Drastic change in 20 years! Special Circumstances of “Dramatic Increase & Decrease” in the Number of Successful Candidates to Tokyo University

The high school entrance examination power structure has changed dramatically over the past 20 years.

On March 10, the successful candidates of Japan’s most difficult university, the University of Tokyo, were announced. Daigaku Tsushin, Shukan Asahi, and Sunday Mainichi conducted a joint survey to compile a ranking of the number of successful applicants by high school (the percentage of those found to be successful is approximately 91%). The ranking is explained by Nobuyasu Morigami, director of the Morigami Institute of Education, who is an expert on the examination situation (comments below by Mr. Morigami).

The top schools in Tokyo, Hyogo, and Kanagawa are in first place, with Kaisei (191 students) in first place for 41 consecutive years, Nada (92) in second, and Seikogakuin (91) in third. Nishiyamato Gakuen (Nara), an integrated middle and high school, has significantly increased the number of successful applicants (from 42 to 53 to 76 to 79).

The school conducts entrance examinations in mid-January, earlier than in urban areas, and has become a challenge school for excellent applicants in Osaka, where there are few ultra-difficult schools. The school also holds exams in Tokyo, Fukuoka, and Sapporo, attracting top-ranked students from all over the country. fifth-ranked Sakurain (77 students) is the first of Tokyo’s three top-ranked girls’ schools.”

The five schools introduced so far are all among the most difficult schools in Tokyo Prefecture. It is no surprise that they rank high in the list. One of the schools we have mentioned so far is a school that is not familiar to many: Senzoku Gakuen in Kanagawa Prefecture, which accepted 17 students.

The school has been undergoing various school reforms for the past 20 years, and is determined to overtake Ferris (a prestigious Kanagawa school for girls). The school stopped accepting applications for the high school, which had a deviation score of about 40, and abolished the music department. We are actively accepting returnees, 30 to 40 every year.

Thanks to the reforms, we have been able to attract excellent female students from the rural city area of Kanagawa, and the number of students who have been accepted to Tokyo University has increased significantly; compared to the past four years, the number has more than doubled (from 7 to 7 to 10 to 17).”

Why a Bunkara sports school has been transformed

Hongo (Tokyo), which had 13 successful applicants, is also surprising. Parents of the school’s generation probably have a strong image of the school as a sports school with strong rugby and soccer teams. Many of its graduates are athletes, including swimmer Kosuke Kitajima. With all due respect, the school does not give the impression of being a preparatory school.

In the 2000s, the school began reforms, built a new school building, and stopped accepting applications for high school in 2009. The school became a fully integrated junior high and high school, and its position as a school for top schools such as Kaisei and Komaba University of Tsukuba became firmly established. The number of students accepted to Tokyo University has been increasing (from 5 to 8 to 9 to 13).

Similarly, Tokyo City University Attached (Tokyo; 2 students → 5 students → 7 students → 12 students) has also increased the number of students who have been accepted to Tokyo University to double digits. The school used to be called Musashi Institute of Technology, but it became popular after changing its name. When the number of students who have been accepted to Tokyo University reaches double digits, the parents of students who take entrance exams look at the school differently. Both Hongo and Tokyo City University Attached will be recognized as enterprising schools, and their popularity will increase even more.

On the other hand, some prestigious schools are decreasing the number of accepted students. Musashi (22 to 21 to 28 to 19) is said to be one of the top three boys’ schools in Tokyo.

It is a little sad to see the number of applicants drop below the 20 mark. However, Musashi has a free school culture. It is not a school that places supremacy on the University of Tokyo. There are many students who challenge universities overseas.

The number of successful applicants among girls’ schools decreased at Toshimaoka Girls’ Academy (Tokyo; 29 to 29 to 21 to 14).

The students who took the university entrance exam this time entered the school at a time when public schools with integrated junior and senior high schools were gaining strength. It is likely that the best students from Toshimaoka, the second-ranked private school, have flowed to top public schools such as Hibiya, Koishikawa, and Yokohama Suiran. However, since it is a school with a solid curriculum, I think it will be able to turn things around from next year onward.

Year after year, the ranking of those accepted to Tokyo University changes. While we know that being accepted to the University of Tokyo is not the only happiness in life, as parents of students preparing for entrance exams, we can’t take our eyes off of them.