"This transcript won't do".. 259 new 'SKY' students from GED, highest in 8 years

[Financial News]  It was found that the number of new students from GED backgrounds at Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University, collectively known as 'SKY', was the highest in the past 8 years.

On the 13th, an analysis of university information disclosure data by Jongro Academy showed that the number of GED students entering Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University for the 2025 academic year totaled 259. This is an increase of 37.0％ (70 students) compared to the previous year (189 students), and a 223.8％ (179 students) increase compared to 2018 (80 students).

By school, the number of GED students for the 2025 academic year is 47 at Seoul National University, 122 at Yonsei University, and 90 at Korea University.

The number of GED students entering SKY has been steadily increasing since 2018. There were 80 in the 2018 academic year, 82 in 2019, 108 in 2020, 138 in 2021, 142 in 2022, 155 in 2023, and 189 in 2024, increasing every year. Notably, in the 2025 academic year, the number increased by a whopping 37% compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile, the ratio of GED students also appears to be increasing every year. Last year, 20,109 students took the university entrance exam, which is the highest since 1995 (42,297 students) when many students from special-purpose high schools dropped out due to the abolition of the comparative grading system.

Lim Seong-ho, the head of Jongro Academy, said, "GED students are mostly presumed to be those disadvantaged in school grades," and "they are likely to focus on essay-based admissions in early admissions and on the College Scholastic Ability Test in regular admissions."

newssu@fnnews.com Kim Soo-yeon Reporter