By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter

Two of Korea's top universities, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), are at the forefront of moves to reform methods to pick students.

KAIST, located in Daejeon, announced last Thursday it will enroll 150 high school students without reviewing academic grades or test scores for the next school year and instead select them based on principals' recommendations and in-depth interviews. The university's new decision is a remarkable attempt, as most Korean universities heavily depend on scores from school exams and state-run College Scholastic Ability Test in recruiting students.

POSTECH in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, has joined in the reform drive. The university specializing in science and technology said Monday it would pick all of its 300 freshmen without written tests or academic records with the help of admission professionals.

Korea spends over $20 billion annually on private tutoring, mainly due to severe competition among parents in raising test scores of their children for admission to prestigious universities. Hence, the government has been supporting the ``admission officer system'' since 2007 to encourage universities to select new students by weighing their talent and potential rather than test scores. These trials at the two top-notch universities are in line with the government's plan to reduce cutthroat competition and costs stemming from current college admission.

This year, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology plans to support 40 selected universities with 23.6 billion won to hire admission officers, experts solely committed to admission affairs all year around and selecting students based on screening and interviews.


The ministry began subsidizing 10 universities in their recruitment of admissions officers with two billion won in 2007 and selected 30 more universities for the program last year. The budget has risen more than tenfold since then.

However, the ministry will evaluate performances of the selected universities with the system and stop supporting universities that get poor grades, while it will select 10 outstanding universities in adopting the admissions system and give intensive support to them.

The ministry will also select five universities to educate and train admissions officials in order to secure fairness in the admission system. Selected universities will receive 1.5 billion won and offer 3-month courses for admissions professionals.



`No Test Scores Needed for 150 Students'



KAIST will admit some 150 students, 20 percent of the admission quota, based on recommendations by principals from high schools, excluding specialized elite schools such as science and foreign language high schools. KAIST President Suh Nam-pyo said the university will recruit students who may not have very good grades but excel in specific fields or have great potential for future growth.

KAIST will select 1,000 recommended students across the nation and admission officers will narrow down 300 candidates for further review. Among them, the final 150 students will be chosen through interviews with them and their teachers. The university will keep a database on recommended students by schools and if it finds schools that suggested students who don't meet expectations, it will not receive applications from them in the future.

``It is to diversify the admission system to have students from various backgrounds,'' Suh said. ``There are many high schools that failed to send students to our university for the past 10 years. I'm sure there were talented students there. If we give the schools a chance, the education system will be upgraded.''

So far, more than 80 percent of students admitted to KAIST this year have been graduates of elite high schools, mostly science high schools.

Award-winning grades in math or science competitions will not be taken into account in admission because they are said to encourage private education aimed at winning such contests. ``Colleges should lead reform in admissions to boost public education. It is our duty to find and foster students with potential,'' Suh said.

KAIST-affiliated Korea Science Academy, a high school in Busan for gifted students, will also adopt the admission officer system from 2011.

Established in 1971 as the nation's first graduate school specializing in science and engineering, KAIST is conducting research projects commissioned by the government and private businesses with research grants totaling 463 billion won and holds 2,694 domestic patents and 723 international patents. It has some 36,000 graduates.



`Education Is More Important Than Admission'



POSTECH will pick all of its 300 freshmen through the admission professionals in the next school year. Students applying to the university don't need to take the nation's annual college admission test and written tests will not be used. Six admission professionals and 12 professors will evaluate applicants through verbal interviews in math and science to determine whether they have the ability to study at the university. It will also offer counseling programs for those who hope to study at the school.

The university will also provide free math and science programs for 40 high school students from underprivileged families or in rural areas with fewer educational opportunities during the summer and give preference to students who participated in the program to apply to the university.


However, POSTECH President Baik Sung-gi stressed that education is more important than admission. ``Universities should not waste time in devising admission systems. Rather, they have to put more efforts and time in fostering more competitive graduates,'' he told reporters during a luncheon Monday.

``We need to focus on improving our world standing and the competitiveness of our universities instead of competing with domestic universities for excellent students,'' he added.

In this regard, Baik vowed to set more funds in research projects and introduce a faculty reward system. POSTECH will also require students to master high academic levels in math and English for graduation. Those who fail to meet a certain academic level will not get their degrees.

Founded in 1986, POSTECH offers undergraduate programs in 10 departments and graduate courses in 14 and has a total of 3,064 students in 242 faculties. It accommodates 60 research centers on its campus and has partnership with 73 international universities.


kswho@koreatimes.co.kr