2022 College Admissions: Student Record Screening Accounts for 42.9%, Yonsei, Sogang, Sungkyunkwan, Kyung Hee Also Use It
Changed CSAT System Adds Variables...Consideration Needed for Career Elective Subjects
[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Student Record Curriculum Screening has traditionally been the admission method selecting the largest number of students in college entrance exams, but some highly preferred Seoul-area universities have not used this method and required high academic standards, placing a heavy burden on applicants. In the 2022 academic year, it is expected that more opportunities for challenges will open up for examinees compared to previous years.
According to JinHakSa on the 10th, looking at the number of students selected by each admission method for the 2022 academic year, the Student Record Curriculum Screening is expected to select 148,506 students, accounting for 42.9%. Next are ▲Student Record Comprehensive Screening with 79,503 students (22.9%) ▲Regular Admission with 75,978 students (21.9%) in order of the number of students selected.
Yonsei University, Sogang University, Sungkyunkwan University, etc. to Select Students via Student Record Curriculum Screening
Notably, among the 11 major universities in Seoul, Yonsei University, Sogang University, Sungkyunkwan University, and Kyung Hee University, which had not selected students through the Student Record Curriculum Screening in recent years, will now select students using this method. The Student Record Curriculum Screening is mainly applied by students with excellent academic records, and considering the increase in the number of students selected, the overall academic scores of successful applicants through this screening are likely to decline this year.
Many universities establishing the Student Record Curriculum Screening this year and setting qualification conditions for school principal recommendations could act as a significant variable. For example, if about 10 students from High School A were eligible to apply with a principal’s recommendation until last year, this number could exceed 20 this year. The issue is that even if the top-tier students maintain their grades without much change compared to before, the grades of students below them could drop significantly. Some schools might not fill all the principal recommendation slots, so it will be necessary to consider not only academic grades but also other factors to increase the acceptance rate.
Changes in the 2022 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) System Also a Variable
The variable of changes in the 2022 CSAT system must also be considered. Especially for mathematics, the integrated exam for humanities and sciences has become disadvantageous for humanities students, raising concerns about meeting the minimum CSAT score requirements. Meeting the minimum CSAT score requirement could be a crucial factor determining acceptance in the Student Record Curriculum Screening for humanities students. However, it is premature to draw conclusions already. Typically, assuming humanities students have lower math skills than science students, a significant portion of those expected to achieve the top math grade will be science students, but different results may emerge.
It is important to understand the characteristics of test-takers and the scoring system of this year’s CSAT. For example, if the average score for Probability and Statistics, taken by humanities students, is lower than that for Calculus or Geometry, the standard score could actually increase. Particularly, humanities students who answer all common questions correctly and achieve high scores may receive relatively higher standard scores compared to science students who choose different subjects. It is too early to definitively say that humanities students are at an absolute disadvantage.
Considering that more examinees choose Probability and Statistics compared to other subjects and that the number of humanities students is higher even at the same ratio, an opposite phenomenon to expectations could occur, where science students might be outscored by humanities students in terms of standard scores. Reasonable judgments should be made based on the results of the March and April mock exams. Additionally, with the change of the second foreign language subject to absolute evaluation, more universities have excluded it from the list of substitute subjects for meeting the minimum CSAT score requirements, which also requires attention.
Check Whether Career Elective Subjects Are Reflected
Starting with this year’s third-year high school students, the 2015 revised curriculum is fully applied, and career elective subjects are reflected in achievement evaluations when calculating academic grades. Most high schools teach career elective subjects in the first semester of the third year, so grades for that semester are given as achievement evaluations such as A, B, or C rather than letter grades. Depending on whether universities reflect these achievement evaluations, applicants’ converted university scores may differ. For example, universities like Korea University and Sogang University process grades by adding or subtracting points based on the proportion of A grades per subject, but some universities do not reflect career elective subjects in academic grades at all. Applicants should calculate the converted scores for each university and apply to the most advantageous university.
Furthermore, to apply through the Student Record Curriculum Screening, it is important to carefully check each university’s reflected subjects for academic grades, the ratio of grades by year, and whether interviews or self-introduction letters are required and their timing, as these factors greatly influence application rates.
Woo Yeon-cheol, head of the JinHakSa Admission Strategy Research Institute, said, "Due to the decrease in the school-age population, a significant increase in the number of students selected through the curriculum screening, changes in the CSAT system, and the introduction of the 2015 revised curriculum, there are many variables in this year’s college entrance exams, making it more difficult to predict outcomes even for the Student Record Curriculum Screening, which has been considered relatively predictable compared to other methods. Students considering applying through this screening should carefully review the recruitment guidelines announced in May and choose the university most advantageous to themselves."
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