[2026 College Admission] Announcement of 2026 Academic Year Admission Plan... Recruiting 350,000 New Students

2025 College Admissions Up by 4,245
Seoul Metropolitan Area Up by 1,652, Non-Metropolitan Area Down by 2,593
More Early Admissions, Fewer Regular Admissions
Regional Talent Screening to Select 2,747 More Students

The total number of recruits for the 2026 university admission process, which will be taken by high school seniors next year, has been confirmed at 345,179, an increase of about 4,000 from this year.

The Ministry of Education and the Korea Council for University Education announced the '2026 University Admission Implementation Plan' on the 2nd. According to the Ministry of Education, the total number of recruits for 2026 is 345,179, an increase of 4,245 compared to 340,934 in 2025. By region, the number of recruits in the metropolitan area increased by 1,652 compared to the previous year, while it decreased by 2,593 in non-metropolitan areas.

On the 16th, the day of the 2024 College Scholastic Ability Test, a test taker is waiting for the exam to start at Ewha Girls' Foreign Language High School in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Joint Press Corps

In the early admission process, a total of 275,848 students will be selected, and in the regular admission process, a total of 69,331 students will be selected. This represents a 0.3 percentage point increase compared to the early admission number (271,481) from the previous year, and a 0.3 percentage point decrease compared to the regular admission number (69,453). Among the total recruits, 311,948 will be selected within the quota, and 33,231 will be selected outside the quota.

[Source: Ministry of Education]

The proportion of early admission quotas in the overall recruitment process increased from 79.6% in 2025 to 79.9% in 2026. Conversely, the regular admission proportion decreased from 20.4% to 20.1%.

In the 2026 early admission, the quota proportion for student record-based curriculum screening decreased by 0.3 percentage points from the previous year to 155,495 (45.0%). The student record-based comprehensive screening increased by 0.5 percentage points to 81,373 (23.6%). The essay-based screening increased by 0.3 percentage points to 12,559 (3.6%). The practical/performance-based screening decreased by 0.3 percentage points to 21,865 (6.3%).

In the regular admission, the number and proportion of recruits decreased in the CSAT-based screening (63,902, 18.5%) and practical/performance-based screening (4,726, 1.4%) compared to the previous year.

[Source: Ministry of Education]

By region, the early admission quota in the metropolitan area increased by 1,607 compared to the previous year. In non-metropolitan areas, the early admission quota also increased by 2,760. The regular admission quota increased by 45 in the metropolitan area and decreased by 167 in non-metropolitan areas.

The number of recruits for opportunity balance selection increased by 776 from the previous year to 38,200. In early admission, it increased by 558, and in regular admission, it increased by 218.

The regional balance (principal recommendation screening) will select 13,086 students, a decrease of 181 from the previous year. The special screening for regional talents will select 26,778 students, an increase of 2,747 from the previous year.

The essay-based screening will select 12,559 students, an increase of 1,293 from the previous year.

The Korea Council for University Education compiled and announced the '2026 University Admission Implementation Plan' submitted by 195 universities nationwide based on Article 34-5, Paragraph 4 of the Higher Education Act.