Seoul Area 17 Universities Expand Regular Admissions... Regional Universities Increase Early Admissions

2023 Academic Year Early Admission Rate Increased by 2.3%p Compared to Previous Year
Seoul Area Universities Increase Regular Admission Proportion... Seoul National University Up by 10.1%p
Non-Capital Region Universities Focus on Early Admission to Secure Freshmen First

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] In the 2023 academic year college admissions, although the overall early admission rate increased compared to last year, only universities located in Seoul increased their regular admission rate.

On the 1st, Jongro Academy analyzed the 2023 academic year college admission implementation plan and found that the early admission rate was 78.0% (272,442 students), an increase of 2.3 percentage points from the previous year. The total number of recruits was 349,124, an increase of 2,571 from the 2022 academic year (346,553).

The regular admission rate for Seoul area universities in the 2023 academic year was 39.2%, up 1.3 percentage points from last year. Among 39 schools, 17 increased their regular admission rates.

In the case of Seoul National University, the regular admission rate increased by as much as 10.1 percentage points to 40.7%. Seoul National University of Science and Technology's regular admission rate was 49.1%, up 5.6 percentage points from 43.5% in the 2022 academic year. Kyung Hee University was 44.5% (up 3.1 percentage points), Kwangwoon University 40.0% (up 5.0 percentage points), Sejong University 44.9% (up 7.2 percentage points), Sookmyung Women's University 44.7% (up 5.8 percentage points), and Chung-Ang University 43.1% (up 8.5 percentage points), respectively.

Seoul area universities increased their regular admission rates in accordance with the Ministry of Education's recommendation to select more than 40% through regular admissions, but non-metropolitan universities are rather increasing their early admission rates.

The 2023 academic year early admission rates by region are ▲Jeonnam 93.9% ▲Chungnam 91.0% ▲Ulsan 91.0% ▲Gyeongbuk 89.7% ▲Gyeongnam 88.5% ▲Daejeon 87.6% ▲Busan 86.5% ▲Chungbuk 86.1% ▲Gwangju 85.9% ▲Jeonbuk 85.0%, etc.

Non-metropolitan universities, which are relatively struggling to secure freshmen, are using a strategy to prioritize securing examinees by increasing the early admission rate. Looking at the registration rates by recruitment period last year, the early admission registration rate (77.4%) at non-metropolitan universities was much higher than the regular admission registration rate (66.1%).

Universities, desperate to secure their fill rate to prevent large-scale under-enrollment, also significantly reduced the number of early admission rollovers in the 2022 academic year. The number of early admission rollovers at 198 universities nationwide decreased by 5,039 from 38,853 in the 2021 academic year to 33,814 in the 2022 academic year. This was the result of universities maximizing their fill rates through additional recruitment in early admissions.

If an examinee who applied for early admission is accepted to even one school, they cannot apply for regular admission even if they do not enroll, and must retake the exam; universities considered the characteristics of early admissions and accepted as many students as possible.

Oh Jong-woon, evaluation director at Jongro Academy, explained, "There is a big difference in early and regular admission rates between universities in Seoul and those in non-metropolitan areas because local universities are struggling to recruit students due to the shrinking school-age population."

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