Students who take the college entrance exam three times are more likely to struggle with academic engagement and report lower levels of happiness after enrolling in university than peers who entered on their first or second attempt, a new study has found.
Han Hyo-jeong, a research fellow at the Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI), released a report Thursday titled "Analyzing the Characteristics of Repeat Test-Takers: How Does Retaking the Exam Affect Admissions Outcomes and University Experiences?" The report found that among students who retook the college entrance exam, those who sat it three times showed greater academic negligence, lower major-aptitude fit and lower happiness scores during their first year of university compared with students who enrolled on their first attempt.
The report draws on findings from a 2025 longitudinal study Han led last year, titled "Korean Education Longitudinal Study 2025: Life and Outcomes in Early Adulthood (III)."
It used data from the "Korean Education Longitudinal Study 2013," which has tracked 7,324 students who were in fifth grade in 2013, and focused on those who attempted the college entrance exam at least twice.
The study covered 2,244 students in total: 1,521 who graduated high school in 2021 and enrolled in university that same year, 307 who enrolled in 2022 after retaking the exam once, and 97 who enrolled in 2023 after retaking it twice.
Han's analysis of their first-year university experiences found that students who had retaken the exam twice were more vulnerable in several areas, including happiness, academic negligence and the fit between their major and their aptitude.
The academic negligence score for twice-retakers was 1.76, higher than for first-attempt enrollees (1.56) and once-retakers (1.70). Their major-aptitude fit score was 3.32, lower than for first-attempt enrollees (3.69) and once-retakers (3.67).
Happiness scores followed the same pattern, with twice-retakers scoring 7.79 compared with 8.51 for first-attempt enrollees and 8.41 for once-retakers.
The intention to change majors was also higher among twice-retakers, at 2.09, compared with 1.57 for first-attempt enrollees and 1.94 for once-retakers.
On admissions characteristics, the study found that College Scholastic Ability Test scores tended to rise with each additional year of retaking, and that students who retook the exam once or twice relied far more heavily on the regular admissions track than first-attempt enrollees.
"Students who retook the exam once showed trends in school life, adjustment and psychological health similar to those of first-attempt enrollees, with no clear disadvantage identified," Han said. "By contrast, students who retook it twice had similarly high test scores to once-retakers but showed vulnerability in certain areas after enrollment."
Han also said that "extended retaking may entail practical limitations and psychological burdens," and recommended strengthening career education at the high school level "so that students can fully understand the expected benefits and risk factors before deciding to retake the exam."
The report also included an analysis of household and parental characteristics.
Average monthly household income was highest among once-retakers at 7.66 million won ($5,170), followed by twice-retakers (6.72 million won), first-attempt enrollees (5.69 million won) and four-time retakers (5.49 million won).
Average monthly private tutoring costs during the final year of high school were higher for twice-retakers (1.11 million won) and once-retakers (1.01 million won) than for first-attempt enrollees (680,000 won) or four-time retakers (630,000 won).
Han said once- and twice-retakers came from households with higher incomes and private education spending and held higher educational aspirations, while four-time retakers scored lower across all measures of socioeconomic background, educational aspiration and academic achievement.
KEDI also released a separate report Thursday analyzing the factors that determine whether students at universities outside the Greater Seoul area intend to settle in those regions after graduation.
The study found that 48.4 percent of students at non-metropolitan universities planned to seek employment or further education in the Greater Seoul area after graduation — close to half — while only 28.4 percent intended to remain where their university was located.
The findings confirmed a clear orientation toward settling in the metropolitan area that takes hold even before graduation.
The intention to stay in the local region was stronger among male students (30.6 percent) than female students (26.9 percent), among upperclassmen (32.1 percent among fourth-year students and above) than first-year students (25.9 percent), and among those from lower-income households or with less-educated parents.
By university location, students at institutions in the southeastern region — the farthest from the Greater Seoul area — showed the highest intention to remain locally, at 44.4 percent.
Rates were far lower for students in Gangwon Province (15.2 percent) and the Chungcheong region (19.8 percent), both closer to the capital, suggesting that geographic proximity to the metropolitan area may weaken students' intention to settle locally.
KEDI recommended that universities develop systematic locally linked curricula to encourage young talent to remain in their regions, and said comprehensive youth-oriented policies were also needed — including advancing industry-academia cooperation governance, fostering small and medium-sized enterprises in local areas, creating quality jobs and improving lifestyle infrastructure.
husn7@heraldcorp.com
