Susi Competition Rate

In university admissions, the ratio of the number of early admissions applicants to the number of places, a key indicator of the intensity of admissions competition.

Susi Competition Rate

Overview

The Susi competition rate (수시 경쟁률) is the value obtained by dividing the number of applicants to a specific admission track (or department/admission unit) in the early admissions (Susi) of university admissions by the corresponding number of places. For example, if 100 people apply to a department with 10 places, the competition rate is 10:1. This indicator is used as a representative symbolic figure showing how popular the track is and how likely applicants believed they were to be admitted.

Susi consists of various tracks such as student record curriculum, comprehensive student record (Hakjong), essay, practical skills/performance, etc., and competition rates vary greatly by track, university, and admission unit. Therefore, deciding whether to apply based only on the competition rate figure is risky; one must also consider the track’s evaluation method, supplemental admission rate, and the grade distribution of successful applicants.

Main Content

Structure of Susi Admissions

Korean university admissions are largely divided into Susi admissions and Jeongsi admissions. Susi generally accepts applications in September, and Jeongsi accepts them from late December to early January. Susi accounts for about 70–80% of total admissions quotas, and the proportion of Susi tends to be higher at major universities in the Seoul metropolitan area. Susi is further subdivided as follows.

Student Record Curriculum Track: Uses school grades as the main evaluation factor. The competition rate for this track is often high.
Comprehensive Student Record Track (Hakjong): Comprehensively evaluates student records, self-introduction letter (being abolished), interviews, etc. Documents and interviews carry great weight.
Essay Track: Reflects essay exam scores and student records (curriculum). There is often a large gap between the actual competition rate and the actual admission cutoff.
Practical Skills/Performance Track: Reflects practical exams in the arts and physical education fields.

Calculation and Interpretation of Competition Rate

The competition rate is generally calculated as number of applicants ÷ number of places. However, this figure may differ from actual admission difficulty for the following reasons.

1. Phantom applications: Actual competition may be lower due to overlapping admissions and non-enrollment by high-ranking applicants.

2. Supplemental admission rate: The more additional admissions (waitlist moves), the lower the actual competition rate. Tracks with a supplemental admission rate exceeding 200% are common.

3. Movement between tracks: Due to the limit of six Susi applications (counting method reformed from the 2024 academic year), applicant dispersion occurs.

4. Weighting ratio: Actual discriminating power varies depending on whether curriculum is 100% or whether curriculum + attendance + volunteer service, etc. are reflected.

Therefore, the equation “high competition rate = difficult admission” does not hold. Even with the same competition rate, if the number of places is small, volatility is high; if the number of places is large, it is stable.

Characteristics by University and Track

Top-tier universities: Hakjong competition rates are around 5–15:1, often lower than curriculum tracks. This is because Hakjong requires eligibility and document evaluation, narrowing the applicant pool.
Mid-tier universities: Curriculum track competition rates are relatively high, while Hakjong is relatively low.
Medical and Pharmaceutical Fields: Medical, pharmacy, dental schools, etc. have very high competition rates regardless of track. In particular, there are many cases where competition rates for special tracks such as regional talent tracks and rural/fishing village tracks skyrocket.
Universities of Education and Colleges of Education: For universities of education, Susi has a high proportion of curriculum and Hakjong, and competition rates are generally around 3–6:1.
Arts and Physical Education Fields: Because practical skills carry great weight, competition rates are often unrelated to actual difficulty.

Use in Application Strategy

Test-takers and parents usually analyze the three-year competition rate trend, supplemental admission rate, average grade of successful applicants (70% cutoff), and changes in the number of places by track together. In particular, they look at the following indicators together.

Three-year average competition rate: A single year’s competition rate is subject to large random variation.
Supplemental admission rate: A key indicator for estimating the actual competition rate.
Grade distribution of successful applicants: School record 70% cutoff, 50% cutoff, etc.
Increase/decrease in number of places: Changes in quota directly affect the next year’s competition rate.

Latest Trends

As of the 2024–2025 academic year, the environment surrounding Susi competition rates is changing as follows.

1. Reform of the counting of the six-application limit for Susi: Starting with the 2024 academic year, the method for calculating the number of Susi applications changed, and the strategies of top-tier applicants showed a polarization of dispersion and concentration.

2. Complete abolition of self-introduction letters: Starting with the 2024 academic year, university admission self-introduction letters were completely abolished, and the evaluation factors of the comprehensive student record track were reorganized around student records and interviews. Accordingly, a tendency is observed for competition rates in tracks with a high interview weight to rise relatively.

3. Deepening concentration in medical and pharmaceutical fields: Along with the policy to expand medical school quotas, the concentration of applications in medical and pharmaceutical fields became pronounced, and cases of sharp rises in competition rates for special tracks such as regional talent and rural/fishing village tracks continue.

4. Rise of contract departments in advanced fields and semiconductors: As contract departments in advanced fields such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and bio are newly established and expanded, Susi competition rates for those departments are rising.

5. Expansion of major-free (free major) admissions: As several universities expand major-free selection, the competition rate structure by admission unit is being reorganized. As the degree of freedom in choosing a major increases, the competition rate of specific departments is diluted, or conversely, the competition rate of free major itself soars.

6. Expanded data disclosure: As competition rate, supplemental admission rate, and successful applicant grade data are disclosed more precisely through each university’s admissions office and admissions information portals (Adiga, University Adiga, etc.), data-based application strategy establishment by test-takers is becoming common.