"Unprecedented Confusion" for Students Before Suneung
"Prepare Regardless of Difficulty"
Effective Use of EBS Textbooks and Error Notes
Emphasis on the Need for Health and Mental Care
With the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) just a month away, preparations for the exam have officially begun. The government has put measures in place to control vehicle access on the test day and reduce surrounding noise, while the education industry has emphasized the importance of final study preparations and health management for test-takers.
On the 15th, the Ministry of Education reported the "Support Measures for the Stable Administration of the 2025 CSAT on Test Day" at the Cabinet meeting. This year’s CSAT will be held on the 14th of next month from 8:40 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. nationwide at 1,282 test centers across 85 test districts.
The government announced plans to actively support the smooth participation of approximately 520,000 test-takers by restricting vehicle access starting 200 meters ahead of the test sites on the morning of the exam day, and by preventing noise around the test centers during exam hours through suspension of aircraft, helicopters, and artillery firing.
In the education sector, there is analysis that the CSAT this year carries high uncertainty due to many variables such as the exclusion of killer questions and the increase in medical school quotas. Especially, since the September mock exam was easier than usual, resulting in the number of perfect scorers in all subjects being more than ten times that of the June mock exam, predicting the difficulty level of the CSAT has become challenging.
Lee Mangi, Director of Uway Education Evaluation Research Institute, said, "I believe the difficulty level of the CSAT should be set close to that of the September mock exam," adding, "However, regardless of the difficulty, students should prepare under the assumption that the exam will be difficult."
The education industry advised that students should enter the final stage of study completion from 30 days before the CSAT until the exam day. Kim Wonjoong, Head of Admissions Strategy at Daesung Academy, said, "Rather than studying new material, it is better to review the difficult parts of what has been learned so far," and added, "It is effective to finish with familiar EBS textbooks and school textbooks and to utilize previously organized error notebooks."
As it is the final period, advice has also been given to pay attention to health and mental care. Etoos Edu stated, "How you spend the month before the CSAT can turn the situation around," emphasizing, "Maintaining regular meals and sufficient sleep, as well as appropriate exercise, is essential to keep both body and mind healthy."
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