A senior at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology was found dead after apparently jumping to his death Thursday.

The death sent shock waves through the nation’s top science university, which saw a string of suicides last year.

A fellow student found the body of the 22-year-old man, whose name was withheld, on the lawn in the dormitory complex at 5:40 a.m.

Police suspect he jumped from the 15th floor of the building.

The student left a suicide note inside his room, in which he reportedly expressed anxiety about the future and apologized to his family.

“My passion is gone. I’m sorry to my family,” the note was quoted by police.

The student entered KAIST in 2007. After being discharged from military service, he went back to school in February. His academic performance was excellent, school officials said.

KAIST president Suh Nam-pyo expressed condolences to the bereaved family.

“As the chief of the school, I am deeply sorry and saddened. On behalf of all KAIST people, I express condolences,” he was quoted by the university’s spokesman as saying during an emergency meeting of senior officials on Thursday morning.

The president directed the officials to form a special team and devise measures to prevent a recurrence.

The elite school was rocked by the suicides of four students and a prominent life science professor between January and April 2011.

Critics blamed the school’s policies for fueling competition among both students and faculty and its failure to take care of students’ psychological problems.

As part of his reform drive, the KAIST president in 2007 overhauled the school’s scholarship system, linking fees to grades. Students whose grade averages were less than 3.0 out of a maximum 4.3 had to pay up to 6 million won ($5,538) a year in tuition.

In July last year, the school eased the rule, which had been said to have weighed down on many underperforming students, .

Critics say strain stemming from academic pressure was the main cause of the student deaths. But many argue that these problems also exist in other universities in Korea.

Last year, excessive competitiveness and indifference between students in several law schools was blamed for numerous suicide attempts, and four students of Korea National University of Art killed themselves. Students of KNUA said results-oriented approach by the school alienated most students.

By Yoon Min-sik (minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)