Waseda SILS Application Question

Hi everyone!

I'm a S. Korean student who was unfortunately not accepted to Waseda SILS last year. This year, I am applying to SILS for one final time, in the September application period. I was wondering about a few things. I would really really appreciate it if a SILS student could reply :)


1. How important are High School grades(Academic Transcript) in regards to being accepted (Honestly, my high school grades aren't that great.)


2. TOEFL scores - How much is required in order to be accepted?
Last year, I submitted 108 and I didn't even get a conditional offer. After that, I studied more, and I got 115. Do you think I will pass this time?

3. Please tell me some tips or advice about applying to SILS


Thanks in advance!

Erhh, well, here's mine to help you gauge a little bit.

I'm a Singaporean student who graduated with a specialised diploma (think of it as a university major, but like a junior version), so my education is drastically different from the typical textbook-cramming highschool/A Levels student.

1) I got in with a GPA of 3.2, but I buffed up my applications with 3 very strong letters of recommendation from my lecturers and my boss, I've had almost a year of professional working experience as of the time of application, and I had a record sheet jam-packed with achievements such as winning national writing contests, representing my institution in national debating tournaments, etc, along with 3 very strongly-worded essays.

2) I took IELTS instead, and had a score of 8.5. I also had a Level 6 HSK cert (I freelance as a professional translator) so that probably helped buff up my apps too.

3) If you're a student like me who doesn't fare well with conventional measurements of capability (aka GPA), I strongly suggest you supplement yourself with a niche area you're really strong in (for me that was languages, writing, work experience in the media/business industry). Highlight strong aspects of your personality. They're looking for interesting, intellectual kids, not A-class textbook crammers.

Im also a korean student, going to a national high school atm. my gpa is also pretty bad as its only 3.1, so id like to believe that if your gpa is bad perhaps sat, essays will make up for it. i heard toefl is not important once it reaches a certain stage as in 100 or 115 wouldnt make a big diffence as log as it is over 85. i also heard that even if they consider other scores they still consider gpa the most important ;/