Guidebook for Living in Korea

Universities in Korea include four-year universities and two- to three-year junior colleges. In general, 4-year colleges provide major studies rather than vocational education, and 2-year colleges provide vocational skills related to jobs. To enroll in a university, applications are accepted through rolling admission, which uses student records as the main selection factor, and regular admission, which uses College Scholastic Ability Test scores as the main selection factor. Since student selection methods vary slightly depending on the school, selection process, and recruitment unit, students must review the recruitment guidelines presented by each university before applying. Some universities adopt an admission process that gives special eligibility to ‘children from multicultural families’, so 'foreigners with dual foreign national parents', and ‘overseas Korean nationals', foreign nationals, people with a naturalization permit who have completed the entire school curriculum (12 years) equivalent to elementary and middle school education in Korea’ can apply for the ‘special screening process for overseas Koreans and foreign nationals.’

Colleges are classified into university (4-year course), industrial college, college of education, air & correspondence college, cyber college, and professional and technical college (2-year course).

University tuition fees vary depending on whether it is a national, public, or private university, and individual students must pay themselves in principle. The government and universities offer various scholarship programs to support students experiencing financial difficulties. Major government-supported scholarships include the National Scholarship and the University Student Work-Study Scholarship. Eligible recipients are Korean nationals enrolled in domestic universities. Detailed information can be found on the Korea Student Aid Foundation website (www.kosaf.go.kr). To receive other scholarships offered on and off campus, students can inquire with the scholarship support department at their current university to obtain various information on the types of scholarships and application methods.