VICTORIA HERE with a briefing on registering for courses at Yonsei University. Before I dive in on the whole situation, I must point out this post is a combination of my own stupidity as well as the inefficiency of Yonsei's course registration process. Most people did not have the same struggles or make the same mistakes as I did. That being said, this is all completely based upon my own opinion and experience!
It all began with the 1st day of course registration which is completed through the Yonsei Portal. The Portal is pictured above and though it is shown here in a Safari browser, it is actually a complete terror if you use it with anything other than Internet Explorer. Yes. I said Internet Explorer. That one thing most people dropped years ago and never looked back at for they were more occupied with streamlined browsers such as Chrome, Safari, etc. Most websites of importance (i.e. online banking sites) only properly cooperate with Internet Explorer which is a shame for people who come to Korea with Macs. Internet Explorer is not supported on Macs so you must find a Windows computer or try your best with other browsers during course registration.
It all began with the 1st day of course registration which is completed through the Yonsei Portal. The Portal is pictured above and though it is shown here in a Safari browser, it is actually a complete terror if you use it with anything other than Internet Explorer. Yes. I said Internet Explorer. That one thing most people dropped years ago and never looked back at for they were more occupied with streamlined browsers such as Chrome, Safari, etc. Most websites of importance (i.e. online banking sites) only properly cooperate with Internet Explorer which is a shame for people who come to Korea with Macs. Internet Explorer is not supported on Macs so you must find a Windows computer or try your best with other browsers during course registration.
Fortunately, the guesthouse I was staying at in Hongdae during course registration had a Windows desktop I was able to use once I realized the portal wasn't working out for me on Safari or Chrome. However, things still managed to go wrong because I extremely underestimated the competition for courses! I definitely should have done my research beforehand and I strongly suggest future students of Yonsei to prepare days before registration so that you get it done in a clean, quick and organized fashion. Registration began at 10am and I decided it was smart to finally decide what classes I would take during registration (yes. I am dumb). I was finished deciding by 11am (an hour after the beginning of registration) and was surprised (ha!) to find that all of the classes I decided on were already full and was unable to register for anything besides Intermediate Korean 2 (this one is a whole problem within itself). Because I wasn't able to register for any classes I had to wait for the course add/drop period during the first week of classes.
I went to each class I wanted to add in hopes the professor would be willing to make room on their roster for me. I was only turned away from two courses because the professors preferred smaller classes and didn't want to accept everyone that walked in. I successfully enrolled into 15 credits until I realized that I confused KLI's intensive Korean language course with Yonsei's normal Korean course and accidentally enrolled in Intermediate Korean(2). I went to the KLI Placement Test and was pleasantly surprised to get an email afterwords saying that I could not be placed because I did not register for KLI D: I did not realize my mistake until it was too late and freaked because it is required of my study abroad program to take a Korean Language course during my time at Yonsei. I also couldn't take the course I accidentally signed up for because I missed the placement test for UIC (Yonsei's International College in which language classes are offered under) while I was taking the KLI test. I was able to resolve this issue by registering for Korean Grammar for International Learners, however, everything covered I have already learned so I am not able to further my Korean skills with this course which is what I hoped to do during my time in Korea. I have been self studying with my friends KLI Level 2 books though so I am still learning somewhat!!
After the hell of registration and finally getting my courses figured out, I ended up with a pretty nice schedule and courses that I am quite excited for (minus the grammar class, ugh). My courses are as follows:
- Victorian Oddballs: Victorian Literature in a Transnational Context
- Philosophy in East Asian Literature
- Seventeenth Century English Poetry
- Contemporary Korean Cinema and Society
- Korean Grammar for International Learners
If you have any questions or want advice about registration, leave a comment! I want to prevent other students from making the same mistakes I did!
Until next time,
V.
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