Early Admission Applications Open from the 13th... Essential Analysis of Schedule and Admission Guidelines

Pre-Application Checklist
Different Strategies Needed According to Target University Schedule
Check University-Specific Exam Dates and Overlapping Application Possibility
Understand Factors Affecting Admission Cutoffs and Minimum CSAT Requirements

On the 6th, when the 2021 academic year early admission essay exam was held, examinees who finished the test were leaving Sungkyunkwan University in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Universities that conducted the essay exam on this day prohibited parents and vehicles other than examinees from entering the campus to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] From the 13th, right after the Chuseok holiday, the application period for the 2023 academic year early admission will begin. The Chuseok holiday should be used as the last opportunity to review your early admission strategy.

To increase the chances of acceptance during early admission, you need to establish different application strategies according to the schedule of your target schools. For admission processes that conclude before the CSAT (College Scholastic Ability Test), you should decide which universities to apply to based on your CSAT mock test scores. Those accepted through early admission cannot apply for regular admission, whether they are initially accepted or accepted through additional rounds.

You should carefully analyze your June and September CSAT mock test scores and avoid applying too low. Universities where you have a chance of acceptance in the regular admission should be applied to through processes that conduct university-specific exams after the CSAT. Depending on your CSAT results, you can choose the final university to apply to between early and regular admissions. If your CSAT score turns out better than expected, you can boldly forgo university-specific exams in early admission and apply to higher-ranking universities in regular admission.

You should also carefully review the early admission guidelines of the universities you plan to apply to. Some universities allow multiple applications within different admission types, while others do not. For example, at Yonsei University, you can only apply to one student record-based admission type, but you can apply to both student record-based and essay or special talent admission types simultaneously. You must also check the schedules for university-specific exams. These exams, such as essays or interviews, are mainly held on weekends and often have overlapping dates. The schedule of university-specific exams also affects the actual competition rate. Even if dates overlap, if the exams are held at different times in the morning or afternoon, you should consider the entry completion time and exam location to determine if attending both is possible.

When reviewing factors that affect the acceptance cutoff, use last year’s admission results but interpret them according to this year’s admission environment. Generally, this year’s admission environment is similar to last year’s, but some universities have changed their CSAT minimum grade requirements, number of recruits, or the weighting of admission elements. For example, Konkuk University has newly introduced document evaluation in its academic record admission type this year, which may change the cutoff for academic records. Even if your academic record grade is lower than last year’s cutoff, you may consider applying if you have strengths in your documents. Universities that have abolished, strengthened, or relaxed the CSAT minimum academic achievement criteria should also be reviewed according to the changed environment.

In particular, the CSAT minimum academic achievement criteria are an important factor that determines competition rates and acceptance outcomes. Early admission types that apply the CSAT minimum criteria tend to have relatively low competition rates. If you meet the university’s CSAT minimum criteria, the actual competition rate can drop to about half of the initial competition rate. In academic record admission types, the CSAT minimum academic achievement criteria also significantly affect the cutoff for academic record grades.

Nam Yungon, head of the admissions strategy research center at MegaStudy, advised, "In academic record admission types with high CSAT minimum criteria, assuming good CSAT preparation, you can strategically apply with confidence even if your academic record grade is slightly lower. You should familiarize yourself with the CSAT minimum academic achievement criteria of the universities you want to apply to in early admission and make sure to prepare thoroughly for the CSAT during the remaining period to meet these criteria."

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