One Hand Holds a Phone, the Other Refreshes... Anxious Examinees Awaiting 'Additional Admissions'

Additional Admissions Begin Before and After Seol Holiday
4th and 5th Additional Admission Announcements Continue Until the 18th
Top-tier First-round Admits Decrease Compared to Last Year

The day after the 2021 College Scholastic Ability Test, on the 4th, a parent is encouraging their examinee child in front of the essay test site at Soongsil University in Dongjak-gu, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Lee Sangmin, who will become a college student this year, avoided the barrage of questions from relatives asking "Which university are you going to?" during the Lunar New Year holiday. Not knowing when the additional acceptance notification call would come, he couldn't put down his cellphone and kept refreshing the university admissions office homepage. Ahead of the second round of additional acceptance announcements, even his parents became very sensitive, making it hard to relax during the holiday due to the tension. As the nationwide universities began announcing additional regular admissions acceptances around the Lunar New Year holiday, the strategic battle between universities and examinees intensified.

According to university circles, the announcement of the 2021 academic year regular admissions acceptances resumed on the 15th, with the 4th and 5th rounds continuing until the 18th. Even on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday, the first round of acceptance announcements continued, causing examinees to lose sleep throughout the holiday due to concerns over acceptance cancellations and tuition payment issues.

Typically, additional acceptance announcements are made either by posting on the homepage or by individual phone calls, with criteria varying by school. From the second round onward, many schools contact applicants by phone, and since the registration period after the announcement is only about a day, applicants must quickly decide whether to register after receiving acceptance notification. In cases of multiple acceptances, applicants must notify the school they registered with first of their 'admission cancellation' and then get a refund of the tuition. If considered double registration, admission can be canceled at both schools.

The scale and ratio of additional acceptances at top-tier universities for the 2021 academic year decreased compared to last year. According to Jongro Academy Haneul Education's survey, the first round additional acceptances at Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University totaled 609, which was 19.3% of the three schools' regular admission quotas (3,152), a decrease of 63 compared to the same period last year. The number of top-tier applicants decreased as the number of CSAT (College Scholastic Ability Test) applicants declined, and some high scorers were admitted through early admissions.

Meanwhile, due to the preference for universities in the metropolitan area and the decline in the school-age population, it has become even more difficult for regional universities to attract freshmen. According to Jongro Academy, the competition rate for regular admissions at regional universities for the 2021 academic year dropped to 2.7 to 1. This is significantly lower than Seoul area (5.1 to 1) and metropolitan area (4.8 to 1), and the overall regular admissions competition rate is declining compared to the previous year. Some universities are making every effort to attract freshmen by offering benefits such as full exemption of admission fees even to additional acceptances.

Oh Jongwoon, Evaluation Director at Jongro Academy Haneul Education, explained, "Although the number of additional acceptances at top-tier universities slightly decreased, the overall scale is similar to previous years," adding, "For regional universities, schools with a regular admissions competition rate below 2 to 1 face great difficulties in filling spots, so they have no choice but to attract students through scholarships and other means."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.