An admissions calendar arrives packed with dates. But memorising the dates does not help much, because they change every year. Understand why the sequence runs as it does and it holds whichever year you apply it to.

Why there are so many tests

Because three different kinds are mixed together.

• National joint achievement tests — run by provincial offices of education. Held in March, April and so on, and taken by enrolled students only.
• CSAT mock assessments — run by the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation. Held in June and September, and taken together with graduates.
• The CSAT — November, set by KICE.

Different organisers mean different candidates, and different cohorts mean different bands. That is the first key to reading the year.

March and April — results not to be used as a baseline

The March achievement test is taken by enrolled students only. Judging which universities are within reach from these results will therefore almost certainly overestimate.

These tests have one use: identifying which units are currently weak. Look at the type of question missed, not the band.

The June mock assessment — this is where it starts

The first test graduates join. So it is normal for bands to fall relative to March. The results did not drop; the people sitting alongside changed.

The June results have a clear role.

• Make a first judgement about whether to weight early or regular admission.
• Calculate whether minimum CSAT requirements can be met. Do not calculate this on March results.
• They become the basis for the summer study plan.

The September mock assessment — the last material before applications

The September mock assessment is closest to the actual CSAT cohort, and it is held just before early admission applications. That placement is not accidental: it exists to give you one final basis for judgement before you apply.

So once the September results are in, a decision has to be made: how many applications to use, and at what level. Early admission applications cannot be undone, so this judgement sets the direction of the whole year.

What follows the early admission applications

After applying in September the year runs to the CSAT in November. There is a common mistake in this stretch: assuming that because you applied through early admission, the CSAT can be taken lightly.

Early admission tracks often carry minimum CSAT requirements, and failing them means rejection regardless of documents and interview. And if every early application fails, all that is left is regular admission. The CSAT is a live variable to the very end.

After the CSAT come the results and then regular admission applications. By then the results are fixed, so all that remains to decide is strategy.

What parents should mark in the calendar

• The dates of the June and September mock assessments and when results are issued
• The early admission application window (September)
• University-specific exam dates (essays and interviews) for the universities being applied to — these fall either side of the CSAT
• The CSAT date and when results are issued
• The regular admission application window (December to January)

How bands move because of differences in the cohort is set out in detail in High School.

In summary

Do not memorise the calendar — remember the reason for the sequence. March and April are for checking, June is the first baseline, September is the final judgement before applications, and the November CSAT stays live to the end. Those four sentences let you read any year's calendar.