Seoul National University Students Admitted Through Regional Balanced Admission Have Higher GPA Than Average Across All Departments

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Students admitted to Seoul National University (SNU) through the regional balance admission track were found to have higher grades than the overall average GPA.

According to data received by Baek Seung-ah, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, from SNU on the 3rd, the average graduation GPA of students admitted through the regional balance admission track who graduated from SNU undergraduate programs in February was 3.67 (on a 4.3 scale). This is 0.06 points higher than the overall average GPA of 3.61 for all SNU undergraduate graduates during the same period.

SNU's regional balance admission track is a system that effectively selects some freshmen based on regional proportionality. It was introduced in the early admission process starting from the 2005 academic year and was additionally implemented in the regular admission process from the 2023 academic year.

The relatively higher grades of graduates admitted through this track were similarly observed across all faculties at SNU.

In the engineering faculty, the average graduation GPA of students admitted through the regional balance track was 3.50, which is 0.02 points higher than the overall average GPA of 3.48 for the same faculty.

In the arts and physical education faculty, the regional balance average was 3.92, 0.32 points higher than the faculty average of 3.60, and in the medical faculty, the regional balance average was 3.41, 0.10 points higher than the faculty average of 3.31.

Additionally, in the humanities and social sciences faculty, the regional balance average was 3.82, 0.04 points higher than the faculty average of 3.78, and in the natural sciences faculty, the regional balance average was 3.62, 0.04 points higher than the faculty average of 3.58.

Among the 355 students admitted through the regional balance admission track who graduated from SNU undergraduate programs in February this year, 92 students (25.9%) received academic excellence scholarships at least once during their studies.

Furthermore, in terms of academic achievement immediately after admission rather than graduation grades, students admitted through the regional balance track were estimated not to lag significantly behind those admitted through the general admission track.

SNU measures the English and math proficiency of freshmen every year, and students who score low are required to take 'Basic English' and 'Basic Math' courses.

Among students who took Basic English in the first semester, summer semester, and second semester this year, 229 were from the 2024 cohort, of which only 11 students (4.8%) were admitted through the regional balance track.

Considering that 628 students (17.1%) out of the total 3,670 freshmen admitted to SNU this year were selected through the regional balance admission track, this is a significantly low proportion.

For Basic Math, among the 146 students from the 2024 cohort who took the course this year, 25 students (17.1%) were admitted through the regional balance track, matching the proportion of regional balance students among all freshmen.

Lee Chang-yong, Governor of the Bank of Korea and former SNU professor, recently proposed a regional proportional selection system for top domestic universities, including SNU, as a measure to alleviate the concentration in the metropolitan area, especially in Gangnam, Seoul.

At a special lecture at Sogang University on the 30th of last month, Governor Lee said, "Local students make up 84% of the total, while Seoul students account for 16%. If universities select 80% of students from local areas, it could be a starting point to change the concentration in the metropolitan area."

Under this system, each university would select all freshmen reflecting the regional school-age population ratio, while freely choosing selection criteria and admission methods.

However, in response to Baek's inquiry about the introduction of a regional proportional selection system, SNU replied, "It is difficult to convert all current university admission processes to the proportional selection system proposed by the Bank of Korea."

They added, "We will strive to ensure that the regional balance admission track can guarantee fair opportunities to outstanding students who have grown through school education regardless of region, in line with the intent of the Bank of Korea's proposal."