The habit of asking 'Why?' changes the comprehensive selection process! How to connect interests to deep learning

We are KOSSUN Education Lab, a preparatory school specializing in comprehensive selection! Our theme this time is 'the habit of repeating "Why?"'.

In the comprehensive selection process, you are required to think deeply about your own experiences and interests. In your statement of purpose, you must explain why you want to study that field, and in interviews, you will be asked for even more detail about those reasons. In research activities and essays, you also need the ability to think about causes and backgrounds rather than just accepting events as they appear.

Because of this, many high school students struggle because they have found what they are interested in, but cannot move forward from there.

I am interested in environmental issues.
I want to study education.
I like foreign cultures.

Even if you can say this much, when asked, 'Why are you interested?' or 'What specifically do you think is the problem?', you may find yourself at a loss for words.

That is when the habit of repeating 'Why?' becomes useful.

Instead of answering with a reason once and stopping, keep asking yourself, 'Why is that?' in response to your own answer. By doing this, your own experiences, values, and the themes you want to study at university will emerge from beneath feelings that were initially vague.

For example, suppose there is a high school student who says, 'I am interested in children's education.'

Why are they interested in education?

Because I have the experience of teaching my younger brother.

Then, why did that experience leave such an impression on you?

Because even though I explained it, my brother couldn't understand it easily.

Why couldn't he understand it?

Because an explanation that is easy for me to understand is not necessarily easy for the other person to understand.

Then, how can you provide an explanation that suits the other person?

By asking questions this far, the conversation moves from simply being 'interested in education' to revealing an interest in how different people understand things differently and in teaching methods tailored to each individual.

At university, you could connect this to a statement of purpose about wanting to study educational methods, developmental psychology, or learning support.

The benefit of repeating 'Why?' is that you can discover reasons you hadn't even noticed yourself.

We usually go through our daily lives without thinking deeply about our own actions and emotions.

I like English. I'm not good at math. I worked hard in club activities. The school festival was fun.

There is always some reason for these feelings.

For example, even for people who say 'I like English,' the reasons for liking it are different for each person.

Perhaps it's fun to talk with people from overseas. Perhaps they are interested in ways of expression that are different from Japanese. Perhaps they want to understand foreign movies and music as they are.

Even if the 'I like English' is the same, the content you want to study at university changes depending on the reason.

Some people want to deepen their acquisition of foreign languages themselves, while others have interests that expand into cross-cultural understanding, international relations, translation, or education.

Differences that were not visible with just the first answer become visible by repeating 'Why?'.

Also, 'Why?' is useful when thinking about social issues.

For example, suppose you learn about the problem of food loss and think, 'It is not good to throw away food.'

Why is food thrown away?

Because if you don't prepare a lot of products, you will miss sales opportunities due to selling out.

Why can't unsold items be sold off by lowering the price?

Because there is a deadline for safe sales, and if more people wait for price reductions, it becomes harder to sell at the regular price.

Why do consumers avoid products with expiration dates that are close?

Because they feel that newer products are a better deal, or they misunderstand that food becomes inedible immediately after the expiration date passes.

Thinking about it this way, you can see that food loss is not a simple problem that can be solved if 'stores just stop throwing it away.'

Various factors are involved, such as corporate sales methods, product management, consumer awareness, and food safety.

From one 'Why?', the next question is born, and you become able to see the problem from many angles.

In comprehensive selection, this way of thinking is evaluated.

What universities want to know is not whether you already know the answers to social issues. They are looking to see if you are the type of person who does not leave familiar questions as they are, but instead investigates them yourself and deepens your thinking.

However, when repeating 'Why?', you must be careful not to create answers based solely on your own imagination.

For example, suppose you think, 'Young people don't go to the polls because they aren't interested in politics.'

Then, why aren't they interested in politics?

If you answer here with just your own imagination, such as 'because it's difficult' or 'because it's a hassle,' you might overlook the real reasons.

Some people might not have time to go to the polling station. It might be hard to tell the difference between candidates. Some people might feel that their single vote won't change anything.

Once you have a question, it is important to verify it using news, survey results, books, government documents, and so on.

By combining 'Why?' with 'research,' your ideas gain a foundation.

One high school student was concerned about the increase in vacant stores in their local shopping district.

At first, they thought the cause was the opening of a large shopping mall. However, they questioned, 'Is that really all there is to it?' and researched changes in the local population and the number of stores.

Then, they realized there were multiple reasons, such as store owners getting older with no successors, the local population declining, and more people shopping online.

Furthermore, while thinking about 'why there are no successors' and 'why young people don't start businesses in the area,' their interest expanded to the difficulties of management and local job opportunities.

As a result, their vague desire to make the shopping district lively led to a goal of studying regional economics and urban development at university.

In this way, when you repeat 'Why?', you may notice other issues hidden behind a single problem.

'Why?' is also useful when reflecting on your own experiences.

For example, there is the experience of 'I continued club activities for three years.'

Why were you able to continue?

Because I had teammates.

Why did the presence of your teammates support you?

Because they reached out to me even during times when I couldn't play in games.

Why were those words happy for you?

Because I felt that there was someone who was watching my efforts.

When you think this far, you realize that you value relationships of trust with people and acknowledging each other's efforts.

This value can also be utilized in your statement of purpose and self-promotion.

This is because, rather than simply writing 'I have cooperativeness,' you can specifically convey from what kind of experience you came to value cooperation with others.

Conversely, it is also important to think 'Why?' about failure experiences.

The school festival preparations were not finished in time.

Why were they not finished in time?

Because I did not correctly estimate the workload.

Why did you not check the workload?

Because I thought it would be faster to proceed alone, so I did not consult with those around me.

Why did you not consult with them?

Because I thought that asking for help meant I was not fulfilling my responsibilities.

When you think this far, you realize that the problem was not just a lack of time, but rather your own way of thinking.

If you then start dividing roles early or sharing the status of progress along the way, you can explain what you learned from the failure and how you changed your actions.

In comprehensive selection, words like 'I worked hard' or 'I grew' alone do not convey the substance.

What did you work hard on? Why did you decide to work hard? Where did you struggle? Why did that problem occur? What did you change?

By repeating questions, the content of your experience becomes concrete.

The habit of asking 'Why?' also becomes a great strength in interview preparation.

Interviewers will deepen their questions based on the content written in your statement of purpose.

Why did you become interested in this theme? Why this university instead of another? Why did you think that method was necessary? Why do you want to work on it?

To answer these questions, you need to understand the background of your reasons for applying, rather than just memorizing them on a superficial level.

For example, even when answering, 'I applied because I was attracted to the small-group classes,' think about why small-group classes are necessary for you.

Are you looking for an environment where it is easy to ask teachers questions? Do you want to exchange opinions with other students? Have you had an experience in high school where your understanding deepened by speaking your own opinions?

If you can make your reasons concrete, it will be easier to convey why it must be that specific university.

However, there is no need to corner yourself by repeating 'why?' too much.

Sometimes you won't find an answer right away. You might feel like, 'I don't know why I like this.'

In such cases, try changing the question to, 'In what situations do I feel especially happy?' 'Since when have I been interested in this?' or conversely, 'What kind of things do I not feel interested in?'

For example, even for someone who says, 'I don't know why I like music,' if they think about whether they like empathizing with lyrics, listening to the sound of instruments, or the feeling of becoming one with people at a concert, the direction of their interest will become clear.

Questions are not meant to be used to blame yourself. They are meant to be used to understand your own feelings and how society works.

You don't need to think about difficult themes every day to make 'why?' a habit.

You can start with things close to you, such as school rules, events you saw on your way to school, conversations with friends, or news that caught your attention.

Why does this school rule exist? Why is this product popular? Why did I find only this class interesting? Why do people have different opinions about the same event?

Write down one question and write down the reasons you come up with. Afterward, if you also keep a record of what you found out through research and how your own thinking has changed, it will become material for your inquiry activities and essays.

You don't need to provide a profound answer from the start.

The important thing is not to end it with 'that's just how it is,' but to think just one step further.

Once you develop the habit of repeating 'why?', it becomes easier to connect your interests to academic studies. You will also be able to explain the meaning of your experiences more concretely than before. Even if you are asked for your reasons in an interview, you will be able to speak them as your own thoughts rather than reading prepared words.

What is required in the comprehensive selection is not someone who can answer every question.

It is someone who has questions about everyday events and can continue to search for the answers themselves.

'Why?' is not just a word used to ask others for an answer. It is a word for deepening your interests, turning experiences into growth, and finding what you want to learn at university.

Starting today, try adding 'why?' just once to something that caught your attention. Repeating that small question will nurture your ability to think and become the foundation for conveying your own words in the comprehensive selection.