Today is the day of Suneung (also known as the CSAT, College Scholastic Ability Test), and most of this year’s exam takers will be third year high schoolers born in 1995. This includes the majority of idol stars born in that year as well.
Some of the idols taking the exams may already have university offers via the rolling admission system, but the rest will have to sit for the suneung on November 7 and their results will determine their college chances. On the flip side, there are an increasing number of idols deferring further education to focus on their entertainment activities.
A Pink‘s Son Na Eun studied for her college’s entrance exam whenever she had free time and has been accepted to Dongguk University. She will be a freshman at Dongguk University’s Department of Theater and Film Studies. Her agency, A Cube Entertainment revealed, “Son Na Eun is really pleased about her results, and is determined to do her best in her university studies.”
B1A4’s Sandeul is a 1992-er entering Myungji University’s Film and Musical Studies program. He applied to two universities and sat for their performance tests and was accepted to Myungji University’s program.
Girl group Rainbow’s Oh Seung Ah also made it into Sejong University via the rolling admission system. She had previously been admitted to Sangmyung University’s film program in 2008, but chose to drop out due to Rainbow’s activities. Oh Seung Ah prepared for the entrance exams in her spare time, and was accepted to Sejong University’s Film Arts Department.
VIXX’s Hyuk has also received an acceptance offer from Dong-ah Institute of Media and Arts.
Most of the idols who are eligible for suneung this year will be taking the standard route. Current 95-ers in their third year of high school who will be taking the suneung are Boyfriend’s Minwoo, Youngmin and Kwangmin, BTOB’s Sung Jae, SPEED‘s Sungmin, After School’s Ga Eun and F-ve Dolls’ Hyewon.
B1A4’s Baro, A Pink’s Kim Nam Joo and MYNAME’s Chaejin gave the rolling admission system a shot, but have decided to switch over to the suneung exam. According to MYNAME’s agency, H2 Media, “Chaejin was unable to sit for the second round of his entrance exams because of his activities. So he’s decided to sit for the suneung instead to gain college admission.”
Career First, Studies Later…
There has been an increasing trend of idols deferring entry to college in favor of pursuing their entertainment activities. Last year saw miss A’s Suzy, f(x)’s Sulli, 2NE1’s Minzy and AOA’s Seol Hyun deciding not to take sit for the exams. They will not take the exams this year either. Joining them are F-ve Dolls’ Eungyo, Topp Dogg’s Yano and A-tom.
Suzy, who didn’t sit for the exams last year and will not be taking them this year either, recently revealed, “I won’t be taking the exams this year either. For the present, instead of going to university, I will be focusing on miss A’s comeback activities.”
Topp Dogg’s agency, Stardom Entertainment, stated, “A-tom is currently focusing on his singing activities, and will not be taking the suneung. Yano had planned to take the exams but because of a clash with a music program appearance on November 7, he will be pushing back his plans of going to college.”
Actor Park Ji Bin will also be giving up on further education for now. His agency revealed that, “Park Ji Bin passed the high school qualification exam (GED) and is qualified to sit for the suneung exams. However, he wants to focus on his acting and has decided not to take the exams.”
Source (1), (2), (3)
