550,000 CSAT Applicants... Will Test Takers Top 500,000 for the First Time in 8 Years?

[Financial News] Attention is focused on whether the number of test takers for the 2027 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) will exceed 500,000 for the first time in eight years. Although 550,000 students applied for this year’s CSAT, a slight decrease from the previous year, the number who actually sit for the exam is on an upward trend.
According to the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation, a total of 551,865 students registered for this year’s CSAT on the 15th. That was down 2,310 (0.4%) from the previous year.
The number of CSAT test takers for the 2019 academic year reached 530,220, but remained in the 400,000s thereafter. The number of CSAT test takers for the 2019 academic year reached 530,220, but fell from 447,669 for the 2023 academic year to 444,870 for the 2024 academic year.
In recent years, however, the number rose for two consecutive years, reaching 463,486 for the 2025 academic year and 493,896 for the 2026 academic year. If the number of test takers for this year’s CSAT increases by at least 6,105 from last year, it will exceed 500,000.
There appears to be a possibility that the number of test takers for this year’s CSAT will exceed 500,000 for the first time in eight years, since the 2019 academic year. The annual test-taking rate (the number of test takers divided by the number of applicants) has risen for five consecutive years. It has trended upward each year, from 85.3% in the 2021 academic year to 87.9% in 2022, 88.1% in 2023, 88.2% in 2024, 88.7% in 2025 and 89.1% in 2026.
The applicants for the 2027 CSAT comprise current students at 64.4% (355,391), graduates at 31.5% (173,706), and people with GED qualifications at 4.1% (22,767). The number of current students fell 4.4% (16,506) from the previous year, while the number of graduates rose 8.6% (13,784) and the number of people with GED qualifications rose 1.8% (412).
The number of graduates is the highest in 23 years. With elective subjects in Korean, math and inquiry set to be eliminated starting in the 2028 academic year, this year is the last under the current CSAT system. Along with the introduction of the regional physician system, this appears to have led to a sharp increase in repeat test takers.
For the number of actual test takers to exceed 500,000 in this year’s CSAT, the key question is whether repeat test takers will show up at the test centers. In the 2026 CSAT, the test-taking rate among current students was 89.6%, while the rate among graduates and people with GED qualifications was 88.2%, somewhat lower than that of current students.
[email protected] Lee Hae-ram Reporter