Third-year students at Gwangnam High School in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, prepare for the June mock exam for the 2027 College Scholastic Ability Test. [Joint Press Corps]
Third-year students at Gwangnam High School in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, prepare for the June mock exam for the 2027 College Scholastic Ability Test. [Joint Press Corps]

The number of repeat test-takers — graduates retaking the College Scholastic Ability Test — registered for the September mock exam for the 2027 academic year has surpassed 110,000, setting an all-time record.

The Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation announced Tuesday that the September mock exam will be held Wednesday from 8:40 a.m. at 2,162 high schools and 574 designated hagwon nationwide.

A total of 500,128 students registered for the September mock exam — 388,203 current students and 111,925 graduates and other repeat test-takers.

The number of repeat test-takers rose by 6,235 from last year's September mock exam, the highest figure since the institute began releasing related statistics for the 2011 academic year. Their share of total applicants also climbed from 20.5 percent last year to 22.4 percent this year, up 1.9 percentage points — another all-time high.

Current students, by contrast, fell by 22,007 from last year, pulling total applicants down by 15,772 year-on-year. Compared with this year's June mock exam, current students decreased by 3,209 while repeat test-takers and others increased by 14,994.

The college admissions industry attributes the surge in repeat test-takers largely to the 2027 academic year being the last in which the current elective-subject CSAT format and the nine-tier high school grade system will apply. The expansion of medical school recruitment through the introduction of a regional doctor program is also seen as encouraging top-performing graduates to try again.

A growing trend among science-track students of choosing social studies over science as their elective subject — dubbed the "social studies run" — also deepened. Social studies applicants rose by 41,055 from last year to 432,504, while science applicants fell by 46,366 to 201,060.

The mock exam mirrors the actual CSAT, scheduled for Nov. 19, in format, subject areas and number of questions. Results will be sent to test-takers on Sept. 29.


brunch@heraldcorp.com