Admission cutoffs at regional national universities hit 5-year high as tuition waiver looms

Admission grade cutoffs at nine regional hub national universities have risen to their highest level in five years, according to a new analysis, as competition ratios for both early and regular admissions climb. Analysts say a planned full tuition waiver for incoming students at regional national universities could drive even greater interest in these schools during the 2027 academic year's early-admission cycle.

Jongno Hagwon released data Thursday analyzing five years of admissions results at the nine regional hub national universities. The early-admission grade cutoff for the 2026 academic year averaged 3.69 for humanities and 3.58 for sciences — the highest cutoffs recorded across both tracks during the analysis period. The figures represent the 70th-percentile cutoff among final enrollees in general-track admissions, excluding special programs such as equal-opportunity admissions.

The humanities cutoff improved from 3.88 in the 2025 academic year to 3.69 in 2026, while the sciences cutoff moved from 3.76 to 3.58 over the same period. In Korea's grade system, a lower number indicates a stronger academic record. Both figures also surpassed the 2022 academic year benchmarks of 3.75 for humanities and 3.80 for sciences.

Early-admission competition ratios also rose. In the 2026 academic year, 280,252 applicants vied for 32,389 spots, producing a ratio of 8.65-to-1. That marked the second consecutive year of increase — up from 7.69-to-1 in 2024 and 8.44-to-1 in 2025 — and was the highest ratio in four years.

The total number of applications grew by 12,628 from the previous year, reaching the highest level in five years. The competition ratio figures include all campuses and both quota and non-quota recruitment.

The regular-admission competition ratio climbed to 5.68-to-1 in the 2026 academic year from 4.88-to-1 the year before, also a five-year high. However, a reduction in available spots contributed to the increase: the number of seats fell 10.9 percent from 11,437 to 10,195, while applications rose 3.6 percent from 55,863 to 57,883.

Policy changes are also expected to factor into the 2027 early-admission cycle. The government is pursuing a full tuition waiver for incoming students at regional national universities starting next year, and Pusan National University, Chungnam National University and Chonnam National University have been selected for the "10 Seoul National Universities" initiative — developments analysts say could influence where students choose to apply.

"There are signs that some applicants who previously insisted on Greater Seoul universities despite the added costs may be shifting their approach amid the prolonged job market slump," said Im Seong-ho, chief executive of Jongno Hagwon. "Students who had been considering both Seoul-area universities and regional hub national universities may now be leaning toward the regional options when weighing tuition and living expenses."

He added that the tuition support policy could further reinforce the trend toward regional hub national universities. "Students in regional areas choosing between a local hub national university, other national universities and private institutions may increasingly concentrate their applications on the hub national universities," he said.