2028 대학 입시 전략, Major Changes Ahead
As the 2028 college entrance system approaches, universities in the Seoul metropolitan area are significantly increasing their reliance on student record-based and essay-based admissions. This shift is largely driven by the transition from a 9-grade to a 5-grade system for high school GPAs. Meanwhile, high school seniors across Korea recently took the May mock exam organized by the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, drawing keen interest regarding score cut-offs.
Daily College Admissions News — 2026-05-09
Today’s Headline
2028 Admissions: Seoul universities ramp up student record and essay categories
- What’s happening?: An analysis by Jinhaksa using data from the Korean Council for University Education (KCUE) shows that universities in the Seoul metropolitan area are significantly boosting the proportion of admissions dedicated to "comprehensive student records" and "essays" for the 2028 academic year. Current high school sophomores (born in 2007) will be the first to navigate these changes, which are largely in response to the shift from the traditional 9-grade GPA system to a 5-grade system.
- Who is affected?: Current high school sophomores, their parents, and students planning to apply through comprehensive record or essay-based tracks.
- Why it matters?: With GPA differentiation lower under the 5-grade system, universities are moving toward a structural change where they use comprehensive evaluations and essays to diversify their selection criteria. Sophomores preparing for 2028 need to adjust their strategies now.
May mock exam for seniors: 378,306 students take the test
- What’s happening?: The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education held a mock exam for high school seniors across 1,849 schools nationwide, with 378,306 students participating. The Korean and Mathematics sections followed the "common + elective" subject format. Students are now closely monitoring answer keys and score cut-offs.
- Who is affected?: Current high school seniors and their parents.
- Why it matters?: Held roughly six months before the CSAT, this mock exam serves as a crucial check-point that directly influences early admission (Susi) strategies and regular admission (Jeongsi) target planning.
2028 Admissions: Universities begin fine-tuning strategies
- What’s happening?: According to Veritas Alpha, universities are actively discussing how to adjust their admission strategies for 2028. There is also ongoing internal debate about when to release early admission results, especially since the 2026 additional recruitment period has not yet fully concluded.
- Who is affected?: High school sophomores, admission consultants, and university admissions office staff.
- Why it matters?: Universities are proactively adjusting their structures in line with the new 5-grade GPA system, which will inevitably change the number of recruits per admission category.
2028 CSAT: Inquiry section to feature Integrated Society and Science
- What’s happening?: For the 2028 CSAT, the inquiry section will be replaced by "Integrated Society and Integrated Science," which will be subject to relative grading. Consequently, the format of the nationwide mock exams will also change.
- Who is affected?: Current high school sophomores and those currently strategizing their inquiry subject choices.
- Why it matters?: Moving from a system of choosing specific elective subjects to a mandatory integrated curriculum is a major shift that requires a complete overhaul of admission preparation strategies.
Trends by Admission Category
Early Admission (Susi)
Expansion of Comprehensive Student Records and Essay Tracks Jinhaksa's analysis confirms that Seoul-area universities are expanding these tracks. Because the new 5-grade system makes it harder to distinguish between candidates based solely on GPA, universities are turning to qualitative evaluations and essay exams to find top students. Sophomores should prepare for both school activities and essay writing.
The future of "Student Record-Based" admissions Since traditional record-based admissions relied heavily on the 9-grade system for differentiation, the shift to 5 grades makes it harder to rank students. Expect the share of these specific slots to decrease relative to other categories.
Regular Admission (Jeongsi)
While specific changes for the 2027 academic year and beyond are not yet fully confirmed, the expected increase in the share of early admissions for 2028 may lead to a relative decrease in regular admission spots. Students should await official announcements from the KCUE.
Policy and Institutional Changes
2028 Core: 9-grade to 5-grade GPA shift In accordance with the 2028 admissions plan revealed by the KCUE, universities are redesigning their structures to align with the Ministry of Education’s December 2023 roadmap, focusing on normalizing school education and reducing private tutoring costs.
Major University News
General Seoul Area: Focus is on expanding essay and comprehensive record tracks.
Sungkyunkwan University: Has introduced the "Sungkyun Talent" track, modified its GPA reflection method for record-based admissions, and separated essay exams into language-based and math-based categories.
Analysis & Outlook
- GPA shift changes everything: With fewer grade tiers, identical scores will become more common, reducing the weight of simple GPA-based rankings and forcing universities to rely on qualitative assessments and essays.
- May Mock Exam as a strategic tool: Use these results to realistically scope out potential universities for the early admission cycle.
- 2028 CSAT preparation: Sophomores must start adapting to the new integrated inquiry subjects immediately.
Checklist for Students & Parents
- Analyze Mock Exam Results: Compare your score with the cut-offs and identify weak subjects.
- Understand 2028 Changes: Review the 5-grade GPA transition and the integrated inquiry subjects.
- Check University Admission Plans: Use the KCUE website to review the 2028 plans of your target schools.
- Schedule Essay Prep: Given the expansion of essay tracks, start analyzing past exam questions now.
This content was collected, curated, and summarized entirely by AI — including how and what to gather. It may contain inaccuracies. Crew does not guarantee the accuracy of any information presented here. Always verify facts on your own before acting on them. Crew assumes no legal liability for any consequences arising from reliance on this content.
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