Bachelor’s Business Administration Student Afrin Ahmed from Bangladesh Shares Her Journey of Studying at Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea

My name is Afrin Ahmed. I was born and brought up in Bangladesh. I come from an average household in my country. From childhood, I was always a free-spirited person. I used to have strong opinions and liked to follow my own path. In middle school, this caused a bit of a problem for me. I never found any interest in studying and only studied because my parents pushed me to do so. This resulted in an awful grade in middle school. I was devastated. I even had to change schools because of that situation. The new school was the turning point for me. The way they taught in that school, and the way teachers inspired me, made me love studying and helped me obtain an aim. I was always interested in Investment, and my teachers saw that and encouraged me to study Business Administration. During the final years of my high school, I got to know about Korean culture, i.e., music and dramas and that was the time when covid hit. That gave me the time to study Korean and learn more about Korea. I self-studied Korean myself and even challenged myself to talk to Koreans through the online game that I was playing. I was successful and made quite amazing Korean friends from the game. They inspired me and helped me to learn about Korea, the study system, and universities. All that information helped me write a great personal statement and achieve the scholarship.

Global Korea Scholarship Details

The scholarship is called the Global Korea Scholarship (GKS). It is provided by the Korean Government. The National Institute for International Education (NIIED) is the controlling institution. It has two tracks – Embassy and University. I was from the Embassy track. Embassy track allows the applier to choose 3 universities within Korea. I chose Sungkyunkwan, Pusan National and Dong-A university. There are 3 rounds for the selection process – Document Screening, Interview, and University selection. If an applicant passes the first two rounds and all three of the universities accept, then the applicant needs to choose one university from there. My final choice was Sungkyunkwan University. Usually, the higher ranked universities are under Embassy track.

The scholarship has great benefits. They provide two-way airfare, once when coming to the country and once when returning after completion, 1 year of language course fees, and 4 years of undergraduate course fees fully covered, and a monthly allowance of 1,200,000 won, which is approximately 801.61 USD.

Educational Background

SSC (Secondary School Certificate) [Class 10] – 4.44 out of 5.00
HSC (Higher Secondary Certificate) [Class 12] – 5.00 out of 5.00

From high school I went to the Business Education section because of my interest in investment and that had prepared my base for the business administration field.

How Did You Find Information About the Global Korea Scholarship and Sungkyunkwan University?

I was only targeting South Korea so I found the information through google search.

Did You Take Any Standardized Tests? If So, How Did You Prepare for Them?

I took IELTS. I prepared for it through English Language Coaching Centers in my home country. ‘Mentors’ was a great center. Taking the mock tests really helped.

How Did You Prepare to Apply to the Global Korea Scholarship?

I put a lot of time into preparing the Personal Statement. I read a lot of personal statements online and got an idea of how to format mine. I also watched a lot of instructional videos to make an impressive personal statement. I also took the Test of Proficiency in Korean Language (TOPIK) to elevate my profile.

How Is (was) Your Experience at Sungkyunkwan University?

By far, my experience is great. The infrastructures are impressive. Also, the courses are organized neatly and there are a lot of co-curricular activities which is open for international students too.

How Does Sungkyunkwan University Support International Students?

The university has this official body, the Office of International Student Service (OISS). They provide help to the international students online and offline. At the university they have the office for International students at the International Hall for any kind of support.

Are Your Classes Conducted in English or Korean? 

I have the option to choose. The system is open credit, and every semester I need to register for the courses that I want to attend. There are quite a lot of courses that are in English and I can choose those but there are some mandatory courses that are only in Korean.

Would Potential Students Have Any Problems Academically Not Knowing Korean?

Yes, as I mentioned above, some mandatory courses might only be available in Korean, so knowing the native language is a must.

What Do You Think Made Your Application Stand Out?

I this the personal statement and the story telling made it stand out, as well as the TOPIK score.

What Would You Have Done Differently if You Were Going Through the Process Again?

I would say nothing because I did all the things I could do at that time to apply for the scholarship.

What Advice Would You Give Those Looking to Apply for a Similar Scholarship?

Know what you want, how it will help you, and society. Make a storytelling so it will not be boring. If it’s a non-English-speaking country, then have the mentality of learning the native language.