Seoul's Songpa-gu district office is rolling out a three-stage support program for students and parents preparing for the 2027 college admissions early-application cycle.
Early-application admissions carry significant weight in the overall college entrance process, but the procedures are complex and vary in advantage depending on the school, making it difficult for students to navigate on their own.
In response, the district prepared a closely tailored support structure that goes beyond providing information, helping students identify strategies suited to their individual grades and circumstances. The program moves from a large information session to set the overall picture, through one-on-one consultations to develop personalized strategies, and finally to specialized lectures to fill remaining gaps.
The first stage, a college admissions information session focused on the 2027 early-application cycle, was held Monday at the main auditorium on the fourth floor of the Songpa-gu district office. With 400 local parents in attendance, admissions expert Kim Min-seong spoke on early-application strategies for the 2027 cycle and an analysis of grade point averages at Songpa-gu high schools along with tailored approaches for each.
"I had no idea which universities my child should be aiming for based on their grades, but now I feel relieved to have a direction," one parent who attended said.
The second stage is a one-on-one college admissions consulting service. Running for 16 days from July 22 through Aug. 8, it offers a total of 300 sessions and is open to students and parents in the district. Seven active career and college guidance teachers from schools including Yeongdong-il High School and Jamsil Girls' High School will conduct the consultations, each lasting 50 minutes and based on the student's grades and school record.
Sessions will be held at the meeting rooms of the Songpa Learn head center from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The format allows students and parents to receive guidance together and jointly map out an application strategy in a single sitting.
The third stage, a specialized college admissions lecture series for the 2027 cycle, runs for three days from Aug. 11 to 13 at the Songpa Learn college admissions support center. It targets up to 30 third-year high school students and their parents. The lectures offer strategies broken down by grade range and admissions track to cover areas the earlier information session could not address in full — arts and physical education tracks on Aug. 11, grade-based application strategies on Aug. 12, and essay and interview preparation on Aug. 13.
For registration and other inquiries, interested parties may visit the Songpa Learn website or contact the Songpa-gu district office's education cooperation division.
"We put together this three-stage program to ease, even a little, the burden that students and parents feel in a rapidly changing admissions environment," district Mayor Seo Gang-seok said. "We will continue to support Songpa's students as they clear the hurdle of college admissions and find their own paths."
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