3 out of 10 Seoul National University Entrants Are from Specialized High Schools or Science High Schools

KAIST Approaches 70% of Students from Specialized High Schools and Gifted Schools
Ewha Womans University, Yonsei University, and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Follow Seoul National University

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] It has been revealed that 3 out of 10 Seoul National University (SNU) freshmen come from science high schools or special-purpose high schools (teukmokgo).

According to data analyzed by Jongno Academy on the 2022 college entrance selection results, among 3,519 SNU freshmen, 994 students (28.2%) were from science high schools and special-purpose high schools.

Among SNU freshmen, 478 (13.6%) were from science high schools and gifted schools, 325 (9.2%) from foreign language high schools and international high schools, and 191 (5.4%) from arts and physical education high schools. Meister high schools were excluded from the special-purpose high school count.

The university with the highest proportion of students from gifted and special-purpose high schools among all universities is KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) at 69.8%. Out of 782 students, 546 were from science high schools and gifted schools.

Following SNU, Ewha Womans University had the second highest number of students from gifted and special-purpose high schools with 677 (19.4%). In particular, the proportion of students from foreign language and international high schools was high at 9.9%.

Next were Yonsei University (14.7%), Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (13.5%), Sookmyung Women’s University (13.5%), Hanyang University (12.1%), Sungkyunkwan University (12.0%), and Korea University (11.1%).

The reason why top-tier universities have more students from special-purpose and gifted high schools is that students with top elementary and middle school grades prefer to attend special-purpose and gifted high schools, which have good college entrance results and academic environments. Additionally, many students are selected through the 'Comprehensive Student Record Screening' (hakjeongbu johap jeonhyeong), which favors these students, and a certain number of successful candidates also come from the regular admission track.

At SNU, the proportion of students from gifted and special-purpose high schools increased by 0.4 percentage points compared to last year, while at Yonsei University it decreased by 1.8 percentage points. Among the total 337,053 university entrants, 14,804 (4.4%) were from gifted and special-purpose high schools.

Oh Jong-woon, Evaluation Director at Jongno Academy, explained, "In the 2023 college entrance, the proportion of regular admissions will increase at major universities, and the comprehensive student record screening will generally maintain last year’s level, so the acceptance rates by high school type at top universities are expected to be similar."