South Korea: 2021 SAT stare application submission results decreased 50,000

It is expected that around 430,000 students will take the 2021 academic proficiency test. This is a decrease of about 60,000 people from last year. Although there is no significant difference in the rate of applicants for the SAT, it is expected to be advantageous when applying for natural fields due to a decrease in the number of applicants in the natural field. According to the data released by the U-Way Institute for Education Evaluation, the number of applications for the 2021 SAT application was 490,433, a decrease of 55,301 from 542,734 in 2020.

The number of students who received the SAT for the 2019 academic year was 594,924, which showed a rapid decline in the school-age population with a decrease of 1,011,491 between two years. Looking at the ratio so far, the actual number of SAT candidates is expected to be around 430,000. Decreased number of test takers and high ranking graduates may increase due to the impact of Covid-19. As the number of test takers has decreased in recent years, competition rate for college admissions has declined and concentration in Seoul and metropolitan areas has appeared. This trend is expected to continue again this year.

In addition, although the absolute number of graduate applicants has decreased, the proportion of graduates continues to increase and the trend of graduates in the top ranks is expected to become more prominent. Looking at the proportion of graduates among the number of applicants for the SAT application, it was 22.8% in 2019, but 25.9% in 2020 and 27.0% in 2021, showing a trend of increasing the proportion of graduates. Normally, graduates are strong at the top, but this year, as the current students are expected to weaken due to Covid-19, the influence of graduates on the SAT is expected to increase more than usual.

Test takers should do their best to self-manage, but the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation announced in Mopyeong in June that the difference between graduates and enrolled students was the same as usual. As announced by the Evaluation Institute, attention is paid to whether this trend will be maintained in the 2021 SAT. Although the number of half students has not increased as much as expected, the situation is unlikely to change as graduates have traditionally avoided the SAT.

Currently, as large academies in the metropolitan area continue to close, the number of retakers returning to retraining academies after the opening of the academy is expected to decrease compared to previous years. Therefore,'self-management is expected to be an absolute factor in the success or failure of this SAT for not only current students but also graduates.

■ Status of applicants for the SAT by qualification

All exploration candidates decreased... Since it can be advantageous to apply for natural science, the rate of applicants for the SAT in this year was similar to that of last year, without significant changes. There were 261,887 people (54.7%) who chose the social search area, a decrease of 25,850 people compared to the previous year. The number of selectors in the field of scientific inquiry was 21,427 (44.1%) , a decrease of 2,843 from the previous year. In detail, while the selection ratio is generally the same as last year, the number of Korean geography decreased from 71,703 (24.92%) to 53,830 (20.55%).

Looking at the overexploitation in detail, Earth Science decreased from 161,101 (69.36%) to 13,71 (61.52%) last year due to the effect of difficulty. In Physics I, Chemistry I, and Life Science I, the selection ratio slightly increased.

Man-ki Lee, director of the U-Way Education Evaluation Research Institute said, this year, the expansion of new departments in natural fields such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, big data, and future automobiles is remarkable and as the number of applicants for natural sciences decreases, it may be more advantageous to apply for the natural field recruitment units. Analyzed.

■ Current status of candidates for SAT