What the GKS Scholarship Application Actually Costs — From Mexico

Every guide I found about the GKS scholarship focused on the documents — what you need, how to format them, what the essays should say. What none of them mentioned was the other thing: the money.

Not the scholarship money. The money to apply.

I spent around $842 USD just to submit my application. That number still catches me off guard when I say it out loud. And I’m telling you upfront because nobody told me — and I really wish they had.

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The Costs, Broken Down

Notarized copies — ~$5.61 USD per document

For documents where you can’t (or really shouldn’t) send the original, you get a notarized copy made first. My degree and transcript fell into this category.

A notarized copy runs around $5.61 USD at a notary office and takes about 20 minutes. Not expensive on its own — but it’s a step that has to happen before you can apostille.

Apostilles — $19.65 USD per document

I apostilled five documents: my birth certificate, my mom’s, my dad’s, my degree, and my transcript. Each one cost $19.65 USD. The whole process took two days.

The price also varies by state, so $19.65 USD isn’t universal — ask before you assume.

One important thing: not every state in Mexico apostilles notarized copies. If yours doesn’t, you have a few options:

• Go the consular confirmation route — apostille the original, then take everything to the Korean embassy in CDMX to authenticate
  • Ask someone in CDMX to do the consular confirmation for you
  • Make the trip to CDMX yourself if needed
• Send originals directly (technically possible, but I’d be nervous about it)

In my case, I chose to apostille notarized copies — partly because my state allowed it, but also because the alternative meant traveling to CDMX alone (I’ve never been there by myself), plus flights, taxis, and everything else that comes with it. A rough estimate puts that trip at around ~$281 USD extra. Not worth it if you can avoid it.

Certified translations — the one that almost made me quit

I needed certified translations for the birth certificates, the degree, and the transcript. I found my translator through a personal recommendation — I’d suggest that over searching blindly, since rates vary a lot.

A few things that caught me off guard:

• The rate was $19.65 USD per page before tax
• Unlike apostilles, translators charge per page, not per document
• Documents have more pages than you think — I ended up translating 13 pages total

When I saw that final number, I genuinely considered stopping. I had to ask for a loan to cover it. But I’d already come too far to turn back — so I paid it, took a breath, and kept going. I’m still recovering, honestly.

If you’re budgeting for this process, translations are the line item that will surprise you the most.

DHL — ~$101 USD (after a ~$17 coupon)

On the university track, your documents don’t go to a local embassy. They go directly to Korea.

Mine went to Jeonbuk National University in Jeonju. The package was about 0.8 kg and cost around $101 USD after using a coupon I found online — they exist, search before you go, it saved me ~$17.

The package arrived in 3 business days. Tracking worked perfectly the whole way.

A couple of things worth knowing before you go:

• Bring the university address printed on paper. The DHL system doesn’t always allow very specific international addresses, so having it printed lets staff enter it manually.
• Pricing can vary depending on whether your nearest branch is close to an airport or shipping hub.

How I organized everything inside

I was too nervous to use anything metal — no binder clips, no staples I’d have to remove later. Instead, I used Post-it flags to separate documents by category inside each envelope. It worked perfectly, and I didn’t have to worry about anything looking tampered with.

On that note: do not remove staples from your documents. Even if they feel inconvenient inside a folder. Removing them can be interpreted as tampering, and that’s not a risk worth taking.

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The Night Before DHL

I checked the contents of both packages — originals and copies — at least 20 times the night before. And again the morning of.

I did this entire process completely alone. No one who had done it before, no one to double-check my decisions. Just me, a lot of tabs open, and a lot of rechecking. The woman at the DHL counter was incredibly kind, which helped more than she probably knows.

If you’re in the same position: it’s doable. Slow and expensive, but doable.

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The Part That Feels Unfair

I spent around $842 USD to apply for a scholarship. And I still don’t know if I’ll get it.

The university I applied to doesn’t even send a rejection — if you don’t move forward, you simply receive nothing. No email, no update. Just silence where good news would have been.

And if you do get it — there’s another cost nobody mentions. You need enough savings to support yourself in Korea for at least the first two months while everything gets processed. The scholarship covers a lot, but it doesn’t start the moment you land.

I’m not saying any of this to discourage you. I’m saying it because you deserve to go in with accurate information. The GKS can change your life — I genuinely believe that. But it costs something to try, and that cost falls entirely on you before you ever find out if it was worth it.

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If you’re mapping out your documents and want to talk through any step, leave a comment or reach out. I’m happy to share more — what I did, what I’d do differently, and what I wish I’d known before I started.

You can do this. Just budget for it.