Yonsei University Reviews

Type of housing: On campus

Arranged by: Host university

If returning, I would choose: On campus

Why? The international and lively atmosphere in the student dormitory (called "I-House") was fantastic. There was always some action going on and you had all the facilities needed to have a good time. In addition to that, it is very close to the New Millennium Hall where most of the classes are being held.

Personal comments:
Although everybody had to get used to the quite small rooms and the fact that you even have to share them with a person you didn't know before, the I-House is a very good choice for 1st semester people. Of course you don't get too much privacy, but after all it's only for a semester and you shouldn't be staying in your room too much anyway ;-)

Describe host city: Students interact with the local community without much university involvement

Nightlife, Travel: Takes place mostly outside the university/student environment

Activities: Takes place both within and outside of the university/student environment

Personal comments:
the area yonsei is in (shinchon) is pretty nice. lots of places to eat and drink, but nothing *phenominal*. in the same general vicinity are hong-ik university (art) and ehwa university (women's univ), so the surrounding areas have lots of bars too. in hongdae (by hong-ik) is the best restaurant in town, called "kkogi kkogi". it's a samgyopsal joint (pork that you grill yourself). you can get samgyopsal almost anywhere though, and you can also find plenty of kalbi places. you cook the meat yourself at your table. try it with soju! almost all restaurants and bars are open until about 7am 7 days a week.

Course recommendations:
Register for all the courses you'd like to take; you can drop some of them during the first week. Although a lot of the Yonsei professors are Ivy League Ph.D.s, others don't speak English too well or tend to love to hear themselves talk all the time.

Personal comments:
Clarifying the grading criteria.

Language of instruction: English

Main source of funding:
A private grant

Other sources of funding:
Personal savings

Work opportunities:
It was not legal for me to work

Personal spending habits:
real estate in seoul is crazy expensive, moreso than it is in the states. if you find something that looks reasonable as compared with prices at home, the apartment is probably only big enough to turn around in. prepare to pay more on your apartment. cell phones are also more, because the actual phone is typically more expensive than it is at home (or equal), but for people who don't have a korean identification number (that means you, foreigner!), you're not allowed to have your own mobile account. you'll have to use pre-paid phone cards. these cards are great for calling back home, but they get expensive with calling or texting friends in korea. only upside: if you call, it wastes your minutes... if someone calls *you*, your minutes aren't used up. so always get koreans to call you (it's free for both of you that way) overall, everything else in korea is cheaper, so by the time you factor in the expensive apartments and phone cards, it pretty much evens out with all the money you'll save on food, etc.

Telephone, Housing: was more expensive than at home.

Overall: was the same price as at home.

Food, Travel, Nightlife: was less expensive than at home.

I wish I had known...
be prepared to be swamped by schoolchildren who want your autograph (if you aren't asian). it can be pretty scary at first.

In my opinion:
Most people loved it.