In an age when even students with a deviation score in the 50s can get into Waseda-Keio…! Good news for students: “Acceptance Rates to Difficult Private Universities Rising Across the Board

This is good news for students preparing for entrance examinations.

Kawaijuku, a major prep school, released the “Analysis of Entrance Examination Results of Private Universities” for the 2012 academic year at the end of last year. The results show that the percentage of students accepted into difficult-to-enter private universities by deviation score has increased across the board compared to five years ago. The following data is from Kawaijuku’s own survey of the acceptance rates to Waseda, Keio, Sophia, and Tokyo Science (four difficult-to-enter private universities: Waseda, Keio, Sophia, and Tokyo Science) for the entrance examinations of 2007 and 2012 (the leftmost figure is the deviation value).

The leftmost number is the stagnation of deviation score.

60-under 65: 21% → 31% (+10%)

55 to below 60: 10% to 15% (+5%)

50 to 55: 5% to 6% (+1%)

45-50: 3% → 3% (0%)

Less than 45: 3% → 4% (+1%)

While the declining birthrate has caused the entrance exam multipliers of various universities to drop, it is not the only reason why it has become easier to enter difficult-to-enter private universities. There are convincing reasons behind this.

Stricter and Eased Capacity Management

University journalist Reiji Ishiwata explains.

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s tightening and easing of capacity management has had a major impact. Large universities with 8,000 or more students were previously allowed to admit up to 1.2 times their maximum number of students, but the MEXT has requested that this number be reduced to 1.1 times from fiscal 2006. If the number of students oversubscribed, government subsidies were no longer granted. Universities reduced the number of successful applicants, and entrance examinations were fiercely contested for about five years.

However, capacity management will be relaxed from the 2011 academic year. The admission capacity was previously by department, but now it is subject to the capacity of the entire four grades. For example, if there are dropouts in the 2nd through 4th grades and the school falls below capacity, it is now possible to admit more students in the entrance examination for the new first-year students. As a result, the standard was set at 1.3 times the number of students in 2011 and 1.2 times the number of students in 2012.

Will the situation continue to make it easier for students to enter difficult private universities in the future? Mr. Ishiwata continues.

The trend of easing the entrance examinations will continue. Since the late 1960s, entrance examination methods have diversified to include the common test, comprehensive selection, and school recommendation selection. More and more students are bypassing the general entrance examination. As a result, the number of applicants for even difficult private universities has decreased and the acceptance rate has increased. Even if your deviation score is in the 50s, there is a possibility that you will be accepted if you challenge Waseda or Keio without giving up.

In this era, even students with a deviation score in the 50s can enter Waseda-Keio University. However, we can’t just let it go. It takes a certain amount of effort to break through the hurdles.

The number of words required for reading long passages in English has doubled as a result of reforms to the university entrance examinations. Just because the deviation score of difficult private universities is lower than it was five or ten years ago, it does not mean that it is easy to pass the entrance exam,” said Ishiwatari.

(Mr. Ishiwata) “It is not possible to gain admission simply by changing the deviation value. It goes without saying that efforts must be made to keep up with the times.