Thank you for the list of schools, I will definitely check these out. The National Student Exchange program sounds super cool, especially Sogang! I am heavily weighing a Korean program into my choice of what school to attend, so I’ll take a look at Alabama and the other NSE schools. Thank you again for your reply!!
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Another idea would be to add a couple of schools that give full ride scholarships that are not National Merit based. A lot of these are top schools, but unfortunately most of these top schools offer only a few full rides, so would be very low probability even for a strong student like yourself. A school with much better odds is Washington & Lee, where 10% of accepted students get the full ride. It is a very strong liberal arts college, but some downsides are its lack of diversity and name (the Lee refers to Robert E. Lee, there are recent threads on here about that name and his history.) 80 Colleges With Full-Ride Scholarships
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True. The Johnson at W&L and they are seeking diversity. The presidential at SMU, already on your list. Seattle U has one. There’s more. These are the Hail Mary scholarships!!
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That’s a good idea too! I will look more into this option as well, and add some schools to my list. Thanks again!
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You’ve gotten some good advice so far. With you paying for your own education, I think that looking for full rides from National Merit Finalist status, or academic stats, or swinging-for-the-fences full ride scholarships are your best best.
A school you might want to consider is Ohio State, located in the Ohio state capital and one of the top 20 metros in the U.S. for jobs. You should definitely be accepted, but becoming an Eminence Fellow is going to be the really hard part, but I do think you stand a chance. That would be a full-ride, and Ohio State has a very strong Korean program and also hosts the National East Asian Languages Resource Center.
Another school you might want to consider is U. of Hawaii at Manoa. Honolulu definitely qualifies a bigger city, but looking at its financial aid pages, I’m not sure if they offer any full ride merit scholarships (check with the admissions office). But, it is part of the National Student Exchange program, so this could be a great place to do an exchange as it also has very strong Korean offerings.
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Those sound like awesome options! I’ll be sure to check out Ohio State and U Hawaii’s programs for Korean and their scholarships. Thank you so much!
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Another thought is that Oklahoma is part of the Academic Common Market, an association of “southeastern” states that will allow students to receive in-state tuition at an out-of-state school if their state doesn’t offer the major.
I did a search on College Navigator, and no Oklahoma publics offered any of these majors:
In looking at the Academic Common Market, none of these fields popped up as eligible for Oklahoma residents at other schools, but if you inquire, there may be a way to get a discounted tuition (and even better if you could use your National Merit equivalents at them…but that would certain be a reach). Anyway, just something else for you to investigate!
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Good point on Hawai’i It is also the only Korean program on the National Flagship list so you might inquire about extra merit possibilities.
You can read more about what that means here.
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Okay, I will look more into the Academic Common Market and see what the options are! The lack of a Korean program is one of the main things discouraging me from going in state, so I’ll see if any schools in border states have it. Thanks again!
If you google it doesn’t seem a ton do. But close to home and great merit, check out KU. They offer it.
One note though as my daughter has had this happen in hs and now college.
Colleges list classes in the catalog but it doesn’t mean they’re always offered. So you should look back at the schedule the past two years to see if they’re truly available.
My daughter got through two years. Needs a third. Her school doesn’t have it so we are looking at alternative programming.
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I have a lot of family who went to KU and loved it, so I’ll look more in depth into what they offer!
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In terms of “chancing” you, you really can’t compare yourself to the “average” person applying to any of those skills as your goals and skill set are pretty unique. Often different majors have different acceptance rates.
I would definitely check out Wellesley as long as you are okay with an all-female setting. They have both an Asian studies program and an art department that would be worth looking into. It’s not in Boston, but easy access. Excellent study abroad options (including South Korea) and internships. You can also cross-register for business classes at Babson. You can run the cost estimator to see if it might be affordable for you.
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Ooh Wellesley sounds awesome! I’ll check out scholarships and look at their study abroad programs. Thank you so much for the suggestion!
Pretty much need based aid only.
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Oh okay, I’ll keep that in mind.
Of the Korean/East Asian/Asian Studies majors listed above in College Navigator, these are the southeastern public colleges that offer a major in one of them:
As of 2011, North Carolina no longer participates in the Academic Common Market.
All of Florida’s, Kentucky’s, and Virginia’s public universities that offer a related major participate.
Of the Georgia ones, all participate, but UGA only participates starting at the junior level (i.e. your first two years would be at out-of-state rates or you would need to transfer in as a junior).
On the ACM page it offers contact info for each of those universities’ ACM person.
This is Oklahoma’s webpage about participating in the ACM as well as the contact person to get a program approved that is not already listed: OKcollegestart - SREB Academic Common Market
U. of Louisville used to do a full ride for National Merit Scholars, but now it appears to be $28k, which pretty much covers tuition. It says that admissions-based scholarships can’t be stacked (and the NMF is an admissions-based one), but the Grawemeyer Scholarship is considered a Mentored Scholarship and can be stacked with the other awards. The Grawemeyer is very competitive, but I think you would have a shot at it.
Another swing-for-the-fences opportunity would be trying to become a Morehead-Cain or Robertson Scholar at UNC-Chapel Hill, which would also get you a full ride.
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Emory might be another school you want to try for. It’s very competitive for admission, so being awarded a Woodruff Scholarship is even moreso. Emory’s in Atlanta (big city) and is part of a consortium whereby students can classes at other Atlanta schools, like SCAD (Savannah College of Art & Design), Georgia Tech, Spelman, etc. And it offers an East Asian Studies major that has a concentration on Korea.
U. of Southern California offers an East Asian Studies major and East Asian Languages & Cultures major, and focusing or Korea/Korean is possible in either one. USC offers half-tuition scholarships for National Merit Finalists, and though I think it is possible to have scholarships stack, I don’t see anything that goes beyond tuition, so you would still be on the hook for room & board.
Also, if you’d consider Wellesley, I’d also consider Harvard. Have your family run the Net Price Calculator (NPC) there. Harvard’s about the most generous school in defining need, so there might be a pleasant surprise. If there’s not, though, no other need-based school is likely going to work.
Indiana University is not in a big city, but it’s in a surprisingly cosmopolitan one (lots of ethnic restaurants including some Tibetan ones, Broadway touring productions come to the campus, it has a world-class music school, etc). Its East Asian Languages & Cultures major allows a focus on Korean, and it also has a competitive full-ride program, the Wells Scholars. More information on the Wells Scholar nomination process is available.
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Okay! I’ll look more into some of these schools and their majors and prices. Thank you so much for taking the time to make this list and check on the Korean programs! I’ll also check out the Academic Common Market and see what the options are.
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With an impressive academic record, diverse extracurricular activities, and study abroad ]experience, your college applications will stand out. While community involvement and leadership are valuable, prioritize your passion for art and Korean studies. Consider renowned art programs like RISD or SAIC, universities with strong Korean studies like University of Washington or UCLA, and schools with international business programs like Wharton or Stern. Reach schools like Rice, Vanderbilt, and Washington University are great choices, but remember their selectivity. Emphasize your unique strengths and interests in your application. Research thoroughly for the best fit.
Realistically, this means that the price limit is under $10k for a stretch budget ($5.5k direct loan + summer and part time school year work earnings). Any loans beyond that would need a cosigner.
With $140k parental income, it is unlikely that many colleges will offer need-based aid to get the net price to <$10k, although net price calculators can and should be checked just to make sure about each college.
Otherwise, you need to look for colleges that will offer you a full ride or close to it. If you do make NMSF and advanced to NMF, that will open up more options. Safeties would be those where the full ride is automatic for your stats or NM status. Reaches would be other colleges which offer competitive full rides.