What Are the Application Strategies for Software-Related Departments in the 2024 Academic Year?

Etoos Education Evaluation Institute Analyzes Early Admission SW Specialist and SW Talent Screening

As the government emphasizes the cultivation of high-quality digital talent, interest among prospective students in software-related departments is also increasing. In response, universities are selecting freshmen through separate SW Special Talent Admissions and Comprehensive Student Record Admissions to secure core digital talent. Together with Etoos Education Evaluation Research Institute, we introduce notable features and application strategies for software-related admissions in the 2024 academic year early admissions.

▲Software Engineering ranked 4th.

◆ SW Special Talent Admissions: 28 students selected from 2 universities...Carefully check eligibility and required documents= The ‘SW Special Talent Admissions’ is a selection process for students with special talents or skills related to the software field. It targets students who have won awards in computer programming competitions or have achievements in software-related activities such as app development, coding, or research papers.

In addition to documents, interviews mainly evaluate interest in the software field and personal achievements. Therefore, students who can demonstrate their capabilities as software talents through submission of proof materials can have an advantage in the SW Special Talent Admissions.

For the 2024 academic year, only two universities in Seoul?Kookmin University and Hanyang University?are selecting freshmen through the SW Special Talent Admissions. This is because Soongsil University changed its SW Special Talent Admissions to a Comprehensive Student Record Admissions called ‘SW Excellence Admissions’ last year, and Kyung Hee University abolished the ‘K-SW Talent’ admissions this year.

Kookmin University requires applicants to submit a certificate verifying individual achievements from competitions designated by the university. However, some related competitions are excluded, so it is necessary to carefully review this year’s early admissions guidelines. Applicants must bring a portfolio in printed form to the interview; failure to do so will result in disqualification from the interview. Also, unlike other universities, Kookmin University reflects student record academic grades through quantitative evaluation, which should be noted.

Hanyang University has no separate eligibility requirements but requires a software-related activity report and proof documents along with the student record. Especially since the comprehensive evaluation of software-related achievements is conducted solely based on documents, the importance of related achievements is significant. Neither Kookmin University nor Hanyang University applies minimum CSAT score requirements.

◆ SW Talent Admissions: Software-related academic grades and school activities are important= Universities recruit software-related fields not only through special talent admissions but also through comprehensive student record admissions. Applicants can apply without submitting individual award certificates or activity proof documents, and qualitative evaluation based on student records is conducted similarly to general comprehensive admissions. Students with excellent software-related academic grades and inquiry abilities who have consistently shown interest in the SW field during school life should consider applying for the SW Talent Admissions under the comprehensive student record admissions.

This year, 12 universities in the metropolitan area operate SW admissions through comprehensive student record admissions, two more than the 10 universities last year. The number of recruits also increased by 134 to 518. Universities recruiting for SW admissions through comprehensive student record admissions commonly state eligibility as those with talent and passion or capability and potential in the software field. None of the universities apply minimum CSAT score requirements for SW admissions.

Sookmyung Women’s University and Hanyang University (ERICA campus) select students solely based on student records without separate interviews, while other universities select a certain number of candidates in the first stage based 100% on documents and conduct interviews in the second stage. Hankuk University of Foreign Studies increased the weight of the interview evaluation from 40% to 50%.

The university with the largest scale of SW Talent Admissions through comprehensive student record admissions is Ajou University. Ajou University changed the admission name from ‘SW Convergence Talent’ to ‘Advanced Convergence Talent’ this year and expanded the recruitment units from the Software Department to △Advanced New Materials Engineering △AI Mobility Engineering △Intelligent Semiconductor Engineering. The number of recruits increased from 30 last year to 72 this year.

Samyook University and Sookmyung Women’s University newly established admissions. Sookmyung Women’s University recruited for the Software Department through ‘Sookmyung Talent I (Document Type)’ last year but will recruit 70 students this year through the expanded ‘Sookmyung Digital Convergence Talent.’ In the case of Samyook University, since the number of students selected through existing student record academic and comprehensive admissions will be additionally recruited through the SW Talent Admissions, applicants should carefully review the admission methods and prepare accordingly.

Since SW Talent Admissions through comprehensive student record admissions recruit not only for software departments but also for various departments, it is necessary to carefully examine the main academic fields and application areas of the department you are applying to, and how these characteristics connect with your strengths before applying.

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