About 2 months ago I made the decision to go to Korea and study Korean full time. I know that there are a growing number of people who want to do the same so this a guide talking about Yonsei University and the application process.
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Yonsei University is one of Korea's oldest and most prestigious Universities, it is equivalent to Cambridge, but because it isn't as internationally renowned as Oxford, Cambridge or Harvard you may have to explain that to your friends when you want to impress them.
but don't let that scare you!
as a foreign student it is very easy to get in, it is only Korean students that have a hard time. This is mainly because there aren't a lot of foreigners in Korea, although that number is growing there still isn't a huge demand for exchange students or Korean language learning courses, hence they will happily let in any foreigner with a willingness to learn and a high school/equivalent diploma ---at least to the Korean language institute, not sure about the others. The high school diploma is also just the minimum requirement, anyone can join at any age as long as they have that.
Yonsei University Logo
Cost
Whether studying here is Cheap or not has to compare with your local University fees, in the UK the prices just went up to £9,000 a year and it is about £12,000 a year for foreign students, that makes it about £3,000 or £4,000 a term.
Yonsei is 1,600,000 won a term....that's about £900
I only wish I was learning Korean back when I was choosing university all those years ago *sigh*
best not to dwell on it, its not good for my health..... *headdesk*
Courses
Prices vary on what you choose, but it's very flexible. You can jump in at any time in the academic year and there's no minimum number of terms to take. you can spend one summer there or 2 years, it's up to you.
This is because the courses are taught in ability levels from 1-6 or 1-8, 1-6 is the normal program and assuming that you progress one level each term you'll be fluent in 6 terms. 1-8 is the 8 level program that goes a bit slower and is aimed for English speakers, after 8 terms you will be fluent, assuming you are starting from zero that is.
(I've chosen the 6 level, I'll let you know how I get on, it's supposedly a bit harder *gulp*)
Application
so now you have decided which programme you want it's time to apply!
first you'll have to register online, you'll see a little log in box and that'll have a link to register underneath, here's a link in case you don't see it:
http://www.yskli.com/login_reg_eng.htm
once that's done you'll see a screen saying thanks and it'll give you a login and password. Using that you can log in, and click the "apply now" link, from there you can choose the course, once inside you fill out some details and have to do a short essay as to why you want to study Korean at Yonsei.--don't worry it's not a test they just want to know a bit about you and make sure that you really want to learn and are not just going to bum around. (Tip: write it out in a word file first so you have all the correct spellings, then copy and paste it into the essay box.)
after that it'll tell you thanks for applying and give you bank details to pay your application fee of 60,000won.
Note:-
- every time they send you bank details the account number is different even though the rest of the info is the same, this way they know when you have payed certain things
- when wiring money abroad it costs you money--Barclays charged me £25 every time I wanted to send money, regardless of the amount
- try to over estimate the exchange rate, the rate you see on the internet may not be the rate they use, always pay a little bit extra so that you don't have to come back to the bank and be charged another £25 because you under paid by 50p
Next on the to do list is some document sending.
you'll need:-
- photocopy of your last educational certificate (Degree/Diploma/transcript)
- photocopy of your passport
- and if you haven't gotten a Visa yet, but intend to get one, you need to send them either:
a sponsorship letter from a working Korean national-this is to prove that they will be financially responsible for you should things go wrong
or a bank statement that shows you have over $3,000 in your account
Tip:- If you have the money choose the bank statement, it's easier to get a hold of, you can also get a relative to give you $3,000 just so it appears on your statement then take it back later.
Note:- the Visa people are more strict so you may need to hold onto that $3,000 until your visa is done as well.
once you have those, scan them in and send it to one of the KLI co-ordinators (via e-mail is best), since you're reading this in English I'll assume you need the English speaker: Yim Bang-wool
yskli@yonsei.ac.kr
after about a week you should receive an e-mail from Bang-Wool saying you got in and then it'll give you the bank details to pay your tuition fee. She'll also ask for a mailing address to send you a welcome pack and whether or not you need the visa documents from them.
DONE!
Note:- if you are applying for more than one term here are some tips
- you still need to send an application but you don't need to resend your documents and rewrite your application essay since you have already been accepted.
- explain to Bang-Wool that you are going to be applying for more and she should be able to send you a bank account number to pay for the other terms in one go, rather than paying the bank charges each time you want to send individual payments.
- once that's sorted the visa pack that is sent to you should have all the terms you are staying for included and the visa people can give you one long visa instead of having to top it up each term.
