<313 Special Report>
Scholarships, Students’ Gateway to the Future? By Rigoberto Banta Jr., Tribune Reporter Chonnam National University (CNU) has consistently been one of South Korea’s best universities in terms of student investment funding, which was one of major factors of CNU’s rise to being the 3rd most outstanding national university of the nation, alongside the huge internationalization efforts of the university. Also the rise in foreign students has led to the introduction of new scholarships for international students, including Korean government scholarship grants. With the country’s cheapest tuition fees and huge efforts to aid its students financially, can students say that CNU’s financial support for them is not enough? On the same note, what are the reasons for CNU students raising their voices against apparent ‘high tuition fees’? The Chonnam Tribune looks into CNU students’ participation in these scholarship programs. Between Numbers and Reality: CNU Scholarship System In the recent university rankings compiled by the Joongang Daily, CNU’s rise to the third best among national universities in South Korea boils down to two main features that the university has been supporting for the recent years: student investment and internationalization. Amid Korean universities who invest in multiplying the school’s central funds, CNU has done its best to allocate sufficient funding for the development of its students, faculty and staff by providing various incentives. “CNU has the highest student investment among national universities in South Korea in cooperation with different institutions including the central government and alumni associations”, a staff member of the Office of Public Relations Office, CNU said. While this ranking shows that the CNU Administration provides a better environment for learning by offering financial support than other universities, the statistics based on a recent survey result show that many students do not think so. According to the survey of 212 students conducted by the Chonnam Tribune last month, many respondents think that the university’s scholarship standards are very high and a support system for students to reach the requirements is inefficient. Part-time jobs or scholarships, the Chonnam Tribune inquired on the reason on why students need extra money. Among other factors that can be detrimental to the respondent students themselves, the results show what can be considered as the aloofness of students to the arbitrary motion that tuition fees at CNU are very high. The numbers show that the majority of CNU students consider that working in part-time jobs is for personal money, not for easing the high price of tuition fees, a whopping 72.5% of the total respondents. A student from the Department of German Language and Literature said, “I work part-time because I plan to travel next year. I cannot rely on my father to pay for this capricious activity that I am planning.” According to the survey results, while 57.5% of CNU students rely on part-time jobs, they are satisfied with the amount of scholarships available for them, but they think that there is a need to expand the scholarship programs of the university. 76.9% or 163 students answered that getting a scholarship is better than doing a part-time job. Various Scholarships available for CNUians The university rankings say a lot, but does CNU actually have various kinds of scholarships available for students? The Chonnam Tribune has searched for these scholarships exclusively for CNUians. The Challenge Scholarship, available twice annually, is the most famous scholarship according to the Office of Public Relations at CNU. 250 CNUians, composed of 230 Korean and 20 foreign students can receive the Challenge Scholarship as one of the tasks for strengthening the educational ability of CNU students. The number of beneficiaries increased from 200 in the previous semester to 250 as the ‘Doyak’ Scholarship was first abolished this semester. There are two steps for this scholarship. If students get through the first selection, they have to make a brief presentation about their future plan before a panel of examiners. It is conducted twice a year and a student can apply for it twice during his or her university life. 
CNU also plans to provide a scholarship to students to increase the employment rate and encourage them to participate in many programs related to jobs. CNUians, who have an experience of participating in the interview after reviewing their applications, being an intern for more than 4 weeks, or taking part in many school job-related programs, can challenge this scholarship. It is scheduled to start in December, 2011. Successful candidates can receive from 200,000 won to 400,000 won per person.
Besides, students can apply for some off-campus scholarships in cooperation with institutions such as the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and the MK Business News. The ETS Scholarship worth US$ 4,000 is awarded to students who have proven their great English ability and the highest scorer in the Maekyung Test will receive two million Korean won for his/her great knowledge and skill in solving business and economics related questions.
Active Participation and Challenge = Sufficient Financial Support!
The rallies on halving the tuition fees in South Korea is out of the question—CNU students and the General Student Council involves itself in this movement not only for itself but for all the Korean students aching from the expensive college fees to achieve quality in higher education. While the high tuition fees of higher education is out of the question as well at this university, CNU students should strive to accept the challenge in light of the opportunities available for them. On the same note, the university administration should consider to widen the qualification for scholarship grants to provide equal opportunity to every student. In the long run, the marginal social benefit of the university and the society will increase with the determination of CNU students to achieve their goals of financial independence through various school scholarship programs. The Chonnam Tribune hopes that scholarships at CNU will be utilized to the fullest and may CNU students be visionaries of challenge for the future.