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In this article, Korea-based college counsellor Richard Modica looks at the issues associated with brand name universities and discusses methods he has employed at his school to overcome them
As the college counsellor at an international school located fifteen kilometres southeast of Seoul, I encounter thie problem of brand name universities on a daily basis, regardless of a student’s grade level in high school. Many of my colleagues probably would not be surprised to hear that the phenomenon of brand name universities exists even among Korean parents of elementary-aged and middle school-aged students.
However, the problem of overcoming brand name US universities by students and parents is not unique to just Korea. This problem is experienced by many counsellors at international schools who have ethnic Koreans among their student body or other nationalities, such as Indian and Chinese, just to mention a couple.
In my case, I find that although the issue of brand name universities exists among my students, it is, without question, more of a concern among their parents. Actually, many counsellors at international schools in Korea would probably say that Korean parents can be categorised into two groups: 1) those who have not studied and/or lived in the United States and 2) those who have. I find that a lot of time is spent informing and educating the parents in the first group since they rely more heavily on rankings as published by U.S. News & World Report or The Princeton Review and are unfamiliar with the fact that there are over 3,000 colleges and universities in the US alone, while parents from group two recognise the wide variety of excellent colleges and universities in the United States and are more open to have their child apply to a range of colleges.
Moreover, group one parents generally seem to encourage their child to apply to the few colleges and universities with which they are familiar regardless of their child’s GPA, decile, SAT score and rigour of academic programme. In turn, this leads to large numbers of students applying to the same post-secondary institutions. Last year, for example, there were fifteen highly selective US post-secondary institutions who received between fifteen and 32 applications from Korea International School’s (KIS) graduating class of 77 students, although several of these applications to each college were from students in the fifth to tenth decile.
As we all know, educating students, and especially their parents, who have over ambitious ideas for their university choices is the key. However, as I am learning, this is a slow and continuous process. At Korea International School, the overwhelming majority of the students understand the need to have a balanced college list, which is designed to increase their chances of receiving multiple offers of admission. However as a result of the problem of brand name, I must impress upon the parents the need to find the ‘right fit’ for their child, which may not always include the Ivy League colleges, Stanford, M.I.T., UNC-Chapel Hill, etc. that they have in mind.
KIS uses parent-student-college counsellor meetings, informational sessions (such as coffee with the college counsellor, coffee with the director, lunch with the high school and middle school principals, etc.), grade level parent meetings, the quarterly newsletter and the weekly Phoenix Flyer as means of educating our parents. In addition, we use Family Connection by Naviance Succeed, one of our most important tools because of the application data specific to KIS students and its graduates.
Furthermore, like many international schools, KIS places a limit on the number of colleges to which our students may apply. Our seniors are permitted to apply to a maximum of ten colleges because we want college admission directors to know that when they receive an application from a KIS senior, they can be assured that the student is a serious applicant. Therefore, as a result of our application limit, educating both the students and parents takes on a special importance. For example, KIS advises applications to a range of schools (i.e. 2-4 Reach, 5-6 Likely/Match and 1-2 Target/Safety schools) in order to accommodate our Korean students’ and parents’ desires for brand name recognition, while at the same time trying to maximise students’ chances for admission given the record numbers of applications that colleges are receiving nowadays.
Upon my arrival at KIS, a little more than one year ago, as I was setting up my office I found in a drawer an anonymous quote: “College is a match to be made, not a prize to be won.” As I became more informed about the importance of brand name recognition to my parents, the need arose to post the quote in several key and highly visible spots around campus. In addition, it is included in all of my presentations to students and parents.
Without question, patience and perseverance will be required. However, education about finding the ‘right fit’ college is, and always will be, the key to overcoming the issue of brand name focus among Korean students and parents.
Written by Richard Modica
College Counselor
Korea International School
