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Half a million students gear up for annual college entrance exam

Published: 12 Nov. 2025, 14:51 Updated: 12 Nov. 2025, 15:10

Third-year students at Junghwa Girls’ High School in Daegu poses with their friends after receiving their college entrance exam slips on Nov. 12. [YONHAP]

More than 550,000 students will take Korea’s college entrance exam on Thursday, the largest number in seven years, following a surge in applicants born in 2007 and a noticeable shift in subject selection trends.

College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) takers must attend a mandatory orientation on Wednesday to collect exam identification slips and confirm key details such as subject selections and test room locations, according to the Ministry of Education and the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE).

They must bring both their exam slip and valid identification — either a resident registration card, driver’s license or a passport that includes their resident registration number. Mobile IDs are not accepted. Students must arrive at their assigned test room by 8:10 a.m.

Electronic devices, including smartphones and tablet PCs, are banned from the testing site. Students who bring prohibited items must turn them in before the first session begins, under the guidance of proctors. The total number of applicants for the 2026 academic year CSAT is 554,174, the most since 2019, when 594,924 students sat for the exam.

High school seniors account for 371,897, or 67.1 percent, of this year’s test-takers. The increase has mainly been driven by the large number of students born in 2007, a so-called “golden pig year” in the lunar calendar.

A day before the 2026 academic year College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), third-year students at Kyungpook National University High School in Daegu cheer together on Nov. 12 after receiving their exam slips. [NEWS1]

The number of applicants outside the traditional school system, such as those who passed the high school equivalency exam, rose 11.2 percent to 22,355, or 4 percent of all examinees.

The number of graduates retaking the exam dropped 1.2 percent to 159,922, or 28.9 percent. Analysts attribute the decline to the return of medical school admissions to pre-expansion levels.

Last year, the number of graduate applicants surged to a 21-year high after more than 1,500 medical school seats were added for the 2025 academic year.

This year’s test is also marked by a sharp rise in students selecting social studies over science in the elective section. A total of 411,259 students, or 77.3 percent of those taking the elective component, selected at least one social studies subject. Only 120,692 students chose science subjects exclusively, the lowest figure on record.

The shift is expected to influence score distribution and may affect students’ ability to meet minimum CSAT standards required for early admissions at some universities. In practical terms, students’ chances of meeting minimum university requirements could vary based on which subjects they choose.

“More students are meeting minimum score requirements in social studies, which makes school grades even more important,” Im Seong-ho, CEO of Jongno Hagwon said. “In contrast, students who choose science subjects are finding it increasingly difficult to meet the thresholds.”

Unlike social studies, which often have more predictable content and wider grade distribution, science subjects tend to have tighter scoring curves, lower average scores and greater difficulty, especially when fewer students select them. Students who stick with science subjects may find themselves at a relative disadvantage when trying to meet the CSAT minimum score requirements set by universities for early admission consideration.

Test difficulty is expected to remain similar to last year’s. The KICE said in its March announcement of the basic guidelines for the 2026 CSAT that it would continue to exclude “killer questions”— overly difficult items that go beyond the official curriculum.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY LEE BO-RAM [[email protected]]