She worked closely with her mentor to pursue her own interests, and was accepted into Waseda University School of International Liberal Studies, Global Studies in Japanese Cultures Program (JCulP), Keio University SFC (GIGA Program), Sophia University SPSF, and Sophia University School of International Liberal Studies!

”I think that Youyou considers each student individually, and I am very grateful for that.”

Name： Burns Sara

High school： The British School in Tokyo

Accepted into Waseda University School of International Liberal Studies, Global Studies in Japanese Cultures Program (JCulP), Keio University SFC (GIGA Program), Sophia University SPSF, and Sophia University School of International Liberal Studies!

Congratulations on getting accepted! Please tell us how you feel now that you have been accepted.

Thank you! I am very glad that I was accepted to most of the schools that I applied to. In particular, I spent a lot of time working on the application documents for SFC, so I am very pleased about that. Honestly, I was not especially confident about my application to Waseda University’s School of International Liberal Studies because I drastically changed the theme of my application two weeks before the deadline, but I am relieved that I was accepted without any problems.

Please tell us why you applied to Waseda University’s School of International Liberal Studies.

I have an older sister who applied to several universities through their admissions office application processes, so I applied to the same universities. I was attracted to SfC and SILS because of their wide range of academic fields. SFC requires not just grades, but also extracurricular activities and my personality, and Waseda SILS has an excellent study abroad program, so I decided to go to whichever accepted me. Ultimately, after much deliberation, I decided to enter Waseda SILS because I wanted to study abroad in Spain.

What sort of activities did you do in high school?

In high school, I focused on language-related activities, such as Spanish speech contests, taking Spanish language exams, and volunteering in language education. I also wanted to study something related to psychology in college, so I thought it would be advantageous to be certified in anger management and child counseling, so I did my own research and obtained those two certifications.

When and how did you prepare your application?

Before I joined Youyou, I had been planning to apply through the recommendation application process, so I had a general idea of what I was interested in, but it was not until after joining Youyou that I began to actually prepare the application documents.

I was interested in psychology, but as support progressed, my mentor told me about a criminal psychology program that had been introduced overseas, and I started to create my documents from the viewpoint of whether or not it would be possible to introduce that program in Japan.

In SFC’s presentation slides, I brushed up on the idea that the mentor had given me to make it more original. I often exceeded the word limit in my application essay and had difficulty cutting words, but the professional was able to teach me how to cut words efficiently, and I was able to reduce the number of words as we progressed. I also greatly appreciated the mental support in addition to the help with the documents.

What are your aspirations after enrollment?

After entering university, I would like to become involved with a variety of people. I would like to prepare for studying overseas by joining a circle and becoming involved with senior students while studying fields that interest me, like psychology and language.

Looking back at the whole process, what are some of the other positive aspects of Youyou?

I think the mentors and professionals were very kind and communicative. No matter how many questions I asked, they politely gave feedback. During support, we did not talk about the documents constantly, as we took breaks and talked with each other, so I think that Youyou considers each student individually, and I am very grateful for that.

What advice would you give to those who will apply in the future?

You might have the image that “AO admissions is easy”, but this is not true. It is very tough (laughs)! I think it will be a difficult battle as you rewrite your essay multiple times with no end in sight, but please use all of Youyou’s resources, like the mentors and professionals, and do your best and do not give up.

Thank you very much. We at Youyou sincerely wish Ms. Burns all the best in her future endeavors.