Early Admission to Regular Admission Transfer Numbers Down 13% from Last Year... Emergency to Secure Fill Rate

Number of Early Admission Rollovers Decreased by 5,039 Compared to Last Year
Universities Struggle to Secure Enrollment Rates Over Top Students
Universities with Largest Rollover Decrease: Gyeongnam University, Sangji University, Daegu University
Utilizing the Fact That Early Admission Passers Cannot Apply for Regular Admissions

On the 19th, the day after the 2022 College Scholastic Ability Test, the humanities essay exam was held at Soongsil University in Dongjak-gu, Seoul. Examinees are heading to the exam venue. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

The number of students who were not filled during the early admission process for the 2022 academic year and were carried over to the regular admission decreased by 13% compared to last year. This is the result of non-metropolitan universities making every effort to secure a high fill rate to prevent a large-scale under-enrollment crisis from recurring.

According to Jongno Academy on the 31st, the scale of early admission carryovers nationwide at 198 universities decreased by 5,039 (12.96%) from 38,853 last year to 33,814 this year. The ratio of carryover students to the total number of recruits was 12.3% last year, but it dropped to 10.8% this year.

Among the top 10 universities nationwide that reduced the number of early admission carryovers the most compared to last year, nine are non-metropolitan universities. The first place is Gyeongnam University (409 students), second is Sangji University (344 students), and third is Daegu University (305 students). Fourth and fifth places are Pusan National University (262 students) and Dong-A University (253 students), while Pukyong National University (197 students) ranked ninth. Yeungnam University (224 students) and Kyungil University (218 students) in Gyeongbuk, followed by Sejong University (206 students), the only Seoul-based university in the top 10, ranked eighth.

Major universities in the Seoul area saw a decrease of 194 early admission carryover students among the top 10 universities due to the expansion of regular admissions. This year, the universities with the highest number of carryover students were Korea University (219 students), Yonsei University (167 students), and Ewha Womans University (77 students). Korea University was the only one to see an increase in early admission carryover students by 68 compared to last year. The universities with the largest decreases in carryover students were Kyung Hee University (57 students), Sogang University (53 students), and Sungkyunkwan University (42 students).

Among Seoul-based universities, the largest decreases in early admission carryover students were at Sejong University (206 students), Dongduk Women’s University (181 students), Hongik University (135 students), Sungshin Women’s University (105 students), and Soongsil University (86 students).

The significant decrease in early admission carryover students is the result of universities maximizing their fill rates through additional recruitment during the early admission process. It has become more important to fill the quota than to select many outstanding students. If an applicant is accepted to even one early admission university, they cannot apply for regular admission even if they do not enroll, and must retake the exam. Universities have utilized this characteristic of the early admission system. The Ministry of Education’s policy to encourage universities to reduce enrollment quotas and to evaluate the maintenance fill rate starting from May next year, linking it to consulting, reduction recommendations, and support for university innovation projects, also had an impact.

Lim Seong-ho, CEO of Jongno Academy, explained, "Universities focused more on student enrollment than on selecting outstanding students, and judged that a fatal result could come from university evaluations, so they struggled to avoid going to additional regular admissions. Even top-tier universities in Seoul felt pressured to reduce early admission carryover students, and there is a possibility that early admission acceptance scores may actually decline."

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