Introduction to Dr. Kim's Net
To the revised edition
Dr. Kim's Net Overseas Education Brand Value Protection Guide

Intro

1.
The Eternal Worry: Our Careers
2.
Why am I writing this book?
3.
Is it difficult to get into a doctoral program or a master's program?

Chapter 1: Real Cases

Fall 2025 PhD Program Acceptance: Top 10 Pre-Acceptances through Active Contact through Academic Conference Attendance
Fall 2025 PhD Program Acceptance: Top 10 Acceptances Achieved Through Research and Practical Experience
Fall 2025 PhD Program Acceptance: Challenges and Vision for the Future of Special Education
Fall 2024 PhD Program Acceptance: The Power of Research Vision, Not Qualifications, and Re-Challenge to Make It to the Top 10
Fall 2024 PhD Program Acceptance: Achieving the Dream of a Direct PhD from a Top School Without a Dissertation
Fall 2024 PhD Program Acceptance: From Local Universities to Top 10 Full Funding and Fellowships
Fall 2024 PhD Admissions: Choose Your Research Environment Beyond Rankings
Fall 2024 PhD Program Acceptance: Dreaming of Becoming a Pioneer in Life Science Research
Fall 2024 PhD Program Acceptance: Active-duty military officer, independent research, and full-funded admission to a top university.
Fall 2024 PhD Program Acceptance: Achieving Full Funding Through Perseverance and Sincerity
Fall 2023 PhD Program Acceptance: After a two-year hiatus after failing, I finally passed the exam after a second attempt.
Fall 2023 PhD Program Admissions: Full Scholarship PhD Program Admissions with an Average CSAT Grade of 4
Fall 2023 PhD Program Acceptance: Accepted even without published papers or low GPAs
Fall 2023 PhD Program Acceptance: What if You Complete a High-Quality Study Abroad Program?
Fall 2022 PhD Admissions: The Importance of One Win
Fall 2022 PhD Program Acceptance: The Importance of the Number of Universities You Apply to
Fall 2022 PhD Admissions: The Importance of Perseverance and Preparation

Chapter 2: Misconceptions About Studying for Master's and Doctoral Degrees in the United States

1.
General preparation process for students preparing to study abroad
2.
Misconceptions about studying for a master's or doctoral degree in the US: An Excessive Obsession with Specifications
3.
Expected passing rate based on spec-centeredness(?)
4.
If 'specs' are important, this is an impossible case.
5.
Why We Fall into the Misconception of Spec-Centrism

Chapter 3: The Essence of Master's and Doctoral Study Abroad in the United States

1.
The actual admissions committee's total applicant score formula
2.
Evaluation Criteria for Dr. Kim's Overseas Study Education
3.
Forget the formula for advancement in Korea
4.
What are the levels? Let's take a look at hiring at large corporations.
5.
Studying for a master's or doctoral degree in the US is a job opportunity.
6.
America's Leveling Standard: Warren Buffett
7.
Valid Admission Strategies
8.
The essence of studying abroad for a master's degree
9.
Comparing the graduate school systems in Korea and the United States

Chapter 4: Why do you want to go to graduate school, and in the United States at that?

1 Important Questions You Need to Answer Yourself
2. Goals of American Universities
3 Reasons to Set a Vision and Mission
4 The Difference Between Motivation and Simple Interest

Chapter 5: Preparing Key Documents: Importance and Timeline

1 List of required documents in a 2X2 matrix
2 Study Abroad Preparation Timeline
3. What to prepare first: Letter of recommendation
The Meaning of Letters of Recommendation in the United States
What Makes a Good Letter of Recommendation
Recommender Selection Criteria
Bonus: How to Submit a Letter of Recommendation
4. Order of preparation of major documents and their dependencies
Document preparation and motivation
50 Questions and Answers on Research Potential
The Importance of Terminology
The order of preparation of key documents and their dependencies
5 How to Prepare an Outline
The Importance of a Story Outline
What Makes a Good Storyline
6 What is the role of SOP?
The purpose of SOP: motivation
Why SOPs Feel Tricky
Bad SOPs and Good SOPs
Self-evaluation of the Korean draft
Bonus: Precautions for Writing English SOPs
What is the role of 7 PS?
Diverse Identities and America's Self-Made Culture
8 What is the role of CV?
Is a website really necessary?
What to include in your CV
9 How to Find a Supervisor and Lab
Things to check on the lab website
10 Why Contact Matters
Three Perspectives on Contact
How to contact
The probability of receiving a reply to a contact email
When and what to contact
Bonus: Cover Letter Template
Bonus: Things to keep in mind when writing emails
11 What Your Test Scores Mean: TOEFL & GRE
Purpose of the TOEFL and GRE tests
Is your TOEFL score high?
Should I really prepare for the GRE?
12 Scholarships and Funding
Full funding for the doctoral program and acceptance
What about actual admission offers and funding?
Receiving external scholarships
Major scholarships worth applying for

Chapter 6: Practical Application of Required Documents

1 Reasons for examining case applications and scope of analysis
2. Will the case study be helpful even if my major is different?
3. Precautions when applying to yourself
4. Introduction to the Case Analysis Subjects
5 Story Outline Case Studies
The story outline and its problems at the time of the first challenge
Story outline and its issues after first feedback
Story outline and its improvements and issues after second feedback
Story outline and its improvements and issues after the third feedback
Story outline and its improvements and issues after the 4th feedback
Story outline and its improvements and issues after 5th feedback
Lessons to be learned from this case
6 SOP Case Studies
Comparison of the SOP for the first attempt and the SOP for the second attempt
SOP and its problems during the first challenge
SOP and its issues after first feedback
Why You Should Write Your SOP According to an Outline
SOP and its improvements and issues after the second feedback
SOP and its overall problems after the third feedback
SOP and its improvements (realizations) after the 4th feedback
SOP and its improvements and issues after the 5th feedback
SOP and its improvements and issues after the 6th feedback
Final version of Korean SOP
Lessons to be learned from the case
7 PS Case Analysis
Why do we need an outline/SOP?
This applicant's personal statement writing strategy
Korean PS draft and its advantages and problems
PS and its issues after first feedback
PS and its issues after second feedback
PS and its problems after 3rd feedback
Korean PS final version
Lessons to be learned from this case
8 CV Case Studies
Is it enough to just use a template for a CV?
This applicant's customized strategy
This applicant's CV item strategy
Differences between the existing CV and the new CV
Lessons and Precautions from This Case

Chapter 7: Notes on Submitting Applications

1. How to find the entrance exam guidelines
2 Things to watch out for on the support site
3 Create a watchlist
4. It is disadvantageous to repeat the test without any changes.
5. Collaborate with other candidates who are preparing together.
6 Preparing for US Graduate School: Precautions When Using AI

Chapter 8 Study Abroad Strategies

1. A strategy is needed.
2 Long-Term Strategy ① Create a Strong Motivation to Study Abroad in the U.S.
3 Long-Term Strategy ② Gain sufficient research experience
4 Long-Term Strategy ③ Become fluent in English
5 Long-Term Strategy Recommendation Tips
6 Short-Term Strategy ① Request a Letter of Recommendation
7 Short-Term Strategy ② Let go of expectations for additional performance and focus on the storyline.
8 Short-Term Strategy ③ Bet your life on contact
9 Short-Term Strategy ④ Prepare for Video Interviews
10 Short-Term Strategies⑤ Fulbright Scholarship
11 Strategies for PhD Programs in Humanities and Social Sciences

Kimbaksa.net Study Abroad Education, the only program in Korea that teaches the essentials of studying abroad for a master's or doctoral degree in the United States, was born from concerns about careers.
Many people worry about what to do after graduating from college.
For those who have been agonizing over whether to get a job at a company, go on to graduate school in Korea, or study abroad and have made their own choices, but have simply given up on the option of studying abroad in the U.S. because of a lack of qualifications, a lack of academic background, or low grades, Dr. Kim's Net Study Abroad Education offers a new perspective and opens a new path.


Chapter 1 describes various recent cases of acceptance into doctoral programs for the fall semesters of 2022-2025.
Although their academic backgrounds and the number of papers they have published are all different, and their current positions are also diverse, such as working and military, they all prepared with Dr. Kim's Net study abroad education program and were accepted to top-ranked schools and the programs they wanted.
After reading this book, you will understand how these people were able to pass the exam with their 'specs' that are different from common sense.


Chapters 2 and 3 dispel the misconceptions about studying abroad that are centered on "specs" held by those accustomed to the Korean-style college entrance exam system, and explain that selecting master's and doctoral students abroad is closer to the essence of hiring.
You may wonder why you are being recruited when you are going to study, but you will need to fully understand the reason for receiving full funding that covers not only tuition but also living expenses and housing.


And in Chapter 4, we will consider the most important part: why we should go to graduate school and to the United States.
Only after you can answer these questions can you begin to write a letter to the admissions committee explaining why you deserve the position.

Chapters 5 and 6 finally cover the most pressing questions applicants have: how to write required documents and practical examples. Before drafting the SOP, personal statement, and CV, we'll also explain the storyline that aligns these documents.
For those of you who aren't convinced why this is important, we'll examine the case of an actual student accepted into the Fall 2023 program to understand how storylines impact subsequent application writing.
Rather than blindly including a large number of theses or high TOEFL/GRE scores in your application, you need to develop a detailed admissions strategy, gather the information you need, and be able to appeal to the admissions committee.

If you have your documents ready, Chapter 7 will cover things to keep in mind when submitting your application to an actual university application site, and Chapter 8 will introduce short-term and long-term strategies depending on when you start preparing.


Through "Getting into Graduate School in the US with Dr. Kim's Net," which is packed with a year-long study abroad program, many readers will be able to achieve the results of getting into the school and program of their choice and move forward toward their vision.