Higher CSAT Scores Correlated with Increased Selection of Korean 'Language and Media' Subject

70% of Math Level 1-2 Students Choose 'Eoneowa Maeche'
Jinhaksa Analyzes Scores of 170,000 Students Entered in Regular Admission Service

An analysis revealed that the higher the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) scores, the more examinees chose 'Language and Media' in the Korean language section.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to JinHakSa on the 13th, an analysis of data from 171,489 examinees who entered their 2023 CSAT scores showed that the higher the scores, the higher the proportion of students choosing 'Language and Media' in the Korean language section.

Among top-tier examinees who scored 1st to 2nd grade in mathematics, 70.4% chose 'Language and Media,' whereas from the 3rd to 4th grade, more students selected 'Speech and Writing.' In the inquiry section, 64.5% of examinees with 1st to 2nd grade also chose 'Language and Media.'

However, in the case of mathematics elective subjects, there was no significant difference by score range, although the proportion of students choosing Calculus and Geometry in mathematics was slightly higher among those with lower social inquiry scores.

The integrated CSAT Korean and mathematics sections are conducted in the form of common subjects plus elective subjects, and generally, groups taking more difficult elective subjects tend to have higher standard scores in those subjects, attracting top-tier examinees.

Because of this, many examinees who chose Calculus and Geometry, which have higher standard scores in the mathematics section, apply cross-disciplinary to humanities departments at top universities.

JinHakSa's analysis showed that the proportion of examinees who chose two science inquiry subjects and took the second foreign language/Chinese characters increased from 6.3% in the 2022 academic year to 12.6% in the 2023 academic year.

Since top-tier university natural science regular admissions, except for Seoul National University, do not utilize scores from the second foreign language/Chinese characters section, it is presumed that most of these students selected their elective subjects with cross-application to Seoul National University in mind.

In particular, among top-tier students with science inquiry (average of two subjects) scores in the 1st to 2nd grade range, the participation rate in the second foreign language/Chinese characters was 23.3% (10.8% in the 2022 academic year), suggesting that about one in four may have cross-applied to Seoul National University.

Woo Yeon-cheol, head of the JinHakSa Admissions Strategy Research Institute, explained, "The tendency to choose subjects advantageous for obtaining standard scores is expected to continue in the 2024 CSAT as well. However, it is important to judge whether one can sufficiently prepare, as choosing subjects just because others find them advantageous may lead to difficulties."