[Report] "Tired but we must persevere until the end"... 100 days before the CSAT in the academy district

[Financial News] "It's hot and tiring, but thinking it's the last chance, we must work hard until the end."
With the 2026 College Scholastic Ability Test scheduled for November 13 approaching in 100 days, the area around the Daechi-dong academy district in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, was bustling with students preparing for the CSAT on the 3rd. Dozens of people crossed the crosswalk heading to academies and study cafes whenever the signal changed. The roads were crowded with cars of parents dropping off their children.
In the afternoon of that day, examinees who finished classes came out in a line near the Daechi-dong academy district. Kim, 24, who works as an assistant at a large academy, said, "Summer is considered the last chance for students to improve their grades, so there are various classes held, especially on weekends," adding, "We prepare classes ranging from 1-hour to 4-hour sessions."
Students were concerned that the competition rate would increase due to the number of high school seniors increasing by nearly 30,000 compared to last year. This is because the number of high school seniors temporarily increased due to the influence of the golden pig year of 2007 when the birth rate rose.
Kim, 18, a current student, said, "I often hear that I have to study several times harder because the university admission quota hasn't increased," adding, "When applying for early admissions, I think I should choose schools and departments with various score ranges."
Park, 20, a retaker, said, "As a retaker, I have more time to purely focus on studying than current students, studying 8-9 hours a day, but I'm still worried about the admission results," adding, "Since there are early admission types that retakers can't apply for depending on the school, I'm determined to bet everything on the CSAT."
Examinees said that the phenomenon of choosing social studies, which requires relatively less study than science exploration, to get high scores, called 'Sataem Run (Social Studies + Run)', is occurring. In fact, the number of universities recognizing social studies subjects, even in natural science or medical schools, is increasing.
Han, 19, a retaker, said, "I am preparing for admission to a natural science university, but it's burdensome to cover science exploration, so I chose the social studies subject, Life and Ethics."
Another retaker, Yang, 18, said, "Even last year as a current student, I chose social studies despite being a science student," adding, "I plan to use the saved time for studying Korean, English, and math."
Many said that since the CSAT minimum academic ability is important even in early admissions, they won't study for essay exams separately until the CSAT is over. Kang, 19, a retaker, said, "I prepared hard for the essay admissions from before the CSAT last year, but I failed all because I couldn't meet the minimum academic ability," adding, "I think meeting the minimum academic ability is important, so I plan to postpone essay studies for now."
Experts emphasized that it is important to strategize to meet the CSAT minimum academic ability and improve CSAT scores. Lee Man-ki, director of the Uway Central Education Evaluation Research Institute, advised, "With not much time left until the CSAT, it's important to study EBS materials during the remaining time," adding, "Checking how EBS material transformation problems appear in mock exams is crucial."

jyseo@fnnews.com Seo Ji-yoon reporter