Chuseok study guide: What college hopefuls should prioritize after submitting applications

Finishing the application process for early admissions does not mean students can step away from CSAT preparation. For those who have already submitted their applications, the chuseok holiday is a chance to reset priorities for the stretch run of college entrance season.

Students uncertain about meeting minimum CSAT score requirements should use the break to shore up weak subjects, while those facing essay or interview tests before the CSAT need to carve out dedicated time for university-specific exams. Education experts advise against piling on new textbooks or lectures, recommending instead that students fill gaps in existing knowledge while keeping their daily routines intact.

According to admissions industry officials, the first step is to compile, in one place, the minimum CSAT requirements and essay and interview dates for each university and admissions track a student has applied to.

For minimum CSAT requirements in particular, students must check not only which subjects are counted and what combined grade level is required, but also how many elective science or social studies subjects are reflected and whether Korean history conditions apply. Requirements can differ by admissions track and department even within the same university. Whether university-specific tests fall before or after the CSAT is also a key factor in allocating study time.

Students worried about meeting minimum CSAT requirements should start by identifying which subjects have shown unstable grades in recent mock exams. For example, if a student needs a combined grade of 5 or better across two subjects and currently holds grades of 2 and 3, a single one-grade slip in either subject would push the combination out of range.

Rather than taking comfort in having met the threshold once, students should work to reduce recurring mistakes and check whether they can meet the requirement through alternative subject combinations. Those also considering regular admissions should be careful not to focus so narrowly on the subjects needed for the minimum requirement that they neglect other subjects.

Students who have essay or interview tests scheduled before the CSAT should set aside dedicated preparation time during the holiday. For the written essay, a useful approach is to work through past exam questions from the target university within the allotted time, then compare answers against the intended argument and scoring criteria. Humanities essay writers should check whether they have correctly identified the relationship between the required argument and the provided passages, while science essay writers should verify that they have not omitted any necessary steps in reaching their answers.

Interview preparation also requires practice tailored to the format. For document-based interviews, the focus should be on explaining in specific terms the student's own role, inquiry process and takeaways from activities recorded in the school record. For passage-based interviews, students need to practice identifying the core point of the material and responding with supporting reasoning. The Etoos Education Assessment Research Institute suggested that when CSAT study causes concentration to flag, students can switch modes by answering anticipated interview questions aloud or reading through essay passages.

Setting an overly broad study scope for the holiday risks ending up with nothing but a plan. At this stage, students should focus on reviewing wrong answers from the June and September mock exams and going over EBS-linked textbook materials, rather than starting new books or online lectures. The goal is to select weak concepts, spend one to two hours a day addressing them, and set targets that can realistically be completed within a short period.

Taking a full mock exam on one day of the holiday, timed to match the actual CSAT schedule, is also worthwhile. Students should work through each subject they plan to sit — Korean language, mathematics, English and elective subjects — in order, observing the same break and lunch intervals as on exam day. The purpose goes beyond checking scores. Noting which subjects ran short on time and at what point in the afternoon concentration dropped will reveal what to work on in the remaining weeks. Reviewing wrong answers on the same day completes the loop, turning a practice run directly into targeted remediation.

With school and hagwon schedules reduced during the holiday, students face greater pressure to manage their own time. Studying late into the night and then sleeping in, or binge-watching videos missed during the term, can throw off their daily rhythm.

Students should maintain consistent wake-up and bedtime hours so that the time spent recovering their normal routine after the holiday does not exceed whatever extra study time the break provided. Rest periods are best scheduled in advance, with clear boundaries between study time and downtime.

Kim Yong-jae, director of the Etoos Education Assessment Research Institute, advised students to decide what they will not do during the holiday before listing what they will do, and to share those limits with their families.

Examples include not using a smartphone for extended periods at family gatherings, not waking up significantly later than usual, and not binge-watching accumulated video content. Rather than packing every hour with tasks, the approach aims to raise the odds of following through by cutting out the behaviors most likely to disrupt the overall rhythm.

On the last day of the holiday, students should go to bed at a time that fits the next day's school schedule and incorporate any weak units left unfinished during the break into their plans going forward.