OneVision | University of Michigan Acceptance Story

Undergraduate Study in the U.S. and Engineering Applications

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

Ann Arbor, College of Engineering Admission

Student: 12th Grade, International School in Korea Major: Computer Engineering (Intended) Consulting Period: 11 Months

1. Application Background & Goals

At the end of 11th grade at an international school in Korea, Student A came to OneVision with the goal of “Top 20 U.S. universities focused on engineering.” The student's math and science grades were stable, but they lacked the project and research experience needed for engineering applications, and they felt lost about the direction of their essays.

2. The Strategy Built with OneVision

OneVision first found the student's strength in their “experience of discovering problems and solving them on their own,” and restructured it into the narrative structure that UMich Engineering likes (problem definition → design → experimentation/improvement → impact).

Completed 2 small-scale coding and hardware projects over summer break
Set up a structure for the student to take on a tutoring leader role in the school's math and science clubs
Built an “engineering + community impact” essay framework tailored to UMich
Prepared recommendation letter briefing notes containing the points to be emphasized in the recommendation letters

3. Essay & Portfolio Points

The Common App essay was built around “the process by which a student who loved taking machines apart came to build a small device that solved an inconvenience a real schoolmate faced.” Rather than simply saying they wanted to go to engineering school, it emphasized the flow that runs through problem definition, design, implementation and feedback to make the essay more persuasive.

4. Results and Other Acceptances

In the end, in addition to admission to the University of Michigan College of Engineering, the student was able to receive good results from universities strong in engineering, such as Purdue, UIUC and Wisconsin–Madison.

Program Signature Application Atelier

Consulting Period 11 Months

Application Type U.S. Undergraduate Direct

Acceptances UMich, Purdue, UIUC and Others

Keywords

Parent Review

“What I liked most was that instead of simply giving us a school list, they first sorted out what kind of personality my child has and then recommended schools, majors and programs that fit it. In particular, because they set the direction for the engineering portfolio, I feel my child grew on their own.”

Student Review

“I had no idea at all what to write, so it was a big help that they brainstormed my essays and activities with me over Zoom every week. I don't think I could ever have built this kind of story structure on my own.”

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