This year, about a dozen students from Seoul International School have been accepted to several of the top boarding schools overseas. These students plan to leave this year and start off high school in a new environment and a different education system. However, some have been ambivalent about their decision to stay or leave. Although it is commonly believed that attending a boarding school is better than staying at SIS, there can be disadvantages as well.
Some students have been attending SIS since first grade or even earlier. As they are now acclimatized to SIS, they prefer to stay with their families and support the education that the school has provided for them thus far. As such, they will continue attending SIS at the beginning of high school. Many students believe that staying at SIS will help them adjust to high school a lot quicker compared to adjusting to boarding school, since there are differences in the environment and peers.
Based on these conflicting opinions, one high school student commented on the benefits of staying at SIS. “I think that socially it's really beneficial because you get to stay with all of your friends. Also, your environment doesn't change, so it's a lot easier to adapt to high school.” said Ryan Jang (9).
Otherwise, some of these SIS students have opted to apply to boarding schools - mainly in the east coast of the US - hoping to gain admissions to the more elite and “name-brand” boarding schools. By doing so, they will likely immerse themselves in a context surrounded by more diverse peers from all over the world.
“Going to the States for high school gave me opportunities to meet more diverse friends and get an excellent education. Also, it gives you some freedom from the strict, conservative Korean culture which adheres to extremely competitive studying rather than chasing your dreams (though things are changing).” said Josh Ryu (9) currently attending Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Connecticut.
According to the popular beliefs among SIS students and those attending boarding schools, both groups of students are satisfied with their learning environments, while they are also keenly aware of shortcomings from their respective institutions. It does seem fashionable for certain students to apply to “name-brand” boarding schools, but what really matters is if students are receiving quality education and are content with their environment.
BY SEAN SY LEE AND JUSTIN CHOI EDITED BY SARAH PARK DESIGN BY SEAN JS LEE