As the March nationwide mock exam takes place Monday, analysts warn that the new "integrated CSAT" system — which eliminates elective subjects — could widen the gap in cutoff scores between humanities and science tracks. Jongno Academy projected that science-track dominance will persist even under the fully integrated humanities-science structure taking effect from the 2028 academic year.
According to education industry sources on Monday, the mock exam introduces Integrated Social Studies and Integrated Science for the first time in the exploration section for second-year high school students. Students in their first and second years of high school will take the 2028 CSAT format, sitting for common exams in Korean, mathematics and exploration without elective subjects. Scores for the exploration section will be calculated only when students take both Integrated Social Studies and Integrated Science.
The exam scope for second-year students covers the full range of Common Korean, Common Mathematics, Integrated Social Studies and Integrated Science, while first-year students are tested on the entire middle school curriculum. Third-year students, still under the current system, will maintain the existing "common plus elective" structure.
According to Jongno Academy's analysis, science-track dominance in college admissions is already pronounced. Cutoff scores for the school transcript-based screening at Seoul-area universities have been higher for science-track applicants than humanities-track applicants for five consecutive years since the 2021 academic year. As of the 2025 academic year, the cutoff stood at grade 2.58 for humanities and grade 2.08 for science, with the gap widening to 0.50 grade points.
In the comprehensive school record screening, science-track cutoff scores remained 0.24 to 0.36 grade points higher than humanities. The gap persists in the regular admissions track as well. At major universities, math percentile scores were 95.90 for science-track and 88.69 for humanities-track students, a difference of 7.20 points, while exploration scores were also 1.78 points higher for the science track.
Analysts say eliminating elective subjects under this structure is likely to widen the gap further. Even though all students will take the same exam under the integrated CSAT, science-track test-takers with strengths in math and science are likely to secure relatively higher scores. The continued preference for the science track — driven by demand for medical school admissions and better employment prospects — is also cited as a contributing factor.
"Even with the full integration of humanities and science tracks from the 2028 academic year, cutoff scores for science-track departments are highly likely to be set higher in actual admissions," said Lim Sung-ho, CEO of Jongno Academy. "As top-performing students fill science-track departments first and then move to humanities, the score gap between departments could widen more than expected."
He added, "Cutoff scores for less popular humanities departments could drop significantly, and changes in selection methods — such as expanded integrated admissions — are likely to follow, particularly in fields like language and literature."
