522 freshmen will be selected for the college, replacing the 110 freshmen separately selected for the Division of English Lang. & Lit. and the 412 freshmen selected for the Division of Liberal Arts and Foreign Lang. & Lit.
When the current system of divisions was first made, the Division of English Lang. & Lit. was left seperate as it was one of the most prestigious majors in Ewha. But the school no longer sees this separate status as necessary. "The Division of English Lang. & Lit. being separate from the Division of Liberal Arts and Foreign Lang. & Lit. doesn"t look good. It isn"t consistent with the system of divisions," says Lee In-pyo from the Office of Admissions.
However, not many students from the Division of English Lang. & Lit. seem to support the Office of Admissions"s opinion.
"Students now need higher grades to get into the Division of English Lang. & Lit., so I worry that the unification might lower the standards of students in the division," says a student who wishes to remain anonymous.
Another prevailing concern is that English classes will become overcrowded. The Office of Admissions does not intend to put a restriction on the number of English majors within the College of Liberal Arts after the unification, as other divisions do not have such restrictions, and such restrictions are not to the true intention underlying the system of divisions, which is supposed to give students the freedom to choose their major.
Despite objections, the Office of Ad-missions remains optimistic. "Unification will widen the choices for students. They will be able to choose majors according to their interest. It will bring more benefits to the students," says Lee.
winstraight@ewha.ac.kr