Proportion of Specialized and Autonomous High School Graduates Among SKY Freshmen Hits Six-Year Low... "Impact of Increased Weight on Academic Grades"

Jongro Academy Analysis: Admission Rate Drops to 23.9% for 2026

Science High Schools See Sharp 32.7% Decline

Seoul National University Maintains Current Level

The proportion of freshmen entering Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University (collectively known as SKY) in 2026 who graduated from special-purpose high schools (specialized high schools) or autonomous private high schools has dropped to its lowest level in the past six years.

According to an analysis released on July 12 by Jongro Academy, based on the official university disclosure data, a total of 3,252 new SKY students in the 2026 academic year were graduates of specialized high schools or autonomous private high schools. This figure is down by 233 students (6.7%) from last year’s 3,485, marking the lowest since the 2021 academic year.

The proportion of students from these high schools among all SKY freshmen (13,609 students) also declined, falling from 25.9% last year to 23.9% this year—a drop of 2.0 percentage points. In the 2021 and 2022 academic years, the figure stood at 30.4%, meaning about one in three students came from specialized or autonomous private high schools. However, after dropping to 29.6% in 2023—falling below the 30% mark for the first time—the ratio has continued to steadily decrease.

By school type, the number of successful applicants from science high schools dropped the most, decreasing by 32.7% compared to five years ago. Foreign language and international high schools saw a decrease of 28.1%, while autonomous private high schools fell by 5.7%. However, the number of successful applicants from gifted education schools reached 555, the highest in the past six years.

By university, the number of specialized or autonomous private high school graduates admitted to Seoul National University increased slightly from 1,372 last year to 1,378 this year, up by 6 students. In contrast, Yonsei University saw a decrease from 989 to 828, or 161 students (16.3%), while Korea University dropped from 1,124 to 1,046, down by 78 students (6.9%).

Jongro Academy believes that the growing influence of academic grades over extracurricular activities in the student record, and the expanded reflection of student records in the regular admissions process, worked against students from specialized and autonomous private high schools.

Jongro Academy CEO Lim Seongho commented, "Recently, more natural sciences track high school students have been applying to humanities colleges, which may have significantly impacted foreign language and international high school students in the regular admissions process." He also predicted, "In the 2027 academic year, the regional physician program will be introduced, and starting in the 2028 academic year, a five-tier grading system and the high school credit system will be fully implemented, which could lead to different trends than what we are seeing now."

Jongno Academy College Entrance Exam Briefing Session. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.