<p>Hi… I know this is some kind of American Education Forum, but it’s not wrong to get info. I am Indonesian. Currently studying Korean Language at SNU language school Level 4. I applied to the graduate school of Technology Management Economics Policy Major. I graduated from Industrial Engineering major from private university in Indonesia. with GPA 3.35 of 4.0 then I got 95 on TOEFL, 955 on TOEIC, an international published thesis in Industrial Engineering. I know some of your specs are a bit different than mine but if someone from knows and would share opinion, I would be grateful. Thanks.</p>
<p>Hey! @chocohearts08 I applied for SNU but they asked for my SATs and I didnt have it so I didn’t answer them, before the application though I changed my mnd about SNU and applied for KUBS and got accepted to Korea University 
the reason I changed my mind is because SNU is prestigious and everything but you really need to know Korean ( which I really don’t know well and don’t want spend a year for) to get somewhere while KUBS offers English courses for my major anyways. And you can take Korean courses with your normal courses, which is just a bonus for me. Also KUBS is the only business school that offers equally done programs with Europe so I didn’t want to risk going to SNU , instead go to KU in case something goes wrong, so that I can just go back home Also when you check the current rankings for business, KU is in front of all the schools international basis ;D So I will be there starting from this September, pm me if you wanna meet up in Seoul someday! hahah 
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<p>@alara1904 Thank you so much for responding. I have not yet applied to any of the schools. I am going to apply for the FALL 2015 year. I am so interested in your story and would love to hear more about. Would you mind sharing? It doesn’t have to be here. I have tons of questions that I can’t find answers to. Please!?!?! :)</p>
<p>I Know im late on this thread but im on my Sophomore year of High School and trying to graduate early and want to go to SNU for all 4 years i want to know what i have to do… I want to major in Business.</p>
<p>Hi Guys! I am a junior in high school and i really want to get into SNU Med. I am korean and fluent in it. I came here when i was seven and went back to korea when i was in 3rd grade but came back My grades so far is a 4.5 (progress report card) and I had 4.0 in 9th, 4.2 in 10th. I am in an outside band where you can play korean traditional instruments and did that for 3 years. I am the founder and president of UNICEF, secretary in BIO Club, and activities director in pre-med. I took my SATs and in the process of waiting for scores. I took my SAT2 Korean and got 790 and going to take Math 2C this december. I REALLY REALLY WaNT to go to SNu MED. If I keep up with this would I have chance?</p>
First off, I know no Korean beyond greeting people. Currently, SNU claims to offer 250 courses in English. Conceivably, could I get in and major in Computer Science/Engineering and not fail due to the language barrier? Additionally, if that is possible, what kind of programs does SNU offer for learning Korean?
My Specs:
4.00 unweighted GPA (4.34 Weighted)
2040 SAT (on sitting and super score)
32 ACT (no writing)
All honors and AP classes (13 by the end of Senior year)
Hello ! I’m a Cambodian student and I’m in my 3rd year of my medical undergraduate. I’ve already applied for SNU for this spring application and I am not sure whether my application can make it or not because my country is such a local and not really recognized internationally.
Please help telling me a bit whether my application can make it or not. I will give me the detail:
1/ For my high school graduation, I got 99.995/100 score of my BAC II examination.
2/ My IELTS 6.0, French Langauge DELF B1 (acceptable for an independent user)
3/ I got a full scholarship to the medical university in my home country
4/ Foundation year GPA: 3.32, 2nd year GPA: 3.50
5/ I’ve passed Erasmus Mundus Exchange Scholarship to France for 6 months in my medical study field.
6/ Extra-curriculum activities:
- I’ve participated in many event and program related to medical study
I know nothing about Korean Language but I’m a quick language learner, I believe I can learn Korean fastly and all I need is just get admitted to SNU first.
Everybody is really good and I’m just a local outstanding student. I’m really worried about my application.
This coming school year I will be a junior at my high school. For quite some time I’ve wanted to attend one of the SKY universities in South Korea (Seoul National for the most part). I have zero Korean blood in my family, but my chances of making it there is for another thread. As an international applicant, I’m unsure if the areas looked at for me are different from that of a native South Korean applicant. With this in mind, I thought that being the valedictorian of my class of what should be about 600+ now would be a good piece to my application. As of now, I’m number 3, however in my state of Florida, high school students have the option of becoming dual enrollment students therough the community college Valencia.
First, a breakdown of how GPA is calculated per class at my school:
- Regular classes: 4.0 for an A, 3.0 for a B, and so on.
- Honors classes: 4.5 for an A, 3.5 for a B, and so on.
- AP classes: 5.0 for an A, 4.0 for a B, and so on.
- Dual Enrollment classes: 5.0 for an A, 4.0 for a B, and so on.
Here is where my issue arises. Nearly every year of my school’s history, the valedictorian of each class took some form of dual enrollment. Most replace their entire high school schedule with dual enrollment and attend Valencia full time, allowing their schedules to have all 5.0 classes. In doing so, these dual enrollment students take less classes than us at our high school, as well as easier classes, as it has been univerally decided that the classes offered (at out Valencia at least) vastly easier than AP. My original plan in order to ensure the #1 spot in my class was to take as many AP’s at my school as possible and take 4 dual enrollment classes online in order to maximize my schedule. However, I am being told that no one in the history of my school has ever done that and it is not worth the trouble, as most schools outside of Florida would prefer an AP centric schedule as opposed to a hybrid of that and dual enrollment. The only conflict with this is that I’m also positive that if I don’t take dual enrollment I won’t be valedictorian, and I figured that the most elite universities of the most educationally elite country in the world would only accept the number one student in the event of an international applicant. My question to those at College Confidential is this: should I take the easier dual enrollment classes for the free GPA boost to get to valedictorian, or should I take as many AP’s as possible and risk the B and fall behind those in dual enrollment in terms of GPA? Also, if I were to take more AP classes, I feel as though I would have more free time to study things not taught in my school. One of those things being Korean, something that I feel would be necessary for a Korean university.
Thank you in advance for the helpful advice!
Hi! Im a korean student hoping to get into korean universities.
I was hoping I could attend one of the SKY universities starting 2016 fall or 2017 spring school year.
I have a 3.87 unweighted GPA
2190 (single) 2230 (composite) SAT
For math level 2 I have a 770, and will be taking bio in january–at least 700
My AP scores are poor, but I am taking four more this coming school year.
I haven’t taken the TOPIK yet but I will most likely get a 5 out of 6.
As for extracurriculars,
Ive been a part of 4 productions at my school, and will be a part of 1 more, as well as being treasurer of drama club
Ive gone to counties in mock trial two times and was president last year and will be this year
I have been a part of the medical science club and forensics (public speaking) club for two years each
I have about 250 volunteer hours as a TA at a Sunday school
And 50 hours at a hospital.
Could someone tell me what my chances are? I’d really appreciate it!!
Hai. I’m from Indonesia. Going to take A Levels. Aiming to get A* in Chem, Physics, and Math. B for AS Level English. What would my chances be to be admitted to SNU?
I notice that most of the applicant, at least in this forum, doesnt apply with A Levels. Why is that?
Thanks!!! Please reply.
@dominicliman72
most likely because the applicants are international students from the US, and they don’t have A Levels
because of this, I can’t really tell you what your chances would be
I’m very late to this thread, but I was admitted to SNU, starting next month. I was wondering if there were any current students on this thread who could give me any advice on general school life there?
Hello, I am Home-schooled (I don’t really want to share where.) and want to go to SNU (well I know I want to go to South Korea but I am still finding the one I think will best fit me). I am having a really hard time finding what it takes to get into SNU as an international student and the requirements/eligibility. I am currently taking an Online high-school program that is based in the U.S.
My Specs:
GPA (unweighted since I don’t think my program has a weighted GPA): 3.7
TOPIK: Nowhere near good enough for TOPIK level 1 yet.
SATs: I haven’t taken them but my mom estimates my reading comprehension will be somewhere in the 700-800’s, however I am a bit behind in math (if anyone knows some great free online resources for studying math that would also help.), and somewhere in the 600’s for writing. Any suggestions for preparing and if there is a certain level that would be viewed favorably?
Subject Tests: I have been thinking about taking some however if they wouldn’t help my chances I don’t see the point, any information on SNU’s views of these?
ACT: I am not sure I want to take this one so I haven’t even explored it yet.
Extra Curricular Activities:
I Volunteer at a coffee shop for around 3-4 hours a week since last June
I have participated in a drama skit and am currently in an Easter production. and helped backstage for 2 different productions.
I am part of a bible quizzing team and have more than 21 chapters of the bible memorized
Hobbies (by level):
Beginner -
Instruments:
Violin - I know the basics, am working on reading sheet music
Piano - my left hand is awkward and I cant read music
.
Sports:
Figure Skating - I started figure skating in early December and have already been told I am a really quick learner/prodigy however am not yet confident in my skating abilities.
Languages:
Mandarin - I can introduce myself and discuss common topics, I am working on more complex grammar and extending my vocabulary. I can read some of the simplest sentences and catch quite a few words I know while listening.
Korean - I can introduce myself and talk about some subjects but not many, I understand common words used in everyday conversation.
french - I can’t really speak this language, my reading level is decent, however I don’t understand words spoken aloud and can’t pronounce hardly anything right.
miscellaneous:
Computer programming - I have a basic knowledge of HTML and can code simple layouts, I am working on java but so far it doesn’t make sense to me.
Drawing - I have been drawing for a long time but still think my art sucks
Intermediate:
intruments:
none
Sports:
none
Languages:
Japanese - I have been learning Japanese for four years and can speak confidently about quite a few subjects, I would not describe myself as fluent, however I am definitely not beginner. My reading comprehension is not very good but I my speaking and listening are good enough to easily communicate.
miscellaneous:
Writing - I am a decent writer with an extensive vocabulary but a poor grasp on punctuation.
Advanced:
Singing - this is the only subject I feel is good enough to put in this category, however I have never formally studied voice.
All of he Hobbies are subjects I practice somewhat daily and the extra curricular activities listed are ones I often participate in.
Major of choice: So many sound interesting, if I had to choose one probably something to do with foreign cultures.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
I’m a Korean Student who’s applied to SNU as an international 2, meaning, I’ve lived abroad for more that 12 years. I’ve lived in Hong Kong for 12 years, and and in Los Angeles for 5. Decisions are coming out in 3 hours and I’m totally panicking. In my distress, I’ve come on to these threads to read about people who are on the same boat as I am. I see that many of you have strong stats that surely give you a solid claim to SNU admissions. Unlike many of you with 4.0+ GPAs, my stats are in the gutter. There’s quite literally nothing I can do but I’m going to put up my stats so that any future HS students seeking admissions to SNU can see the full range of people applying.
I’ve applied for the fall semester as a computer science major.
unweighted gpa: 3.4
weighted gpa : 3.8
number of APs: 10
SAT: 2000
SAT math : 720
SAT bio: 680
average recommendation letters.
essays: decent - shows strong passion for programming and app development.
extra currics (*I’ve had to cut out many but below are the ones I put in my application):
Speech and Debate (3 years) - tech chair
Chess club (4 years) - president for 2, officer for 4 years
Cal tech internship (4 months) - Biochemistry lab
JSA (2 years)
chemistry club + pre medical society (2 years)
Varsity tennis (3 years)
accomplishments highlighted in essays:
CS50 (Harvard run intro comp sci course) completed
supplements:
final project for CS50 - sudoku solving algorithm in java
Speech and Debate android application
website filter program in java
Unique boosts:
- being an international 2 (idk how common this is)
- female underrepresentation in my major (idk how much this will affect decisions… probably not alot)
- My sister is currently attending SNU so I have legacy (idk if SNU even cares about this)
- somewhat single concentration in my application - emphasizes my experiences with computer science and programming.
If I don’t get in SNU, I will be filling out application for Yonsei, Korea, and sogang. I don’t know if anything will change in my desirability as a prospective student to these top schools if I get rejected from SNU but I guess I’ll have to figure a way to attend an accredited college as rejection letters start rolling in.
Goodluck everyone, my heart is with you.
@syoon14 Hi. I doubt this forum (or this thread) is alive anymore.
Anyway, I also have an equivalent to unweighted GPA 3.4 or so. We are in the same boat, kinda.
I’ve applied to Economics, and it’s bugging me right now because, apparently, it’s one of the harder faculties to get into.
In case you don’t get admitted, just take this word of encouragement—it’s not the end of the world by any means, you can apply to another uni or reapply the next year. Good luck.
hey @cimaire , I heard STEM and mathy majors are harder to get into than liberal arts majors. Economics is a great mjor btw, alot of prospective job opportunities. Did you end up getting into SNU for fall?
@syoon14 Unfortunately, no. I’m not sure what was the exact reason behind this denial, but I suspect my low GPA.
Well, seems like I’ll have to consider Yonsei, KU etc. I need to check my savings first, though, as the latter are by quite a bit more expensive than SNU.
@cimaire are you considering ku? i got in ku but i also got in an ivy so im not sure where i should go 
i only have korean citizenship so i know that employment is goign to be difficult if i go to the states. what are you going to do?
Hi I’m not sure if this thread is still alive but I wanted to apply to the college of humanities at SNU
I was wondering if that certain college needs such high specs? :-<
Hi Im currently studying in the UK. We study Alevels here and I haven’t seen anyone or heard of anyone who applied with Alevels. I want to apply for English at SNU. TOEFL TOEIC tests are not available here either but they said it was fine if I proved my language skills through a document. I would like to apply for fall 2017 but SNU make decisions as of April as far as I’m aware. However, I get my results in August. How will they give me an offer?
@ScarletCrush
@kebalken
I’m currently in eleven grade and done with IGCSEs, the GPA system wasn’t really a problem in my country, they also considered IGCSEs and A levels so I didn’t worked hard for my school exams and got a overall C and D ninth and tenth. However, in O levels I got an A in English and Bs in Physics and Chemistry. I’m very dissatisfied with the D I scored in Biology and so I am going to write the exam again. My GPA so far is very low so I plan on getting better grades in 11th and 12th (aiming for an A) . If I do get a B, will the admission be possible. I plan giving A LEVELS and IELTS too. Does Seoul University even consider O and A LEVEL grades?