Meet the Early Graduating 10th Waves

[Minjok Herald] 2006. 11. 6

This year is no exception for the early graduation students, as 10th wave Minjok students started to get their love calls from prestigious Korean universities. The early graduation students are not simply graduating sooner, but they have shown remarkable results in the admissions. Admissions results from Yonsei university, accepting all eleven 10th wave applicants, were especially sensation. Although the admission procedures are still in the process for some schools, so far eleven students to Yonsei University, along with one for each to KAIST and POSTECH have been accepted.

     

The Herald had interviews with 10th wave Kwon Hee-yeon and Kim Young-seok, who were admitted to KAIST and Yonsei Univ. respectively and with Mr. Dong-hoon Yoo, an 11th grade advisor. The interviewees had similar views on studying tactics. First, they all emphasized the importance of high TOEFL scores, AP exam grades, and rankings in school exams. “Many 10th wave students have good TOEFL scores because universities favor students with fluent English ability. This was one of the major reasons many 10th wave students have been successful in college admissions.” Mr. Yoo said. As for the importance of AP exams, Kim Young-Seok pointed out that, since some universities provide qualification for students with AP scores, taking AP exams is advantageous for students. Also, the interviewees emphasized on the role of the graduates; for Yonsei probably chose to accept every early graduation applicant this year because our seniors who have also graduated early in the past have shown excellent academic performance even after entering college.

     

They also gave similar advice to 11th wave freshmen who are planning to graduate early. Mr. Yoo assured that, “If a student has strength in one particular field, such as Olympiad awards or high TOEFL scores, he or she has high chance of getting admitted into renowned universities, so have faith in yourself”. Kim Young-Seok suggested that “For the English interviews, it would be good to practice speaking English in your everyday life.” Kwon Hee-yeon added that, “Even though I am a natural science student, I think that my relatively high TOEFL score helped me a lot in my admissions.”

     

The statistics estimate that about half of the students in the Minjok field from the 10th wave will be graduating early. Applicants still wait for other universities to finish their admissions, but the results already show that colleges seem to have positive views toward the early graduation students from KMLA.