Carnegie Mellon Offers Practical Studying Environment
By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
Its practical studying environment was the deciding factor for Chae Han-joo to choose Carnegie Mellon University as the place to prepare for his future career in engineering.
Chae is a junior majoring in electrical and computer engineering at the U.S. school. He graduated from Daewon Foreign Language High School in Seoul.
Chae was convinced Carnegie was the best school for students who want to study electrical and computer engineering.
``The thing I like the most about Carnegie is that it actually uses programs, tools and equipment that are actually used in real companies and labs,'' Chae said. ``All the companies in the U.S. know about this and that is one of the main reasons that Carnegie students have such a high rate of getting hired and are very well paid after graduation,'' he added.
Chae is doing an ``integrated masters/bachelors'' degree and is satisfied with the program as he can concentrate more on his major and study more thoroughly.
Also, Chae commented on the high proportion of foreign students at the school, despite the difficulty international students have getting a scholarship. ``Once you get in without any kind of scholarship, the course can be extremely difficult ㅡ although I won't say impossible ㅡ as an international student,'' he said.
``Last year, I once got a 4.0 out of 4.0 GPA and tried to gain a scholarship. However, all the scholarships that I found required applicants to have citizenship or permanent residence,'' he added.
However, Chae believes studying overseas is an invaluable experience no matter how many barriers one encounters. ``A number of students in the U.S. are studying abroad, experiencing different cultures in different countries which is very crucial in global world.
Thus, I would like to suggest Korean students study abroad at least once. It does not have to be the U.S. Wherever you go, you will learn so much,'' he said.