Seoul Foreign School is set to hold the first World University Fair in Seoul on Saturday, providing students and the public a platform to explore opportunities for admission into more than 160 universities from 19 countries around the world. 

At the one-day Seoul World University Fair, which will open at noon on Saturday at the its campus in western Seoul, students and their parents can meet with representatives from the schools and obtain information.

“It is an opportunity not just for our families, but really for South Korea. Moreover, Seoul,” Tu Anh Gilmore, SFS’s high school counselor, said during an interview with The Korea Herald in her office at SFS.

“I think, often times, students in Korea find it really challenging to be able to reach out to different universities,” she said. “It is a great place to get information (about opportunities in higher education.)”

The fair is a gateway to making more informed decisions about the future -- for both students and university representatives from around the world, she said.

For students, it is a unique opportunity to find universities that match their interests and learn about how to best prepare themselves to apply for admission. For the participating admissions officers, it is an opportunity to better understand Korean applicants’ cultural backgrounds, she noted.

“Being able to come and have conversations with university representatives can be very powerful,” she said. “The same representatives play significant roles in admissions as well. If they have ae conversation with you, it makes the application come alive.”

Seoul World University Fair is set to bring together prominent universities from around the world, not only from the US but also from other countries including the Netherlands, Switzerland, Japan and Singapore, among others, which Gilmore said represents the diversity in SFS.

The universities attending the fair include: New York University and Northwestern University from the US; Imperial College London and University of Birmingham from the UK’ Trinity College Dublin from Ireland; University of Sydney and Monash University from Australia’ University of Toronto from Canada; EU Business School from Switzerland; Bocconi University from Italy; and Singapore Management University.

“Seoul is a destination that they (university representatives) highly value,” she said. “Korean students, families and parents really value the higher education process. And I would say universities around the world recognize that.”

The fair is open to the students and parents of SFS as well as the general public. The general public admission is from noon to 3 p.m. Admission is free. More than 1,500 visitors are expected to attend the event.

“For our students, any students, the world is becoming smaller each day,” she said. “It is really important to have connections with different nationalities and different cultures. Being able to live abroad, studying in that program, you build connections that will last a lifetime.”

Founded in 1912, SFS is Seoul’s longest established international school that has over 1,400 students from over 50 countries.

(laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)



caption: Tu Anh Gilmore, Seoul Foreign School’s high school counselor, speaks during an interview with The Korea Herald at her office at SFS’s campus in western Seoul, Monday. (Seoul Foreign School)