Universities Seek to Lure Korean Students from O’seas

The growth of domestic university autonomy and the higher number of foreign students entering them have Korean colleges seeking to lure talented Korean students abroad back to their country.

Until last year, the Education Ministry had banned domestic universities from accepting Korean students based on scores on the U.S. Scholastic Aptitude Test and those who graduated from foreign high schools. This effectively barred Korean students residing overseas from entering university in their home country.

Top domestic schools including Korea, Sogang, Sungkyunkwan, Chung-Ang, Hanyang and Ewha Womans held joint admissions briefings in Washington, D.C., New York and Los Angeles between March 28 through April 1. More than 500 parents and students attended.

In New York, only a few dozen people were expected to attend considering the long distance from Koreatown. So many showed up, however, that the session was extended and the number of counseling staff was increased. In Los Angeles, some 300 attended but many others were reportedly turned away due to space limitations.

University officials explained their admissions plans, including those for students with high English proficiency. Participants received individual counseling based on their high school grades and scores on certified tests of foreign language proficiency.

One parent at the Los Angeles session said, “Due to lack of information, we have often fallen victim to private institutes and brokers. The session gave me very useful information.”

With such an enthusiastic response in the United States, other Korean universities are expected to hold admissions briefings there this year.

Yonsei and Sookmyung Women’s universities will join the six schools that held the U.S. briefings in a caravan to go to Beijing and Shanghai April 17 to 20. Korea, Sogang, Sungkyunkwan, Ewha and Chung-Ang will hold briefings in Indonesia April 24-27.

“Children of employees working overseas who are unqualified for special admissions and talented students who have moved from country to country often have difficulty in entering Korean universities,” said Kim Yeong-soo, admissions officer at Sogang.

“To prevent this, we will expand opportunities for them to study here, and over the long term, we are considering starting the school year in September.”