During the last two months, upper classmen of high schools spent hours each day studying for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Acknowledging that the SAT is one of the greatest determinants when entering college, students and their parents search for well-known preparatory schools to more efficiently study for the exam.
One step ahead, many students go abroad simply for the SAT; many go to Korea, where private educational institutes are praised for their great programs and qualified teachers.
Some argue that those students are overdoing the SAT, which is supposed to measure the “aptitude” of a student, not to make a student spend excessive amount of money and time into a single exam. However, those who have taken the courses in Korea for the past couple of months argue otherwise.
Korean American students who studied in Korea for the summer says that the idea of going to foreign countries to study the SAT is productive. Daniel Kim from Colorado says, “each country focuses on some various details that their students are having trouble with. For example, South Korea focuses on vocabulary to improve the SAT scores of native Korean students with poor vocabulary.”
On the other hand, some students complained that the SAT schools in Korea emphasize study habits or methods that are culturally very different from those in America. “Many students study in SAT institutes for more than 8 hours every day; this is almost as long as typical day during school days,” said Sung-Hyun Kim from Dubai. “My institute had daily quizzes and excessive amount of homework that overwhelmed me throughout the summer.”
Some students liked that part about these schools. June Jung from Busan, South Korea, said, “Sat schools in Korea are really stringent and tight, but they research and teach a number of techniques and loopholes that prevent students from making careless mistakes. That’s what makes some foreign SAT prep schools really powerful in the SAT business.”
According to some students, another positive effect of SAT schools in foreign countries is that students “get to meet distinct and diverse student around the world. Meeting friends and studying together definitely are two of the most crucial points to success in the future,” said Daniel Kim.
Although there is a variety of responses to the idea of attending the SAT schools in foreign countries, students are united in a sense that they would only recommend this to others who are desperate enough for higher score, because, after all, educational institutes simply guide students.
Tiffany Ha Yeung Yang
Senior in Yorba Linda High School. Editor of Community Services of the JSR Program. Features reporter in Wranglers Newspaper.
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This was a really interesting topic, and I liked how the article revolved around the different opinions/perspectives of students. I think it might’ve been interesting to have a quote or two from a parent or SAT instructor. Nice job!