The timing for announcing admission rates just before application deadlines, which has caused significant confusion among students and parents, will be standardized to three hours before the deadline starting with the 2027 college admissions cycle.
Additionally, a randomized system for assigning application numbers will be fully implemented, aiming to eliminate the practice of estimating applicant numbers based on the last digits of application numbers, which has been exploited by private education consulting firms.
According to universities on October 30, the Education Ministry and the Korean Council for University Education (KCUE) held a task force meeting on October 28 with representatives from application agencies and external experts to gather opinions on improving the admissions process.
This proposal, based on discussions from a meeting of university admissions managers and the Education Ministry's report during the recent National Assembly audit, will collect feedback from universities until November 6 and finalize the changes by December for implementation in the 2027 admissions cycle.
The key points of this feedback collection are the unification of the timing for announcing admission rates and the introduction of randomized application numbers.
Starting with the 2027 admissions cycle, the last announcement of admission rates will occur three hours before the application deadline, with final rates released the following day after 9 a.m. Previously, the timing for these announcements varied significantly among universities, leading to confusion during what is referred to as the 'blackout period' for applicants.
For instance, during this year's early admissions cycle, the timing for announcing admission rates varied by as much as six hours among major universities. Some universities, such as Sookmyung Women's University, Ewha Womans University, and the University of Seoul, released rates two hours before the deadline, while others like Konkuk University, Korea University, and Yonsei University announced rates three hours prior. Kyung Hee University and Chung-Ang University stopped releasing rates four hours before the deadline, and Inha University ceased six hours prior, with Sungkyunkwan University ending its announcements eight hours before the deadline, resulting in the longest blackout period among major universities.
With all universities required to transparently disclose admission rates three hours before the deadline and release final rates simultaneously the next morning, the adverse effects of applicants disproportionately concentrating on specific universities due to varying announcement times are expected to decrease significantly.
In conjunction with the unification of announcement times, universities are also reviewing their preferred methods for implementing randomized application numbers and assessing their computer systems.
Previously, many universities assigned sequential application numbers based on the order of application submissions and payments. This allowed admission communities and private education firms to estimate real-time applicant numbers by collecting and comparing the last digits of application numbers even after the announcement of admission rates was halted.
The Education Ministry and KCUE plan to introduce a randomized system for assigning application numbers, independent of the order of submission, while gathering detailed opinions on which method is preferred by each university's computer environment.
Additionally, the Education Ministry intends to address concerns raised during the recent National Assembly audit regarding server outages and technical issues faced by application agencies (such as Younet Apply) before the regular admissions cycle begins. The ministry aims to analyze the causes of server failures and implement measures to prevent recurrence, conducting ongoing load tests until December to alleviate concerns before the start of the regular admissions process in early January.
Shin Jin-yong, head of the Education Ministry's College Admissions Policy Division, stated in a phone interview, "The major improvements regarding the timing of admission rate announcements and the randomization of application numbers have already been established through reports during the National Assembly audit. While there were no significant objections during preliminary discussions with some universities, we plan to reconfirm detailed operational preferences, such as the preferred randomization method, across all universities before finalizing in December."
He added regarding concerns about the stability of application agency servers, "Ensuring the stable operation of the regular admissions process is our top priority, and we will continue system testing until December to ensure there are no disruptions."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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