (volunteers)
₩490,000per household
One fee per household: student sessions and the parent briefing. Max 30 households.
- Payment
- Pay right after applying to confirm your place: Korean or overseas cards, Kakao Pay or Naver Pay (secure checkout by Stripe).
- Refunds
- Refunds follow Korea's Academy Act (학원법 시행령 별표 4): full refund before the first session; 2/3 refunded before one third of total class time has passed; 1/2 refunded before half has passed; no refund after half. Refunds are paid within 5 days of your request.환불은 「학원의 설립·운영 및 과외교습에 관한 법률 시행령」 별표 4에 따릅니다. 수업 시작 전: 전액 / 총 교습시간 1/3 경과 전: 2/3 / 1/2 경과 전: 1/2 / 1/2 경과 후: 반환 없음. 환불 요청일로부터 5일 이내 반환.
Questions parents ask
It's a group class. Will anyone actually look at my child's essay?
Yes, in three ways. Each session, 2 or 3 volunteer drafts are critiqued live (the hot seat), anonymized and with consent. Every student's draft is reviewed by peers in breakout rooms using a one-page rubric. And weekly worksheets take each student through their own revision. What this is not: private, line-by-line editing of every draft.
Will it finish before the ED/EA deadlines?
The personal statement will. It is front-loaded into sessions 1 to 3, so students have a full, revised draft by Oct 31, ahead of the usual Nov 1 deadlines. Sessions 4 and 5 continue with supplements for RD and the UC application.
How many students are in the class?
Up to 30 households, so there's room for the hot seat and Q&A. Places are confirmed in order of payment; when all 30 are taken, a waitlist opens and we email the next family if a place frees up.
How do we join and pay?
Apply on this page, then pay straight away by card (Korean or overseas), Kakao Pay or Naver Pay through Stripe's secure checkout; your place is held for 30 minutes while you pay. Right after payment you'll get an email with the Google Classroom link and class code and the Zoom link. Everything (materials, worksheets, announcements, recordings) lives in Classroom, and we send a reminder 2 hours before each session.
Are the sessions in English?
Student sessions are in English, because the essays are in English. The parent briefing is in Korean.
Can parents join?
Parents have their own 30-minute briefing in Korean before session 1. Pricing is per household, so the briefing is included.
Can grade 11 students apply?
Yes. The workshop is built for grade 12, but grade 11 students are welcome and leave with a head start on planning and the personal statement.
What if we miss a session?
Each session is cloud-recorded and posted in Google Classroom the next morning (available for 30 days), with that week's worksheet.
What is the refund policy?
Refunds follow Korea's Academy Act (학원법 시행령 별표 4): full refund before the first session; 2/3 refunded before one third of total class time has passed; 1/2 refunded before half has passed; no refund after half. Refunds are paid within 5 days of your request.환불은 「학원의 설립·운영 및 과외교습에 관한 법률 시행령」 별표 4에 따릅니다. 수업 시작 전: 전액 / 총 교습시간 1/3 경과 전: 2/3 / 1/2 경과 전: 1/2 / 1/2 경과 후: 반환 없음. 환불 요청일로부터 5일 이내 반환.
Do you guarantee admission?
No. We promise the process, not the result: five sessions, the deliverables, and the feedback format.