Entering at 20 and Graduating in 4 Years Is a Thing of the Past... Repeat Test Takers Increase and 'On-Time Graduation' Decreases

One in Four College Freshmen Last Year Were 'N-Susaeng'
Trend Shows Increase in Leave of Absence and Dropouts

The proportion of so-called 'active duty' freshmen?those who entered university immediately after graduating from high school last year?has been recorded at the lowest level since the introduction of the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT). Additionally, among university students, the number of dropouts and students taking leave of absence has increased, leading to the gradual disappearance of 'on-time graduation' (graduation within the regular 8 semesters).

According to statistics from the '2023 Education Statistics Analysis Report' released by the Korea Educational Development Institute on the 14th, out of 330,439 students admitted to 4-year universities last year, 225,227 were high school graduates of the same year. This means that 68.2% of all freshmen entered university in March of the same year after graduating from high school, down 1.7 percentage points from 69.9% in 2022, when 230,638 out of 329,843 university entrants were same-year high school graduates.

On the 14th of last month, examinees and parents visiting the 2024 Regular Admission University Information Fair held at COEX were lining up at the entrance of the venue, waiting before the event started. Photo by Heo Younghan younghan@

Last year, the number of students admitted after retaking the CSAT or multiple attempts (N-su) was 85,872, accounting for 26.0%. This is an increase of 1.1 percentage points from 24.9% a year earlier, meaning that one in four university entrants last year was a retaker or multiple-attempt student. The number of university entrants who passed the qualification exam (GED) last year was 7,517 (2.3%), and other entrants, such as those who returned from studying abroad, totaled 11,823 (3.6%).

In recent years, the number of active duty entrants has been steadily decreasing. From 1994, when the CSAT was introduced, until 2009, the proportion of entrants who graduated from high school in the same year consistently remained in the 70% range, peaking at 80.5% in 2010. However, since then, the proportion of active duty entrants has continued to decline. On the other hand, last year's proportion of multiple-attempt entrants was the highest since the CSAT's introduction. The proportion of retakers remained mostly in the high teens to low twenties from 1994 to 2019, then jumped to 24.5% in 2020 and has since stayed around the mid-20% range.

Among university students, the number of 'dropouts'?those excluded from enrollment due to non-registration, failure to return, withdrawal, or academic probation?has also increased. The dropout rate in 2022 (number of dropouts compared to the previous year's enrolled students) was 5.2%, up 0.3 percentage points from the previous year. The dropout rate has slightly increased from the 4% range in the 2000s to surpass 5% in 2022. By academic field, the dropout rate was highest in the natural sciences and arts and physical education fields at 5.8%, followed by humanities (5.4%) and social sciences (5.3%).

The leave of absence rate (number of students on leave compared to the previous year's enrolled students) has also shown a long-term upward trend. The leave rate in 2022 was 24.8%, down 1.6 percentage points from the previous year, but looking back to 1980, it has steadily increased from 10.6% in 1980, 13.6% in 1990, to 21.4% in 2000. The leave rate for female students in 2022 was 18.9%, which is 12.9 times higher than 1.5% in 1980. For male students, the leave rate was 29.2%, a 2.2-fold increase over the same period. By academic field, the leave rates were highest in social sciences (27.5%), humanities (26.3%), and engineering (26.2%).

Ultimately, due to delayed university admission caused by retaking the CSAT or multiple attempts, as well as delayed graduation caused by dropouts and leaves of absence during enrollment, the typical pattern of 'entering university at 20 and graduating at 23' is no longer common.

Lim Seong-ho, CEO of Jongro Academy, explained, "As the concentration on top-tier medical schools increases, the number of retakers and multiple-attempt students has grown, and the number of students taking leave or dropping out after university admission has also increased due to students preparing for the CSAT again. The absence of top-tier students is being filled by upper and middle-tier students, causing a chain reaction." He added, "This year, with changes such as the expansion of medical school quotas and the increase in no-major admissions, the expansion of retakers and multiple-attempt students and the increase in dropouts may accelerate."

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