President Oh Se-Jung interviews with media

In a recent interview, President Oh Se-Jung talked about his views on the current admissions process.

SNU currently selects 20.4% of its students by CSAT (College Scholastic Ability Test). The Ministry of Education wants SNU to increase that to 30%, and President Oh said that he can accept this guideline. Accordingly, SNU recently announced that it would increase CSAT admissions to 23.2% for the incoming class of 2021, and increase it more for the incoming class of 2022.

However, President Oh thinks that increasing the CSAT itself is not a solution for tackling today’s challenges. This is because CSAT only tests one’s ability to solve multiple-choice questions, which is not the talent needed in today’s society. Also, saying that CSAT “only looks at the finish line,” President Oh stressed that the emphasis should be more on the idea of looking at how the applicant has developed over a period of years.

Accordingly, SNU decided that when assessing applicants, additional points would be given to those who have exercised exceptional integrity and creativity in their highschool years. “When two applicants have the same score on the CSAT, it does not necessarily mean that they have the same academic abilities,” said President Oh. “This new system aims to recognize the applicants’ individual development and abilities.”

Written by Chae Hyun Kim, SNU English Editor, michelle25@snu.ac.kr
Reviewed by Professor Travis Smith, Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations, tlsmith@snu.ac.kr