This year, the number of successful applicants from special purpose high schools (special purpose high schools) and autonomous private high schools (independent private high schools) at the so-called ‘SKY University’ (Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University) was found to be the lowest in the past six years. It is interpreted that the influence of grades in the college admissions process has increased, which has had a disadvantage for students from special purpose and private high schools. According to the analysis of Jongno Academy's college information announcement data on the 12th, the number of SKY students in the 2026 school year from special purpose and private high schools was 3,252, which was 23.9% of the total number of students admitted to these universities. It is a new low in the past six years and has decreased by 13.7% (516 students) from 2021. As of this year, the number of successful applicants by high school type was 1,586 from private high schools, 887 from foreign language high schools and international high schools, and 224 from science high schools. Compared to five years ago, science high schools decreased by 32.7%, foreign language and international high schools decreased by 28.1%, and private high schools decreased by 5.7%. Lim Seong-ho, CEO of Jongno Academy, said, “GPA has become more important in rolling and regular admissions, but it seems that securing high GPA is relatively difficult for special purpose and private high schools.”