US Universities Seek English Fluency
By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
Top U.S. universities are willing to accept foreign applicants with special talents even if they have low academic scores.
Seamus Malin, 67, a U.S. education consultant, said Friday that they tend to favor applicants with special talents that can contribute to the diversity of the schools.
In an interview with The Korea Times, Malin stressed that students who aim to enter top American universities should have excellent English skills. Malin has dealt with international admissions at Harvard University for almost 40 years.
``English, English and English. The more your English is perceived as being sophisticated and advanced, the more likely you are going to succeed. No question. There’s no substitute for fluency in English and you should spend more time in being fluent in English at the highest possible level because that is a major key,’’ Malin said.
The remarks of the admissions expert indicate that good universities have no time to wait for international students to improve their English skills, although they have big potential, so that they have no problems conducting broad and deep studies at those schools.
Malin arrived in Seoul on Wednesday and took part in the U.S. college admissions strategy seminar and workshops, ``2007 AHEd Edu Summit’’ for three days, last week and lectured on ``Personal Profile Development’’ to 90 American college hopefuls, 20 of whom were sponsored by The Korea Times Global Edu.
AHEd, which is short for American Higher Education, is a private company aiming to assist students seeking higher education in the U.S. It has branches in Seoul, New Delhi and Dubai.
Malin also advised Korean students to dispel the notion that they need to be excellent in every subject if they want to get admitted to the top U.S. universities.
He emphasized that U.S. college hopefuls need to enjoy their admissions interview not taking it as a test. ``You never talk about politics or religion, nothing controversial during the interview. Instead interviewers try to get a sense of whom the students are and they ask applicants things about family, friends, books and travel,’’ he said. ``The notion is to try to make it as friendly as possible not as a test.’’