A scholarship is one of the important key points for those who want to kill two birds with one stone: have fun and obtain satisfactory academic grades. Since university tuition fees are high in Korea, scholarships are an excellent tool that not only eases financial burdens but also promotes further study. The Kookmin Review looked into the current financial aid and grant system newly established in 2013.


New Financial Aid System for Students

To look into the new financial aid system at school, Review visited the Student Support Team and met Sung Shin-Hee, a manager there. She commenced a conversation by broaching the ‘Kookmin Love Scholarship’. “The Kookmin Love Scholarship is funding assistance which is given based on students’ house income level and assets, and is especially for low?income families.” KMU has a ‘Study Scholarship’ for those who are in financial difficulties, but included other financial aid, such as the Kookmin Love Scholarship last year.
According to her, the Kookmin Love Scholarship was part of the Study Scholarship being run by the Student Support Team and was established urgently to broaden opportunities for students. The school is not planning to give the Kookmin Love Scholarship again since there are also existing grants, such as the Study Scholarship. In addition, she talked about the new financial aid system for 2013.
“We have two Study Scholarships. The Student Support Team conducts one of them, and each college such as the College of Art or the College of Engineering takes up the other. From this year, each department, instead of each college, is picking scholars by their own standards. They can specifically design scholarship plans for students. For example, one professor could say: ‘We will select students who did much for our department.’” This new education funding program will reflect specific characteristics of each department and the students will be chosen from the first semester in 2013 based upon the latest criterion.


Revised Scholarship Regulations in 2013

“The details on scholarships will be changed from this first semester. The school reformed regulations last semester. Up until last year, to apply for a scholarship students had to earn 16-17 credits and then their average had to be at least 2.5. Now we have eased the rules. Undergraduate students with a GPA of 2.0 or above and who have earned 14-15 credits are eligible for some scholarship programs except for Academic Performance Scholarships.” The new scholarship policies are posted in the ‘Scholarship Notices’ section at school’s official website.
There are two types of Study Scholarships; the Student Support Team is in charge of one of them, and each department takes the other. The former Study Scholarship by the Student Support Team is divided into three levels based on the students’ household income level. However, the latter Study Scholarship instituted by each department extends financial assistance from ‘the top’ level to the ‘fourth’ level of students. There was only one level of financial assistance before in the Study Scholarship in each department in the past, and it gave 20% of the tuition fee. Also it was re-titled the ‘College Scholarship’ to express its new quality that selects recipients by each department’s standards.
After she summarized the new policy of scholarships, she finished her interview with the comment for students: “There are numerous internal scholarships and external scholarships as well. As long as you put an effort to seek them, you can’t miss the opportunities. I hope you will be active and try to find funding sources.”

Scholarship Programs for Overseas Students

Kookmin University provides foreign students with a grant system to encourage their study and to support financially. Review called on the Institute of International Education and met Lee Mi-Ji, an Assistant Manager, to get information on financial aid programs for foreign students with foreign parents. “KMU offers tuition grants for those who get good grades. We have tightened the qualifications for scholarships since 2010”, she said. From 2011, students with a GPA of 2.5 or above and who have earned more than 12 credits are entitled to receive scholarships. There are 4 levels of the grants system: ‘Sung-gok’ which covers 100% or full tuition, ‘Top’ which covers 70%, a 50% coverage scholarship and a 30% coverage scholarship. Additionally, to award education funding, students have to make a constant effort in learning Korean as well since scholarships are not only offered according to their school records but also their TOPIK score (Test of Proficiency in Korean). “We expect students to study hard as the tightened rules are better for those who want to learn,” Ms. Lee said.