I finished level 6 in May, and signed up for the Advanced Research class in the summer. I pretty much just did it for the visa extension, and I did the bare minimum (I didn't finish the thesis paper, or do the presentation, or even go to half of the Speaking classes). I really felt like my Speaking skills were far behind my classmates', so I didn't try very hard. Luckily, 2 of the 4 teachers had had me in previous semesters, so they knew I was quiet and didn't push it. Anyway, I managed to finish the class with a 59% grade (much higher than I was expecting) and 77% attendance.
However, this gave me trouble when changing visa status at the immigration office. Originally, I entered Korea on a D-4 Language visa, and I planned to change to a D-2 Student visa after I was accepted to grad school. Did I mention I was accepted to grad school?*** Anyway, I had another fun time at immigration. I initially went in early July, but the lady told me I needed my tuition payment receipt, housing contract, grades and attendance rate at language school, and a recent 3x4cm photo. The Immi website doesn't mention tuition receipt at all, but it does say that requirements vary by school. My friend that got accepted to KU undergrad didn't need proof of payment at all. So.... yea.
You can pay Yonsei and KU in early July, but you can't pay SNU til early August. So, I came back after paying at the bank (the SNU website says you can do a bank transfer, but I was afraid to not have proof. I never did see a tuition receipt online, but the bank teller gave me a stamped paper). And the immi lady told me I needed 80% attendance and 70% grade... which, as it was the last week of Language school, it was too late to obtain these (as I slacked off all semester). It was sort of funny.. because, for the previous 6 semesters, I got 100% attendance and 85%+ grades.. but the one semester that actually mattered to immigration was the one I didn't really try. :\
So, I ended up going back the next week and trying for a different lady. Pro tip: the ticket machine says to only take one ticket, but I took two (take one, wait til people take few numbers, take another). The first number called was for the unhelpful lady I got the previous week. I pretended like I didn't hear it. (This is why you have take a ticket, then wait til some other people take numbers... because if no one comes for a number, the same person tries the next one, and the next one.. til someone comes to the counter.) The second number was for a different lady. This one helped me out and processed my paperwork with no problems. I even gave her my level 6 transcript (as Research class hadn't technically ended yet and grades weren't posted) with my 77% Research class attendance. She didn't even ask for a new photo. I also told her I was leaving the country in a week on vacation, so I wouldn't have my ARC at the airport (Immi takes it while they process your change of visa status.. usually 14 days). She gave me a receipt saying my visa was being processed. I showed my passport and the 'processing' paper to immigration at the airport on the way in and out and had no problems whatsoever.
It's just really unbelievable... the difference in service you can get, just by going to different people. I asked the first lady (in early July, before I had my tuition receipt) for a list of required papers. I also asked the 2nd lady (in early August) for a list. They were entirely different lists. And the 3rd lady didn't even take half the papers on either of those lists. Moral of the story: keep trying til you get someone that will help you. My language school grades and attendance were below the (unwritten) threshold. So the lady took my previous semester's grades, and accepted my -3% attendance. She also gave me a paper to use at immigration, so I could leave and come back without my ARC, with no problems. The second lady, and even the immigration helpline number, said you couldn't do it... but I did. (Granted, I was nervous the whole time, but I figured I could probably talk my way back in. After all, my card was DONE, it was just chillin' at the Immi office, not on my physical person.)
I just finished my 3rd week in grad school. (Technically, though, my 2nd week was Chuseok/Thanksgiving, so I didn't have classes.) The people are all really nice, and my professors all speak English MUCH better than I speak Korean. The textbooks and articles/papers are all in English (probably just because of the major, though). Only my classes are actually in Korean. But the professors all said that I can take tests and do presentations and homework in English, so... aside from Listening skills (and Speaking, to converse with fellow classmates..though they mostly speak English, too), Korean isn't super necessary. Thankfully. Homework already takes me forever, because it's a topic completely unrelated to my undergrad. I can't imagine how long it would take if I had to read everything in Korean. Still, I give my classmates credit. They're reading academic English papers (seemingly) without much trouble. Maybe someday I'll be able to do that in Korean? (Unlikely.)
***It doesn't look like it. Basically, I applied to the SKY schools (Seoul National Univ, Korea Univ, and Yonsei Univ), for a Masters degree in Linguistics. They all had different application deadlines, with different days of announcing results. Luckily, I got into all 3. But, I didn't get a scholarship to SNU or Yonsei, but I did for KU. My original order of going to the schools was Yonsei, SNU, KU. But without a scholarship at Yonsei, tuition was double SNU (a public school, without a scholarship) and KU (a private school, with a scholarship).... so I ruled Yonsei out. However, I applied for a scholarship at SNU after admission (they have a few, for grad students at least). But, by the time the KU payment was due, I didn't know about SNU's scholarship status at all. Still, I decided that KU was really far from my house (two subway transfers!), whereas SNU is very close by. And even without a scholarship at SNU, its tuition is similar to KU (with a scholarship). So I decided to go for SNU anyway. I actually did get a scholarship for full tuition to SNU, but no one told me on time.. so they ended up reimbursing me about 1.5 months after I paid.
