Perfect grades but a school bully? South Korea’s top universities won’t let you in

South Korea’s top universities have started making a major change to their admissions: they are now rejecting students who have a history of school bullying.

This is a big shift in the country’s education policy, showing that top schools now value a student’s character and past behavior as much as their academic scores.

The new policy is already in effect for the 2025 admissions.

Data shows that six out of ten major national universities turned away a total of 45 applicants because of their disciplinary records for school violence. This included students who scored extremely well on the national entrance exam, the CSAT (known as suneung). For example, at Seoul National University (SNU), two students who had excellent test scores were still denied admission because of their bullying history.

Kyungpook National University rejected the highest number of applicants, turning away 22 students for this reason.

New rules coming for all schools

Right now, students apply through different routes, some focused on test scores and others on school grades and interviews. However, the rule is getting stricter.

Starting next year, all universities in South Korea will be required to deduct points from the applications of students who have records of school violence, no matter which admission track they use. This is a crucial development, as getting into a good university in Korea is seen as the main path to a successful career and social standing.

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School violence is categorised from Level 1 (a written apology) to Level 9 (expulsion). Under the new system, serious disciplinary actions (Level 6 and above) are now permanently written into a student’s official record, which universities can see.

Because college admission is so important, experts are now warning that there will be a rise in disputes. Students who have been accused of bullying are now reportedly hiring lawyers and filing lawsuits to try and overturn disciplinary decisions before their school records are sent to universities.