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Boarding School
Exams

Many students wanting to study abroad are frequently discouraged due to their lack of English proficiency. Indeed, almost all private schools require students to possess a reasonable degree of proficiency in English, and therefore their admissions requirements generally require international students to submit the results of a standardized English proficiency examination such as TOEFL or IELTS.

Worldwide, the most common standardized examination is the TOEFL which is administered by the U.S. based testing agency ETS. As such, most, if not all, private schools following a U.S. college preparatory curriculum will require prospective applicants to submit a TOEFL score. On the other hand, schools that follow a U.K. curriculum (often schools in the U.K. or the British Commonwealth) require IELTS. Furthermore, certain schools, regardless of location, may require the iTEP or Duo Lingo examinations. It is essential that students inquire far ahead of time as to the standardized English proficiency exam requirements of their prospective schools.

 

Further to English proficiency exams, U.S. bound students are often required to take the Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT) which are U.S. private schools almost always require for all their prospective applicants (international or otherwise). The SSAT evaluates a student’s basic aptitude in English language (verbal and reading) and Math.

 

As the above tests and their respective preparation methods are well known in Korea, it is expected that students and the parents will prepare for such exams accordingly. However, it is important to reiterate the importance in researching each private school’s examination requirements ahead of time as well as allowing sufficient time for students to prepare, take, and report test scores to each school.

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