Increase in Seo-Yeon-Go, Decrease in Seo-Seong-Han... Cross-Application in Regular Admissions Varies Greatly by University

Impact of Sharp Drop in Korean Standard Score Highest Point
Applications Should Consider Converted Standard Scores, etc.

On the 9th, the day of distribution for the 2023 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) score reports, a high school senior is looking at their CSAT score report at Gyeongbok High School in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] Interest in cross-application among applicants remains high in the 2023 academic year regular admissions. Compared to last year, the cross-application rate is expected to increase for Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University, while it is projected to decrease for Sogang University, Sungkyunkwan University, and Hanyang University.

On the 28th, Jinhaksa announced that the cross-application rate among 33 major universities in the metropolitan area increased by 3.24 percentage points compared to last year through its mock application service. Among them, the group including Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University saw an increase of more than 6 percentage points from 45.21% last year to 51.67% this year. Seoul National University alone increased by a remarkable 13.92 percentage points.

Kookmin University (13.15 percentage points), Myongji University (11.12 percentage points), Sangmyung University (10.14 percentage points), Catholic University (8.91 percentage points), Inha University (8.5 percentage points), and Gachon University (8.22 percentage points) also recorded significant increases in cross-application rates.

On the other hand, the group including Sogang University, Sungkyunkwan University, and Hanyang University decreased by 5.04 percentage points from 54.06% to 49.02% during the same period. In particular, Sungkyunkwan University showed a sharp decrease of 15.53 percentage points compared to last year.

This increase in cross-application rates is analyzed to be largely influenced by the drop in the standard scores of the Korean language section of the CSAT. The standard score cut-off for the top grade in the Korean section was 131 points with a highest score of 149 points in 2022, but it dropped significantly to a 126-point cut-off and a highest score of 134 points in 2023. This contrasts with the math section, where the top grade cut-off changed slightly from 137 points and a highest score of 147 points last year to 133 points and 145 points this year.

For humanities students, unlike last year when they could remain competitive with excellent Korean scores despite somewhat lacking math scores, this year, even if their Korean scores are good, poor math scores will put them at a significant disadvantage. This explains the increase in cross-application rates.

Accordingly, applicants should review appropriate or safe universities through mock applications and other means. It is necessary to assess the likelihood of acceptance based on their ranking at their desired universities.

Applicants should also consider applying to universities that apply conversion standard scores when reflecting university conversion scores. Hongik University calculates university conversion scores by multiplying the applicant’s CSAT standard scores in each section by the respective weighting ratios and then summing them. In contrast, Sookmyung Women’s University calculates university conversion scores by dividing the applicant’s standard scores in each section by the highest standard score in that section. When the highest score in a section is high, as in the case of Sookmyung Women’s University, the conversion score may actually decrease, which can be disadvantageous.

Woo Yeon-cheol, head of the Jinhaksa Admissions Strategy Research Institute, explained, “With the implementation of the integrated CSAT, cross-application has become a hot issue in regular admissions. This year, due to the drop in the Korean section’s standard scores, cross-application is expected to increase further, and the mock application data shows this trend is indeed occurring.”

However, Woo advised, “Many students who were admitted to highly preferred universities through cross-application last year have retaken the CSAT this year. Natural science students must carefully consider their aptitude when applying across fields, and humanities students need to objectively understand their standing and consider applying mainly to universities that apply conversion standard scores, among other strategies.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.