Generally Speaking, How Hard is it to Get Into KAIST?

<p>I'm a new user on this forum, and I will be using this forum religiously for now on since this coming senior year, I'm gonna be taking 5 AP classes and my college applications begin!! :) Nice to meet everyone.</p>

<p>One of my dream colleges is KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology), and I've been seeing on this forum mostly that it's basically an IVY of Korea. How hard is it for an international student to get in first year? I heard it was hard for actual Korean citizens, but what about international students?</p>

<p>My academic standing is a bit below average and I have to blame that on myself, there is no other answer. No excuse. My GPA is meh, but I heard they don't really consider GPA there, just other HS honors and class rigor. I took honors classes since 9th grade and I took my first AP last year. I took SAT, ACT, and SAT II. I do a lot of medical community service and most of my courseload is catered to science and math.</p>

<p>Let's say my GPA is between a 2.8 and a 3.1 (I don't wanna reveal my true GPA, I know a lot of people on here are GPA crazy and are gonna pick me apart if I reveal my real GPA XD) and my courseload is full of math and science and VERY challenging, do I have a chance of getting in? There is no set acceptance rate, so I can't base my chances on that. </p>

<p>Thanks to anyone who answers! Please no rude comments :)
PS. Sorry this is so long!! But please, no trolls or rude comments~</p>

<p>You’re an American and you want to go to Korea for college? I’m curious. Why? It usually goes the other way around.</p>

<p>I’ve done a lot of looking, and nobody seems to know what it generally takes to get in. The only thing that people know is that you have to be academically strong. I’m not sure that you’re to the level of the kind of strength that they’re looking for, and I don’t believe your international status can change that - especially for colleges that offer tuition for free.</p>

<p>Here’s some detailed information on what would need to be sent in:</p>

<p>[2013</a> Fall Semester - KAIST Admission Office](<a href=“http://admission.kaist.ac.kr/web/intl/2013-fall]2013”>http://admission.kaist.ac.kr/web/intl/2013-fall)</p>

<p>Do you have any relatives that fought in the Korean war? This is actually very important because if you did many Korean universities will absolutely want you. For example my grandfather was a Korean War veteran (he refuses it to call it the Korean “Conflict”) and about a year ago, when i was entering my fourth year of a bachelor’s degree I got an offer out of the blue from Konkuk. I was offered a spot in a master’s program and a stipend. The reason Konkuck knew how to contact me is because I stayed on their campus when I visited korea with an international group the summer before. I ended up going to a North American school for my masters degree, but if you are interested in a school in Korea and you have a relative who is a veteran I strongly advise you to contact the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans and talk to them, it could make getting into a top korean school much easier and probably will net you some scholarship money.</p>

<p>Thanks for the reply!</p>

<p>@comfortablycurt
I want to go there because it’s always been my dream to study abroad for college (full term, not just a year or a semester) and besides Japan (which I can’t start applying for until AFTER i graduate from HS), S Korea KAIST is the only school that A) caters to the major I want to major in in English and B) I can apply to first while still in HS.</p>

<p>Japan, I have to be 18 (not 18 until next year) and graduated from HS (I don’t graduate until June 12th 2014), so meh.</p>

<p>@namelessstatistic, actually my great uncle fought in Korea…but I think he got dismissed because of injury. Would that still count? Besides, he passed before I was born in 1984, so idk if it’ll count</p>

<p>Thanks again for the replies. Based on what I see, I’ll still apply and just see what happens. I won’t be crushed if I don’t get in, I still have 3 American Unis I know that I can get into and maybe just switch to an abroad uni full time after 1-2 semesters, it’s just that I prefer to study abroad 1st year, 1st semester up until graduation :)</p>

<p>Thanks guys^^</p>

<p>Hi there xD</p>

<p>I came across your post totally by accident and since KAIST seems so much of a mystery to so many people, I decided to leave some information, hope that it’ll be useful for you.^^</p>

<p>KAIST admission is pretty tough. The format is pretty much a lot like in the US with high school transcripts, recommendation letters, all sorts of academic achievements and extracurricular activities listing… There will be a phone interview (which compared to some schools might be different) and you should be expected to solve a math/physics problem on the spot during that phone call. Of course, questions like: Why should we choose you and what are your strengths and weaknesses… will also be included.</p>

<p>GPA, as always, is not everything, but if it’s are not relatively high, it might hurt you. A handful of kids who come here are straight As students.</p>

<p>Another thing to keep in mind is that this is science school (and I mean a really nerdy science school, my friends call it MIT on steroids). The study curriculum is heavy and even kids who come from very prestigious high schools struggles here just for a B. Western kids sadly seems to have the hardest time because they are not familiar with the kind of high-pressure and deadly competitive environment here. KAIST grades are relative and so the whole class competes for that few available slots of As… I think you get the picture.</p>

<p>However, if you are seriously up for all that, why not? It’s a really good school, very research-oriented and packed with really smart people and well-known professors. It’s a great chance to learn about Korean culture as well.</p>

<p>Hope that helped^^~</p>