<p>Anybody know whether it is good or not. I have a student in the UAE who is hesitating between attending KAIST for free or going to Cornell or Michigan-Ann Arbor and paying full tuition. I am tempted to recommend the US option, but I really don't know enough about KAIST to give him an answer. Can anybody offer me some advice?</p>
<p>well one wud tend to suggest cornell...KAIST is one of the best in asia.</p>
<p>I studied for a year (my senior year of school) in Taejon, the city where KAIST is located, and I visited KAIST quite often (in fact, my Princeton interviewer was a prof. from there). Its a great place, especially for all the various forms of engineering, theoretical and applied physics, and the standard is decent. It, however, does not have the standard that Cornell or possible UMich might have. It is, afterall, Korea, and the although the academics is fabulous from what I've heard, the physical conditions are not the greatest. </p>
<p>If your friend can keep up with the competition and can keep his head above the water, I guess KAIST for UG isn't a bad option at all, considering it's free. The top group from there often proceeds on to great grad schools in UK and US I've heard. The choice depends though on how much he will feel the pinch of spending money on Cornell or UMich.</p>
<p>If your friend is not Korean, it is quite possible he will have a tough time integrating into the life over there. This is what I have heard and personally I have experienced as an Indian who was born and lived in Norway and studied in an international school in Taejon with an 80% Korean-American population. For a foreigner, life in Korea, especially if not in Seoul, is HARD.</p>
<p>I have a friend from my school who graduated with me and is currently attending KAIST, so if you need any info, I can always shoot a mail and ask her.</p>
<p>^ Agree with callthecops2. If your student can't afford the full tuition at Cornell or UMich, then KAIST isn't a bad idea at all. Graduate school placement is pretty decent as well. One person I know is going to MIT from there. I'm assuming that your student is Korean, since as far as I know almost all classes are taught in Korean.</p>
<p>Yes, he is Korean.</p>