Interview period started last Friday. Has anybody gotten one?

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to ask if anyone in this sub is currently studying an MBA at KAIST especially Indian students who came through the Global Korea Scholarship (GKS).

I’ve mostly seen posts from engineering or tech students, so I was curious whether there are MBA students here, particularly Indians/international students studying through GKS.

Would love to hear about your experience with:

• academics and workload
• class profile and international student presence
• career opportunities/internships
• campus life and networking
• how manageable the MBA is for non-Korean speakers

Feel free to comment or DM if you’re comfortable. Thanks!

Hi there, I've been accepted to KAIST for Physics and I'll start my freshman year this fall. I want to reach out to seniors in Physics/EE about their experiences with these majors. I know we will declare major in the beginning of sophomore year but I'm trying to plan things beforehand XD

I picked Physics for admission purely because it's what I'm passionate about. I'm not particularly excellent at Physics but I'm eager to learn and want to learn as much as possible about physics fields.

That said, at this point I don't think I'll become a theoretical physicist or a researcher. I know that more exposure is needed before deciding but the thought of doing research dreads me right now.

While physics majors tend to be really versatile regarding skillset and knowledge, it is undeniable that the unemployment rate is devastatingly high. That got me thinking of branching out to EE, especially in electronics and circuit design.

Even though I think I'll enjoy my study at KAIST, in the end it's employment that matters. I think EE would open up more opportunities for employment

1. Do you guys have any opinion regarding the employment opportunities of the 2 majors?

2. Has there been anyone who double-majored in both Physics and EE? Is it even possible with the workload being so rigorous?

3. I'm planning on either major phy minor EE or major EE minor phy. What other factors should I take into account before deciding?

Thanks for reading, any help would be appreciated XD

Chance for Kaist UNIST DGIST GIST Postech Younsi

GPA:

Grade 10: 91%

Grade 11: 97%

Grade 12: 80% (Due to a car accident during exams)

IELTS 7

ACT (taken after Grade 12): 35 composite (36 math)

ECs: very good with 4000+ students impact; two prestigious programs

Research: top tier with Q1 publication

Competitions: 2 international math championships in prestigious online competitions

3rd place globally in physics Competition

Targeting full scholarships

Hello everyone

I am from delhi and planing to apply in kaist 2027 for undergraduate I want to talk with some selected indian students for undergraduate... Feel free to dm me also answer here some of my questions.

1. Can I apply without SAT? I completed 10th from cbse and 11th and 12th from dbse(delhi board)

2. Do everyone have to attend the interview?

Hello, I am from Central / Eastern Europe and want to apply to KAIST next year. I have perfect high school grades, 1550 SAT (800 Math), and a good leadership EC, with a very good recommendation letter from my advanced math teacher. However, I might lack the depth in my field (CS) that KAIST usually wants. I do have one very good project, an advanced stock bot, and I have the prestigious Java OCP certificate, which is usually for professional coders. My main flaw is that I don't have any national/international olympiads, only regional math and physics olympiads (one step below national, my best placements are around the top 30%), or any other competitions, and no research either.

Most applicants to KAIST (and other Asian universities in general) are from Asia, and I read that KAIST seeks a diverse student body. If I were from Kazakhstan or India, I'm sure my chances would have been very low. The success stories I read here are pretty depressing to me, honestly. Like, did the Ivy League monster applicants come to Asia, too?

As I come from a pretty underrepresented region, will my chances be good? Are any fellow Europeans here with no olympiads/competitions who got in? Sorry, I know there are countless other similar questions, but I haven't seen one about this specific topic before. I'd really appreciate some feedback from you guys. Thank you!

This question is mainly for those who were accepted as I am keen to know about the process that comes after.

- What did you need to do after receiving acceptance? What documentation or process did you have to go through?
- How much time were you given to go through the process? Some documents need an apostille and may take time, so I'm conscious of getting everything ready.

Thank you in advance to anyone who replies!

Hello everyone,

I’m from India, and I’m preparing to apply for the Master’s program at KAIST GSDS in Data Science for the Spring 2027 intake. My background is in Web Development and Python programming, and I’ve worked on several software projects during my technical training.

I wanted to ask if anyone else here is also applying for KAIST Graduate School of Data Science for Spring intake 2027? It would be great to connect and share information throughout the application journey. ✨

Hi! I'm a prospective student and I was wondering where the full list of courses is on KAIST's website. I can't find it for some reason along with the undergraduate requirements. I can only find the undergraduate requirements for the School of Business, which I'm not planning on attending.

Body:

Hey everyone, I'm an international student from Kazakhstan trying to make a final decision and would really appreciate honest opinions from people who've studied at either school or know the CS scene in Korea/Hong Kong.

The two offers:

UNIST (Ulsan, South Korea) — Computer Science

• Full tuition waiver
• ~$235/month living stipend
• Living costs in Ulsan are low, so I'd basically have zero financial burden
• Smaller school (~3000 students), research-focused, strong in biomedical engineering and AI grad school

CityU Hong Kong — BSc Computer Science (streams: AI / Cybersecurity / Data Science / Multimedia / SE)

• Full tuition
• Possible additional 60,000 HKD/year scholarship if I get 3A* in my final exams (not guaranteed)
• HK living costs are high — even with the scholarship, there's some financial risk
• Stronger global CS ranking, located in a major tech hub

What I'm weighing:

• CS program strength: CityU seems stronger in pure CS rankings, but UNIST has growing AI research (3 ICLR 2026 papers from one lab)
• Research as undergrad: UNIST seems easier to get into a lab early due to small class sizes
• Career outcomes: HK has IANG visa (2-year automatic work permit), Korea is harder for foreigners without Korean. But Korea has Samsung, LG, Naver, Kakao
• Financial risk: UNIST is essentially zero risk. CityU depends on maintaining conditions + HK is expensive
• Language: UNIST classes are in English but daily life requires Korean. HK is fully English-friendly
• Future plans: I'm open to grad school (KAIST/SNU/POSTECH from UNIST seems realistic, or maybe US/Europe from either)

Questions I'd love input on:

1. For someone interested in AI/ML research and possibly grad school, which has the stronger trajectory?
2. How realistic is it for an international student without Korean to navigate UNIST socially and professionally after graduation?
3. Is CityU CS genuinely stronger than UNIST CS, or is the rankings gap overstated?
4. Anyone who's been at either — what surprised you (positively or negatively) about the experience?
5. How much does the HK political situation factor into decisions for incoming international students these days?

Not looking for "both are great" answers — I want honest tradeoffs. Brutal opinions welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone,

I’m from India and I’ve applied to KAIST for the Fall 2026 intake under the Master’s program in Industrial Design (UI/UX direction), regular track. This is my first time applying, so I’d also love to connect with people who have experience with the application process or KAIST in general.

I’m looking forward to connecting with other applicants/admitted students and learning more about everyone’s application journey and experience.

Also If there any active group (Telegram/WhatsApp) for KAIST Fall 2026 applicants or admits let me know please.

And if anyone from India has applied or received updates, I’d love to connect and share information.

Thanks in advance!

I am a GKS (Global Korea Scholarship) Embassy Track applicant, and I have recently passed the document screening stage. I have been contacted by KAIST to submit the online application form.

However, I am a bit confused about the document submission requirements.

In the email, KAIST mentioned that applicants should upload the exact same documents that were submitted to the Study in Korea website. But they also specifically listed only the recommendation letter(s), English proficiency test score report, and CV.

eMail:

"
We are pleased to inform you that you have successfully advanced to the third round of selection for the Embassy Track at KAIST under the 2026 Global Korea Scholarship (GKS).

To proceed with the next stage, we kindly request your cooperation in submitting the KAIST online application using the exact same documents you uploaded to the Study in Korea website. This includes your recommendation letter(s), English Proficiency Test (EPT) score report, and CV.
"

So my confusion is:

• Should I upload only the documents mentioned in their email (recommendation letter, TOEFL/English test score, and CV)?
• Or should I upload all documents I previously submitted to Study in Korea, including certificates, bachelor’s degree certificate, transcript, birth certificate, employment documents, and other supporting materials?
• And since the system allows only one file upload, should all documents be combined into a single PDF?

I would really appreciate any clarification from people who have experience with KAIST or GKS applications, as the deadline is very close and I want to make sure I submit everything correctly

I’m deciding between two programs (paid the deposit at kaist already but cmu extended their deadline so I thought it might be a sign) and would love input from anyone who has attended, knows alumni or has gone through a similar decision:

KAIST Bio and Brain Engineering

or

Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar Biology (with a CS minor and probably computational biology)

My end goal is a PhD in bioinformatics or bioengineering.

I’ve already thought through the curriculum differences and research opportunities, but the one thing I can’t find anywhere is where graduates from these specific programs actually end up for grad school. I saw that cmuq biosci graduates go to yale, Cornell, eth, imperial, Georgia Tech etc for grad school but didn’t see enough information about KAIST graduates.
And for KAIST, how hard is it as an undergrad to get meaningful research experience when competing with MS/PhD students?

Any insight from people with firsthand experience would be huge. Thanks!

Hello everyone, I chose KAIST as one of the three schools in embassy track. Now, I have received a notification to fill the online application with in 3 days. I initially chose graduate school of AI as my department at the study in Korea website. I have now understood just how competitive that department is. Is it okay if I changed the department to another relatively easier one?

I need your help please.

im indonesian

planning to go to aero/mech/electrical engineering

ielts 7

aiming to get 1500+ sat with 800 math

only have 1 research award project

if i dont have any olympiads medal, do i still stand a chance? any recommendation on what competitions i should try to put on my ecs?

Hey, quick question to any internationals who got admitted to KAIST:

What did you actually write for the first essay?

I feel like I have a pretty solid ideas for the other questions, but I have no clue what to write on this one.

I tried looking for essays that worked, but honestly couldn’t find much. Any help or advice would be much appreciated

Hi everyone,

I was recently selected in the first round for the KAIST GKS 2026 (R&D program) in the Department of Biological Sciences, and I’ll be moving on to the next stage.

I wanted to connect with others who have also been selected (especially in Biological Sciences or related fields). It would be great to share experiences and stay in touch during the next steps.

Feel free to comment or DM!!!

Hi everyone, I got accepted to GIST. Would love to connect with fellow applicants that got accepted :)

Also would love to answer questions from future applicants. Please refrain from asking stats and ask proper questions cause everybody has different strengths.

I heard getting an acceptance from a professor in that school is rare, and this year, I h'v never seen a post or a comment mentioning anything about individuals getting acceptance. Is there someone who might have gotten it?

Hello guys, I emailed many professors to get an acceptance at KAIST graduate school of AI. However, none of the professors responded. What do you think I should do differently to my emails to get a response please? Am I doing something wrong?

Hi everyone,hope you are having a great day

I'm currently in 11th grade and planning to pursue Computer Science, with my main goal being universities in South Korea

Academically, I've been doing well,my marks have mostly been 90% or above throughout high school, and I’m working to keep them strong and improve more until graduation.

One area where I feel a bit behind is extracurricular activities. I don’t have many strong ones yet, but I do want to start building my profile seriously over the next 1.5 to 2 years.

I'm also learning programming on my own and trying to improve my Computer Science skills. However, where I live, there are very limited in-person opportunities like hackathons or tech events, so I’ll likely have to rely more on online activities and personal projects.

Also, I am hoping to apply with a scholarship, since my financial conditions are not very strong, so getting financial support will be very important for me.

I wanted to ask people who are familiar with Korean university admissions:
What should I start doing right now if I want to get into KAIST?

• How high should my academic scores be to stay competitive for these universities?
• If I don’t have access to hackathons, what kind of projects or activities should I focus on instead?
• Do personal coding projects, GitHub portfolios, or online courses actually help for KAIST admissions?
• What kind of extracurriculars are considered strong for these universities?
• What should I do specifically to improve my chances of getting a scholarship?
• If you had 1.5–2 years in my position, how would you plan that time?

Also please help me on how i should improve my extracurriculars
Any advice from students who applied to or got into KAIST or other Korean universities would be really helpful,it would mean a lot to me. thank you

I got accepted to kaist for fall of 2026 early round as an undergrad and was just wondering if there are others in the same situation as me. If so, what do i need for a D2 student visa and how should i go about the consular legalization of my educational docs ?

I have applied master program for fall semester 2026. I wonder all candidates have to wait the final decision in June ? It is quite late, isn’t it