Before submitting an early-admission (susi) application, the calculation almost every student and parent runs is: "with my mock exam grades, I should clear this university's minimum." That calculation is wrong surprisingly often. The problem is that it fails for a reason that has nothing to do with ability — each university counts grades by a different rule. The same score report clears the bar at university A and misses it at university B. Here is where the differences sit, and why a rule change for the 2027 admissions year means last year's notes will mislead you.

The verdict lands in December, not when you apply

Start with the calendar. For the 2027 admissions year, susi applications are accepted between 7 and 11 September 2026, with each university choosing at least three days inside that window. Susi results are announced by 18 December.

That produces a structural fact worth sitting with. You have no CSAT score when you apply. The exam is sat in November and the score report arrives in December. So in September, whether you will clear the minimum is a forecast, and the actual determination is made afterwards by the university. This is how students end up sitting an essay exam and an interview, and then being rejected on the minimum alone.

Which means the minimum is not a question of "apply if it looks likely." It is a question of "when my score report arrives, what does this university's rule produce?" — and you cannot simulate that without knowing the rule.

Reading "two areas, sum of 5" correctly

This is the standard notation in a prospectus. If it says "the sum of grades in two areas among Korean, Maths, English and Enquiry must be 5 or lower", read it like this.

• Take the two best-performing areas from those specified
• Add the grade numbers together
• A sum of 5 or below clears it — 2+3, 1+4 and 2+2 all pass

You will also see a bracketed form such as 2 sum 5 (1), where the bracketed figure usually indicates how many Enquiry subjects are counted. Conventions differ between universities and between admissions guides, so the meaning of the bracket must be confirmed in the footnotes of that university's own prospectus. Never infer it from the notation.

Note also that only the grade is used in this determination. Standard scores and percentiles can be excellent, but if a grade boundary is missed, the minimum is missed. Why those three numbers say different things is covered in the three numbers on a CSAT score report.

The first fork — how many Enquiry subjects are counted

This is the widest divergence. Students normally sit two Enquiry subjects, and universities handle that in one of two ways.

• Best single subject only — the stronger of the two is used. This favours a student who concentrated on one subject
• Average of both subjects — the two grades are averaged, so one weak subject drags the result down

The size of the difference is easy to see. Suppose Enquiry comes back as grade 2 and grade 5. Under best-single-subject, Enquiry counts as grade 2. Under a two-subject average, it is (2+5)÷2 = grade 3.5. Same score report, and the figure entering the calculation differs by a grade and a half. For a student aiming at "two areas summing to 5," that is the difference between an offer and a rejection.

The consequence is that the wider the gap between a student's two Enquiry subjects, the more the list of viable universities itself changes. A large gap means hunting for best-single-subject universities; two even grades means neither method costs much.

The second fork — how the decimal is handled

Averaging two subjects inevitably produces decimals. Grades 2 and 3 give 2.5. What a university does with that 2.5 is the second variable.

• Carry the decimal — 2.5 is used as-is when summing with other areas
• Truncate — 2.5 is treated as 2, which favours the student
• Round — 2.5 becomes 3, which does not

Miss this sentence in the prospectus and the whole calculation is off. And the handling can differ between admissions routes at the same university — essay-based and school-record-based routes genuinely do carry different footnotes at some institutions, so check on the page for the specific route you are applying to.

The third fork — Korean History and English attach separately

Korean History frequently sits outside the summed areas as a separate condition. Some universities carry a line such as "Korean History grade 4 or better"; others impose no condition at all. However much slack the sum leaves, failing that one separate condition means the minimum is not met.

English is graded on an absolute scale. A raw score of 90 or above is grade 1 and 80 or above is grade 2, fixed regardless of how the cohort performs. What varies is whether English is folded into the summed areas or held as a separate threshold, and some universities apply a concession that credits English one grade higher.

Some also allow a Second Foreign Language or Classical Chinese result to substitute for one Enquiry subject. That, too, is an individual university's choice rather than a shared rule. There is no common rule is the honest summary of this section.

Last year's table will get it wrong — what changed for 2027

This is why using a senior's notes or last year's summary table is risky. Minimums are adjusted annually, and the 2027 admissions year is no exception.

The clearest example is Sungkyunkwan University. Through the 2026 admissions year, the two Enquiry subjects could effectively be used as separate areas; from 2027 the university reflects the average of the two Enquiry subjects, moving to a four-area structure of Korean, Maths, English and Enquiry. For candidates who sat at least one Science Enquiry subject, the better of the two-subject average grade and the top single Science Enquiry grade is used (Medicine excepted). That is the first fork changing wholesale, so the same student's result differs under last year's rule and this year's.

Nor does change run in one direction. For 2027 there are universities that tightened their minimum, universities that loosened it, and universities that dropped it entirely. "It was two-sum-five here the year before last" is therefore not evidence. Reading this year's figures directly from the confirmed prospectus is the only method available.

How much the minimum distorts apparent competition is covered in why a 50-to-1 essay ratio is not real. Where a minimum applies, headline and effective competition ratios diverge sharply.

How to run the calculation yourself

Before deciding where the six applications go, fill this in for each candidate university. One table is enough.

• ① Copy out the minimum requirement sentence verbatim (e.g. two areas among Korean/Maths/English/Enquiry summing to 5)
• ② Confirm which areas are specified — whether a Maths elective or an Enquiry stream is mandated
• ③ Find how many Enquiry subjects count (one, or the average of two) in the footnotes
• ④ If it is a two-subject average, find the decimal handling — truncate, round or carry
• ⑤ Check whether a separate Korean History condition exists
• ⑥ Check how English is treated and whether a Second Foreign Language substitution is allowed
• ⑦ Insert your June and September mock exam grades and calculate university by university
• ⑧ Repeat for each admissions route, even within the same university

The cap on applications and the binding effect of a susi offer are covered in six susi and three jeongsi applications, and the submission process and closing times in how susi applications are actually filed. Only once the calculation is done can you decide where the six go.

This article is based on the 2027 admissions year schedule published in university admissions plans via the Korean Council for University Education (susi applications accepted 7-11 September 2026 for at least three days, susi results announced by 18 December), the grade derivation shown on the CSAT score report together with the absolute-scale grade bands for English and Korean History (raw score 90 or above grade 1, 80 or above grade 2), and Sungkyunkwan University's published 2027 admissions plan setting out the change in how the Enquiry area is reflected in its CSAT minimum requirement (average of two Enquiry subjects; for candidates sitting at least one Science Enquiry subject, the better of the two-subject average and the top single Science Enquiry grade; Medicine excepted). Verified August 2026. Minimum requirements, Enquiry subject counts, decimal handling and Korean History conditions differ by university and by admissions route and change from year to year, so final confirmation must be made against the original 2027 susi prospectus of the university you are applying to. This article explains how to read the rules and does not assess any individual's chance of admission.