"Even Korean Grade 3 Students Passed Seoul National University Regular Admissions"... Math Showed High Discriminatory Power

Estimated First Admission to Seoul National University Natural Sciences for Korean Grade 3 and Math Grade 1

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] In the 2023 academic year university entrance exam, it was found that examinees who received a grade 3 in Korean were admitted to the natural sciences department of Seoul National University if their math scores were good.

According to Jongro Academy on the 5th, based on various entrance exam communities, an analysis of the peculiarities of the initial admission scores for major universities' regular admissions estimated that a student who received a grade 3 in Korean was admitted to the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Seoul National University this year. This student's math score was grade 1, English grade 2, Inquiry 1 grade 3, and Inquiry 2 grade 2.

Regarding this, Jongro Academy analyzed, "This year's CSAT was absolutely advantageous for students who excelled in math," and added, "Even if students scored high in Korean, its influence among top-tier students was very minimal."

In fact, this year's CSAT had math questions more difficult than Korean, resulting in a large difference in standard scores between subjects. According to Jongro Academy, the highest standard score for Korean in the 2023 regular admissions was 134 points (based on Language and Media), while the highest math score was 145 points (based on Calculus), showing an 11-point difference.

This contrasts with last year's CSAT, where the highest standard score for Korean (Language and Media) was 149 points and for math (Calculus and Geometry) was 147 points, with only a 2-point gap.

Ultimately, in this year's regular admissions, students who scored high in math were not significantly affected even if their Korean grades were somewhat lower.

According to Jongro Academy's analysis, it is estimated that successful applicants with math grade 1 but Korean grade 4 appeared at major metropolitan universities such as Chung-Ang University's College of Creative ICT Engineering and Kyung Hee University's College of Engineering (International).

Jongro Academy also reports that there are admitted students with math grade 1 and Korean grade 3 in departments such as Mathematics Education at Sungkyunkwan University, Electronic Engineering at Sogang University, Convergence Electronic Engineering at Hanyang University, Nursing (Natural Sciences) at Chung-Ang University, and Nursing (Natural Sciences) at Kyung Hee University.

Typically, for Seoul National University's regular admissions, most subjects require grade 1, and for other top-tier universities, grades 1 to 2 are necessary for admission. However, this year, it is considered unusual that students with Korean grades 3 to 4 were admitted.

A similar case occurred in the 2019 academic year, when the highest standard score for Korean was 150 points and for math type A was 133 points, creating a 17-point gap between subjects. This led to an admitted student with math grade 4 in the medical school regular admissions located in a provincial area.

Lim Sung-ho, CEO of Jongro Academy, explained, "Currently, initial successful applicants in regular admissions at major universities such as Seoul National University have Korean grades 3 to 4," and added, "If additional admissions due to registration cancellations continue, it is expected that many top-tier departments will admit students with Korean grades 4 to 5."