Increase in High School Equivalency Graduates Entering SKY Universities

Recent data reveals that the number of new students entering the prestigious SKY universities (Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University) after passing the high school equivalency exam has surpassed 200 for the first time. According to an analysis by Jongno Academy on July 13, 2025, 259 students from the equivalency program enrolled in these three universities this year, marking a 37% increase from last year's 189 students. This trend has been consistent since 2018, when only 80 students from the equivalency program were admitted. The numbers have steadily risen, surpassing 100 in 2020 and now exceeding 200 in 2025, representing a 3.24-fold increase compared to 2018.

The trend is also evident across other major universities in South Korea. When considering the top ten universities, including Sungkyunkwan University, Sogang University, Hanyang University, Chung-Ang University, Kyung Hee University, Ewha Womans University, and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, the number of new students from the equivalency program has grown from 276 in 2018 to 785 in 2025.

This increase is attributed to a growing number of students opting to leave traditional high schools to take the equivalency exam and prepare for the college entrance exam (수능). The number of equivalency graduates taking the 수능 has risen from 11,121 in 2018 to 20,109 in 2025. Many students who struggled to achieve good grades in their first two years of high school are choosing to leave school early to focus on preparing for the exam. Lim Seong-ho, the head of Jongno Academy, noted that the introduction of a new grading system for first-year high school students, which now uses a five-tier grading scale, has led to increased pressure. Under this system, only the top 10% receive a grade of 1, which has made students who do not achieve this grade more likely to consider leaving school.