Starting this weekend, after the 2026 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) ended, essay exams by individual universities will begin. The admissions industry expects the effective competition rate for this year's essay track to drop significantly. That is because this year's CSAT was harder than last year's, and a large number of test-takers are expected to fail to meet the "minimum requirement."
According to the education sector on the 14th, essay exams at major universities will be held starting Saturday, the 15th. Of the 44 universities that run essay tracks, 14 will hold tests this weekend, and 15 will do so starting next week.
The effective competition rate for the essay track is determined by whether applicants meet the "CSAT minimum requirement." Many skip the essay exam on test day because, based on their provisional scoring, they judge that they did not meet the CSAT minimum requirement and give up the exam.
When Jinhaksa analyzed last year's essay-track data from Kyunghee University, Korea University, Dongguk University, and Sogang University, it found that the number of applicants who actually sat for the essay exam and met the CSAT minimum requirement did not even reach one-third of the initial applicants. At Korea University, excluding those who failed a required subject, the effective competition rate was 9.13 to 1. That was only one-seventh of the initial rate (64.88 to 1). In other words, meeting the CSAT minimum requirement increased the chance of admission sevenfold.
The prevailing assessment is that this year's CSAT was more difficult than last year's. Because of this, admissions experts said, "If you meet the CSAT minimum requirement, your chances of admission will be much higher."
EBS conducted a perceived difficulty survey of test-takers on its high school lecture website after the CSAT ended the previous day. Of 4,019 respondents, ▲44.6% said it was "very difficult," and ▲40.8% said it was "somewhat difficult." In other words, about 8.5 out of 10 students viewed this year's CSAT as difficult.
Jinhaksa said, "Test-takers should quickly check their scores through provisional scoring and promptly decide whether to sit for the essay exam or switch to applying in the regular admissions round," adding, "If you are near the grade cut and it is hard to judge whether you meet the CSAT minimum requirement, it is advisable to take the essay exam first."