Regular Admission Competition Rate at 10 National Universities of Education Hits 3.6:1, Highest in Five Years

Impact of Increased Expectations for Acceptance
Fewer Students Carried Over from Early Admissions, Boosting Regular Admission Competition

The regular admission competition rate for new students at national universities of education for the 2026 academic year has reached its highest level in the past five years.

According to Jongro Academy on January 9, a total of 5,128 applicants applied for 1,426 spots in the regular admissions at 10 national universities of education, including Seoul National University of Education, Busan National University of Education, Chuncheon National University of Education, Gongju National University of Education, and Gyeongin National University of Education. The average competition rate was 3.60 to 1, the highest since the 2022 academic year.

By university, the competition rates were as follows: Chuncheon National University of Education 4.61 to 1 (previous year 2.45 to 1), Gwangju National University of Education 4.20 to 1 (previous year 2.46 to 1), Daegu National University of Education 4.03 to 1 (previous year 3.01 to 1), Gongju National University of Education 3.91 to 1 (previous year 2.89 to 1), Jinju National University of Education 3.82 to 1 (previous year 2.44 to 1), Cheongju National University of Education 3.73 to 1 (previous year 3.36 to 1), Jeonju National University of Education 3.65 to 1 (previous year 2.80 to 1), Gyeongin National University of Education 3.10 to 1 (previous year 3.02 to 1), Seoul National University of Education 3.03 to 1 (previous year 2.29 to 1), and Busan National University of Education 2.97 to 1 (previous year 2.31 to 1). All 10 universities saw an increase in competition rates compared to the previous year.

For the elementary education departments, the competition rates were as follows: Korea National University of Education 6.51 to 1 (previous year 5.88 to 1), Ewha Womans University 5.29 to 1 (previous year 4.75 to 1), and Jeju National University 4.41 to 1 (previous year 3.54 to 1). The average competition rate for these three universities was 5.33%, the highest in the past four years.

Lim Seongho, CEO of Jongro Academy, stated, "The rise in competition rates for regular admissions is likely due to increased expectations of acceptance, resulting from the recent decline in preference for universities of education and the downward trend in acceptance scores."

It was also analyzed that the decrease in the number of students carried over from early admissions due to unfilled spots contributed to the increase in regular admission competition rates. In the case of Jeonju National University of Education and Jinju National University of Education, the minimum CSAT score requirement for early admissions was abolished. Gyeongin National University of Education and Chuncheon National University of Education relaxed their minimum CSAT grade requirements. As the minimum CSAT criteria for early admissions at the universities of education were eased, the number of early admission applicants increased significantly. However, if applicants did not meet the minimum CSAT requirements, the number of students who could move on to regular admissions as "unfilled early admission spots" decreased.

In fact, the number of early admission applicants at the 10 national universities of education for the 2026 academic year reached 17,037, the highest in the past five years. The number of students carried over due to unfilled early admission spots decreased by 291 (47.9%), from 607 last year to 316 this year.