Record-breaking 'Bulsuneung' Perfect Scorer Yuria Yang
"Never Been First... The Hardest Subject Was Korean"
"Can't Apply to Seoul National University Medical School but Have No Regrets"
In the 2024 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), which is regarded as one of the toughest exams in history, a single test-taker achieved a perfect score.
According to Yonhap News on the 8th, the perfect scorer is Yuria (19), a graduate of Yongin Hankuk University of Foreign Studies High School (Yongin HUFS High School). Yuria decided to retake the exam after concluding that she would have difficulty getting into her desired medical school due to a few mistakes she made on last year’s CSAT.
Yuria stated, "I was not in the top ranks at school based on my internal grades, and although I was in the upper ranks in mock exams, I had never been first place." She also mentioned, "The most difficult questions were those in Korean language that featured the modern novel 'Golmok An' as the passage, which made it hard to grasp the context."
She credited her perfect score to meticulous reading of the questions. Yuria said, "What I realized while studying this year, though simple, was the importance of carefully reading each sentence of the question to understand the test maker’s intent," adding, "Besides that, practicing many past exam questions seemed to be effective."
During her retake period, Yuria maintained a routine of studying at academies and study rooms from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., while trying to rest on weekends.
She also tried to align her lifestyle as closely as possible with the CSAT schedule and, since she needs a lot of sleep, she mostly slept or watched movies with her father during her breaks, including weekends.
Unlike last year, Yuria’s chances of entering her desired medical school have increased, but she cannot apply to Seoul National University College of Medicine. This year, Seoul National University restricted eligibility to applicants who chose Chemistry and Physics in the Science Inquiry section, whereas Yuria selected Biology and Earth Science.
Having once liked Biology and Earth Science, Yuria expressed no regrets about her choice and cited her deep interest in the brain as her reason for wanting to enter medical school.
Yuria said, "My interest in the brain grew since high school. Both my maternal grandfather and paternal grandmother suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, which increased my interest. I want to study the brain diligently and become a useful person who contributes to society."
Yuria’s mother, who raised a child with a perfect CSAT score, shared the secret, saying, "I have three children including Yuria, and I simply tried to raise them autonomously so that each could maximize their own tendencies."
Historic 'Tough CSAT' Despite Exclusion of 'Killer Questions'
Meanwhile, this year’s CSAT was reported to be very difficult despite the exclusion of ultra-high difficulty 'killer questions.' The highest standard scores by subject were 150 for Korean and 148 for Mathematics, which are increases of 16 and 3 points respectively compared to last year.
The standard score adjusts the raw score (out of 100) based on the difficulty of the exam. The harder the exam, the higher the standard score. Generally, a standard score above 140 indicates a difficult exam, and around 150 is considered a 'tough CSAT.' Notably, the number of perfect scorers in Korean dropped sharply from 371 last year to 64 (0.014% of test-takers), the second lowest since 28 (0.0065%) in 2022.
The number of perfect scorers in Mathematics also decreased from 934 last year to 612. Although the decrease in perfect scorers indicates a difficult exam, the significant rise in the highest standard score for Korean suggests that the influence of Mathematics will be lower than in previous years.
The percentage of students achieving the top grade (Grade 1) in English, which is graded on an absolute scale, also dropped significantly to 4.71% from 7.8% last year. The appropriate proportion of Grade 1 students in English, as cited by the admissions industry, is around 7-8%. However, the sharp decline may undermine the purpose of adopting absolute grading. A decrease in English Grade 1 students could lead to many students failing to meet the minimum grade requirements in early admissions.
Under the 2015 revised curriculum system, the number of perfect scorers in the CSAT were ▲2017 (3) ▲2018 (15) ▲2019 (9) ▲2020 (15) ▲2021 (6) ▲2022 (1) ▲2023 (3) ▲2024 (1).
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