Academic Adjustment of International Students in South Korea: A Case Study of Seoul National University

Abstract

This thesis examines the academic adjustment of international students at Seoul National University, focusing on the expectations of international students in prior to enrolling to Seoul National University and how those expectations affect their adjustment in the academic context. Previously there are many studies that investigated on the adjustment of international students in different countries especially, USA, which is the country with the highest number of incoming international students. Previous studies point out the issues and challenges that international students faced after arriving to the host university. On the other hand, the purpose of this study is to explore on the expectations of international students before enrolling to Seoul National University and what role do those expectations play in the adjustment of international students. Using Qualitative method, five international students from the college of education were invited to participate in this research through snowball sampling. In-depth semi-structured interviews from 40 – 60 minutes were conducted, three times from each participant. Major findings of the study include students with wrong expectations had greater disappointment which led them to have thoughts of dropping out of the academic program. On the other hand, students with right expectations adjusted well in the academic setting. Moreover, Lysgaards U-Curve theory which was used as a theoretical framework was not applicable to all students since international students had different stages of adjustment based on their characteristics.