Essay Tests and Interviews Given More Weight in 2008 College Admission System

Following the Seoul National University (SNU)’s decision to increase the significance of essays and interviews in its university entrance system of 2008 school year, Korea University, Yonsei University, and other major universities in Seoul are also expected to follow suit.

Admission administrators of 26 universities, under the Seoul Association for College Admission Administrators, held a special session in the morning of May 10 at Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul and announced their “position on the college admission system from the school year 2008.”

“Unlike some people’s concerns, the new university entrance system does not assess students solely based on school performance over the three years of high school,” said Hyun Seon-hae, the admissions administrator at Sungkyunkwan University and chairman of the Association, and stressed, “We will not abruptly and greatly increase the importance of any of the school grades, College Scholastic Achievement Test, and college-specific tests in selecting applicants.”

As a result, the weight of school grades in the overall evaluation is not likely to increase much even in the 2008 college entrance system.

“All universities will develop diverse forms of essay tests and interviews instead of ‘bongosa,’ a written test conducted in the past that involved English, Math, and other subjects, in order to evaluate the students’ academic ability and potential,” said Chairman Hyun and added, “Educational authorities should also make efforts in improving the admission system so that school grades can offer reliable criteria for universities.”

In addition, universities decided to adopt various types of screening, including giving additional scores to students who have taken AP courses at special purpose schools, and to expand specific screening criteria to accommodate underprivileged students.

Na-Yeon Lee larosa@donga.com