Ahead of General High School Transition... Seoul Autonomous Private High Schools and Foreign Language High Schools See Decline in Application Rates

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The application rates for new students at autonomous private high schools, foreign language high schools, and international high schools in Seoul, which are set to be uniformly converted to general high schools by 2025, have all declined compared to last year.

This is interpreted as a result of both the decrease in the number of students and the anxiety among parents due to the decision to convert to general high schools.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced on the 11th the results of the '2021 Academic Year Autonomous Private High Schools, International High Schools, and Foreign Language High Schools Self-Directed Learning Admission' application process conducted from the 9th to the 11th.

The admission competition rate for the general admission of 20 autonomous private high schools such as Seoul Yangjeong High School, Paichai High School, and Whimoon High School for the 2021 academic year dropped to 1.09 to 1 from last year's 1.19 to 1. The general admission application rate for Hana High School, a nationwide autonomous private high school, also decreased from 2.70 to 1 last year to 1.99 to 1 this year.

On the other hand, the social integration admission competition rate for the 20 autonomous private high schools slightly increased to 0.29 to 1 from last year's 0.28 to 1, and Hana High School's social integration admission competition rate also rose to 1.55 to 1 from last year's 1.15 to 1.

The application rates for Seoul International High School's admission for next year are 2.01 to 1 for the general admission and 0.77 to 1 for the social integration admission, both of which declined compared to last year.

Also, the general admission application rate for six foreign language high schools dropped from 1.63 to 1 last year to 1.25 to 1 this year, and the social integration admission rate also fell from 0.76 to 1 to 0.57 to 1.

The 20 autonomous private high schools in Seoul will select new students for next year solely by a complete lottery without interviews. Hana High School selects interview candidates within twice the number of the recruitment quota based on converted scores of academic grades and attendance records, then conducts interviews.

International high schools and foreign language high schools select candidates for the second stage within 1.5 times the recruitment quota based on converted scores of English academic grades and attendance records, then conduct interviews.