Current 1st-year high schoolers to take 2029 CSAT on Nov. 16, 2028

The Ministry of Education has confirmed that the 2029 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), which current high school freshmen will take, is scheduled for November 16, 2028. This announcement details the exam date, score notification, and subject areas for the test.

The 2029 CSAT will adhere to the integrated system that begins with the 2028 exam. This system eliminates elective subjects within Korean language, mathematics, and integrated studies to reduce advantages based on subject choice. In the integrated studies section, students will now be required to take common social studies and common science, a change from the previous format allowing a choice of up to two subjects from a list of 17.

Only the foreign language/Chinese characters section will retain a choice, with students selecting one out of nine available subjects. The number of questions and time allocated for Korean language (45 questions, 80 minutes) and mathematics (30 questions, 100 minutes) will remain the same as the current exam. However, the integrated studies section will increase to 25 questions and 40 minutes per subject, while the foreign language/Chinese characters section will decrease to 20 questions and 30 minutes.

Mandatory Korean history will continue with 20 questions over 30 minutes. The CSAT scores for the 2029 exam are scheduled to be released on December 8, 2028. The Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation, responsible for setting the CSAT, will publish detailed guidelines regarding the exam's principles in March 2028.