The ultimate injustice for students who went 'all-in' on early admissions
At around 5:50 p.m. on Sept. 11, ten minutes before the deadline for early admissions applications, a system error occurred on UWAY Apply, throwing college applicants into confusion. Fairness concerns have been raised, particularly by students who applied only through the early admissions track. Unlike those who applied through regular admissions, early admissions applicants were the ones who voiced objections over the incident.
The especially strong reaction among students who prepared for early admissions is attributed to the fact that early admissions accounted for a large share of recruitment this year, and many applicants waited until just before the deadline to check competition rates before deciding which universities and departments to apply to. The damage was especially severe among top-performing students who applied to humanities and social sciences programs through the school record-based admissions track. This is because a grade point average of around 2.0 is considered the minimum threshold for humanities students to challenge for spots at universities in Seoul or popular majors at major regional national universities.
Opposition grew when application deadlines were extended after each university's competition rates were released. The last competition rate figures that applicants could check before the deadline came with the 2 p.m. announcement. Students who chose their schools based only on the 2 p.m. figures pointed out that those who applied after the extension effectively gained access to more advantageous information. In fact, some students who applied earlier than others because two universities had similar admissions odds were reportedly disadvantaged as the final competition rates diverged significantly.
Criticism has also been directed at the company that processes early admissions applications. Since this is the last admissions cycle under the 2015 revised national curriculum, the surge in access demand should have been fully anticipated, yet preparation was inadequate. College application processing has long depended on two private companies, UWAY Apply and Jinhaksa Apply, which effectively split the market between them.
The Ministry of Education and the Korean Council for University Education launched a remediation process for students who failed to complete their applications due to the server outage. The number of affected students was initially estimated at up to around 1,200, but 1,588 remediation requests had been received by 6 p.m. on the 16th. Upon reviewing computer logs and other records, 388 cases were confirmed eligible for remediation. Of those confirmed, 250 students completed their applications by 10 p.m. on the 16th, while the remaining 188 cases are under review.
Lee Ki-jeong, president of the Korean Council for University Education, and Sung Yoon-suk, CEO of UWAY, issued a public apology at a press conference on the 14th. Students floated various proposals, from requiring applications to be resubmitted even if the admissions schedule were pushed back a week or two, to verifying server access logs at the time of the outage to offer remediation only to affected students while barring those who applied after the extension.
Criticism has shifted from the company to the government. Many argue that the greater problem is the Ministry of Education's lax oversight in entrusting college application processing—a matter of national importance—to profit-driven private companies.
