Yonsei University is to expand its scholarship program for outstanding foreign students in Korea.

The new scholarship system, revamped last September, took effect from this year’s spring semester to offer a full four-year scholarship to a maximum of 10 foreign students, according to school officials.

“Unlike many other schools in Korea, we have refrained from giving out scholarship benefits just to attract foreign students,” said an official of the school’s admissions office.

“Foreign students, when applying for scholarship, will be judged by the exact same standards as their Korean classmates, primarily based on their academic achievements.”

However, due to this rather strict equality policy, foreign students in Yonsei University have found it difficult to apply for and obtain scholarship there, the official explained.

“The new program is designed to select more effectively outstanding students from among the foreign student community and present them with full scholarship,” the official said.

“It does not mean that the school will apply different judging standards to foreign students.”

Recipients are to be selected by the scholarship committee, based on the report submitted by the school’s admissions officer. Details of the selection are left to the discretion of the department heads.

Should the school fail to discover a fit candidate for the scholarship, the money is to be transferred to the general scholarship funds applicable to all students regardless of nationality, according to officials.

This semester, only one foreign student is to receive a full scholarship.

“I hear that it is usually not easy to obtain scholarship in top Korean schools, including Yonsei University,” said Shi Lian Yun, a 21-year-old marketing major Chinese student from Tsinghua University, who won the honor this year.

“I have been told that I was mostly judged on my academic achievements back in China and my entrance exam results here.”

Shi has shown remarkable grades in English and Korean, both of which are considered in scholarship evaluation. He studied Korean in Yonsei Foreign Language Institute for six months back in 2009.

The school focuses on attracting academically excellent students from China and other Southeast Asian states, so it has dispatched its admissions officers to the areas frequently, officials said.

“They promote the school and have face-to-face interviews with students who take interest,” the official said.

School officials expect the new reinforced scholarship program to contribute to the school’s reputation as well as attract a growing number of honors graduates.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)