Korean students comprise a very important group on independent school campuses. They enhance our school communities in a variety of ways. Insights and observations into the Korean applicant pool provided a setting for a discussion of ways to serve these families and students by better understanding and evaluating their educational needs and desires. Some of the stumbling blocks and challenges experienced in the process were shared in this discussion.

Christine Chapman, educational consultant for Starr & Chapman, Inc. (MA) and IECA School Committee Co-Chair, opened the discussion by describing the challenges she faced during the past academic year placing Korean students in North American boarding schools. By March 1st, only 26 of her 45 Korean student applicants had been placed in schools. With both increases in Korean applicants and increases in the quality of students applying, she soon realized that the market place was saturated with fewer spaces available in the highly-desirable schools sought by Korean families. Most apply to 12 to 15 schools and receive only one decision. Many stay on wait lists throughout the summer in hopes of admittance.

Suzanne Buck, Director of Admission, Fay School (MA) continued the discussion by describing the difficult odds for admittance of Korean students at her junior school. Last year there were 63 Korean applicants to Fay School (MA), a school with a total student body of 110. Only eight Korean students were admitted. Fran Ryan, Assistant Headmaster, Rumsey Hall School (CT) concurred that some admission officers are beginning to feel like “directors of rejection” where Korean families are concerned. Forty-five boarding schools surveyed last summer reported having a total of 775 Korean students. After reading an email from a Korean mother concerned about her son’s lack of honor-level classes as compared to the other Korean students she knows, Ryan described the competitive nature of the Korean constituency, “There are no secrets among these families. GPAs, test scores, awards, honors – all are commonly known among families competing for admittance.” At his junior boarding school, a concerted effort has been made to manage the misinformation that exists among Korean families by traveling to Korea and by meeting with parent groups.

The Lawrenceville School’s (NJ) Dean of Admission, Greg Maloberti addressed assessment issues with regard to Korean applicants. “There is an over-emphasis on test scores and enormous social pressure to get into good schools. With so few Korean universities, this has had a trickle down effect to the secondary and middle school levels.” He shared some data based on the 55,000 students who took the SSAT last year:

• SSAT test takers in Korea comprised about 581 students who took 978 tests.
• 40% of Korean kids who took the SSAT had their scores sent to a total of 40 schools.
• 25% of all test scores were sent to only 10 schools.

“Korean families seek name-brand schools. Very few of them are financial aid families,” Maloberti stated. He continued, “They are so interested in getting their kids into prestigious schools that very often a recruiting trip to Korea will pay for itself in application fees.” He noted that Koreans might well be leading the world in dollars spent on supplemental educational programs. Families prepare their children for admission to highly competitive schools by sending them to rigorous after-school test-prep programs or “hagwans.” These “cram schools” offer an aggressive approach to test- or subject-based preparation. Students attend daily and also on the weekends, often allowing them only five or so hours of sleep per night. “While our culture may liken the noticeable exhaustion on the faces of these kids to child labor, Korean kids consider test-taking fun and have a sense of sport about it,” Maloberti continued. Gaming the test, and even the admission process in some cases, has some students applying to prestigious schools just for the sport of seeing if they will get in, with no intention of ever going.

Maloberti cited the downside to the over-emphasis on study and competition among Korean students and families. “Squeeze a kid too hard and he’ll cheat.” There were 15 instances where Korean test score authenticity was questioned last year, as compared to only 11 instances out of the 55,000 U.S./Canadian test takers. On a grander scale, the Korean Education Ministry threw out over 300 students involved in organized cheating on the national college entrance exam (Harold Tribune, March 30, 2005, “Education Ministry goes after Cheaters”, The Korea Times, March 29, 2005, “Test Scores for 226 Suspected Cheaters Invalidated”).

Intense memorization of writing sample responses, interview question responses, and hundreds of vocabulary words misrepresents language fluency allowing a student to potentially test in the 90th percentile in language and, in reality, have only a 19% ability to speak and understand English. Moreover, the custom of paying Korean teachers to write recommendations for students is not considered corrupt, allowing for the possibility of teachers exaggerating student strengths in English fluency.

What can be done to help?

SSAT is taking measures to ensure that test results from Korea are accurate. The primary objective is to determine what information best meets the schools’ needs and how best to develop and distribute that information. For example, one idea being considered would provide a short, face-to-face, recorded interview session with each prospective applicant that would allow admission professionals to get a more accurate handle on a student’s English-speaking abilities. This would become part of the student’s file, and admission officers could log on to the student file to view the interview.

Some strategies for working with Korean students and their families were offered by presenters and audience participants:

• In the admission interview, talk with students about what they are doing to get into boarding school. What is their motivation? What types of activities are they engaged in surrounding the test?
• While on campus, have visiting Korean applicants do a writing sample before their interview. Be aware of the “over-prepared interview” by asking some different questions like, “tell me about your friends” or “tell me a joke.”
• Establish a “language covenant” with Korean students and parents that they will speak only English on campus and when students are home on breaks. Counsel older Korean students to be good role models to younger ones.
• Be forthright with Korean families about highly-competitive prospects for admission. Articulate slim chances if indeed they exist. Counsel families to look at other schools.