The campus is crowded with freshmen and the semester has started. The Islander wondered why the recent batch of freshmen applied to Jeju-NU in the first place, as well as their expectations for the future and their initial thoughts on university life.

Hyeon Su-Mi
(Korean Education, 1)

Su-Mi’s decision to come to Jeju-NU was mostly due to financial reasons.

“If I were to go to another university, it would cost a lot more money. For example, school tuition, lodging, and the cost of living. Jeju-NU is less of a financial burden to my parents.”

Su-Mi mentioned that she wants to join a club that advocates human rights.

“Since I am now a college student, I think I will have time to focus on things I am really interested in rather than studying all time when I was in high school.”

To Su-Mi, there are pros and cons to attending Jeju-NU.

“When I was a high school student, I thought college would mean more free time. However in reality, there is less free time than I expected. I have classes in my major and required liberal arts courses to take. I did not expect all these required classes.”

Still, overall, Su-Mi is happy with university life. “I have met great friends of my grade who are in the same major as me. The sophomores are also helpful, so I can adapt to my new school. I feel like I will have a good life in university.”

Kang Ji-Su
(Chemistry & Cosmetics, 1)

The thing that Ji-Su expected the most from university life was ‘romance’.

“I graduated from a girls-only high school. I expected lots of cute guys would be on-campus. In reality, there are more girls than boys here. In my major, we have only eight freshmen boys out of the 32 people in my class. I feel like I am in a women’s university.”

Ji-Su mentions that it is hard to get along with freshman in her major. She says that there is a lack of chances to meet other people because of conflicting schedules. However, she states, “I like my courses. I take chemistry courses this semester and for me, it is easy to understand because I studied general science courses back in high school.”

Ji-Su also comments how she really liked the professors in her classes.

“Every freshman has different thought about their freshman class and those who are in the same major. They also expect different things in their university life. I hope we all have a wonderful time in Jeju-NU.”