SNU School of Law

The SNU School of Law has decided to lower the weight of personal essays and qualitative assessment in its admissions process, thus increasing the importance of LEET exam scores and other quantitative data.

A Ministry of Education investigation last year revealed possibilities of nepotism and unfair admissions processes in laws schools across the nation, prompting SNU Law to revamp its selection policies.

The new standard will include: 100 points for LEET scores and 100 points for undergraduate GPA for a total of 200 points in the first round. The personal essay will not be considered until the second round. Previously, the LEET scores counted for 80 points, undergraduate GPA 100 points, and the personal essay 120 points, for a total of 300 points.

Furthermore, the new process will also abolish the early acceptance system.

The new admissions process will have three rounds. After the first round of quantitative evaluation, the second round will be a further investigation into quantitative results provided by the student, resulting in an accumulation of a maximum of 50 points. In the final round, there will be an interview and an oral exam for another 50 points. While the previous process accounted for 200 points of qualitative material, the new process will decrease the significance of qualitative evaluation by 25%.

In cases of special screening, the first round will include 100 points for LEET score, 100 points for undergraduate GPA, and qualitative assessment for 100 points, for a total of 300 points. However, the process still lessens the importance of qualitative assessment.

SNU Law plans to hold an admissions process committee meeting in order create a clear, detailed outline of the new process for the public.

Written by Ho Jung Annie Hwang, SNU English Editor, annieohan@snu.ac.kr
Reviewed by Professor Travis Smith, Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations, tlsmith@snu.ac.kr