As more South Korean students try to get into top American colleges, they have started to turn to admission consulting companies which provide application assistance and help design extracurricular activities.

A team of experts from Manhattan Global Prep, a New York-based college admission consulting firm, offered advice to Korean students in its seminar last Saturday in Seoul on what students should know about the U.S. college admission process and what the company can offer.

“You should have strong academic credentials combined with some interesting activities,” said Mark Wais, vice president for student affairs at New York University.

He and other experts in the MGP team were led by Kevin Kim, managing director of the company.

They explained to students and parents the overall admission process, advised on essay writing and topics and what the international students should be aware of, including Early Decision and Early Action programs, and gave insider tips.

“Stanford considers highly of students’ intellectual vitality. If it is embedded in the essay, you will get a higher chance of acceptance,” said John Bunnell, former director of admission at Stanford University.

The MGP team was composed of former and current senior admissions officers of U.S. colleges.

“Most important for U.S. colleges in selecting students is to create the most interesting mix of students,” the team added. “You need to write your essay in your own words and write what you want, not what the admission officers might want.”

The company designs extracurricular activities for the students, guides them in essay writing, advises them what to focus on in class and how to spend summer breaks efficiently.

The consulting fee ranges from $10,000 to $40,000, depending on a student’s grades, but guarantees acceptance to at least one school for each applicant and pledges a full refund if he or she is not accepted.

“I came here because one of my seniors at school recommended this seminar,” said a student from Yongin Foreign Language High School. “I haven’t studied abroad before, but I want to study astrophysics in the U.S. Today’s seminar was very helpful,” she added.

By Lee Woo-young  (wylee@heraldcorp.com)