Over half of early-admission applicants not preparing for regular admissions, survey finds

More than half of students who applied through South Korea's early-admission cycle are not actively preparing for the regular admissions round, a new survey shows. Among those who focused on essay-based applications, however, more than seven in 10 said they are also preparing for the regular track — suggesting that students who lean on academic transcripts are betting on early admission, while essay applicants are keeping their options open by studying for the College Scholastic Ability Test.

According to admissions consulting firm Jinhaksa, an online survey of 3,706 students who applied in the 2027 academic year's early-admission cycle between Sept. 11 and Sept. 18 found that 54.5 percent, or 2,021 respondents, were not actively preparing for the regular admissions round.

When asked how much they were preparing for regular admissions after submitting their early-admission applications, the most common response was "not preparing at all," at 33.4 percent, or 1,239 respondents. Another 21.1 percent, or 782 respondents, said they were "not really preparing." One in three respondents said they were doing nothing for regular admissions, and when those who were largely passive about it are included, the share exceeded half of all respondents.

By contrast, 30.2 percent said they were preparing for regular admissions — 17.8 percent said they were "somewhat preparing" and 12.5 percent said they were "actively preparing."

Among students who focused primarily on essay-based applications, 73.7 percent said they were preparing for regular admissions — 43.5 percentage points higher than the 30.2 percent figure for all respondents. The finding suggests that students who concentrated on the essay track are leaving open the possibility of entering university through the regular round as well.

Among students who focused primarily on school-record-based applications, 66.6 percent said they were not actively preparing for regular admissions — 12.1 percentage points higher than the 54.5 percent figure for all respondents. That means two in three students focused on the school-record track placed little weight on preparing for the regular round.

Jinhaksa attributed the gap to differences in each student's academic strengths and application strategy. Students who applied through the essay track may have been trying to reach for higher-ranked schools through early admissions while also relying on their CSAT scores as a fallback for the regular round — a strategy of pursuing early-admission acceptance while securing a CSAT score that could be used later.

"More noteworthy than the figure showing over half of early-admission applicants are not actively preparing for regular admissions is how sharply preparation attitudes differed by application type," said Woo Yeon-cheol, head of the admissions strategy research institute at Jinhaksa. "Students focused on school-record applications placed their bets on early admission using their transcripts, while those focused on essay applications appear to have taken a strategy of considering both tracks simultaneously."

He added that the low rate of regular-admissions preparation should not be read simply as students giving up on the CSAT. "It is better understood as the result of students setting different priorities between early and regular admissions based on their own competitiveness and the characteristics of the application type they chose," he said.