Studyplus Trend Institute of Studyplus Co., Ltd. conducted a survey on the learning management app “Studyplus” from December 2023th (Friday) to December 12th (Sunday), 6 targeting high school third-year students, university students, etc. nationwide. Based on the results of the ``Career Path Model Survey for Examination Students (12 respondents)'' and the results of surveys conducted in the past, we created and released the ``Career Path Model for Examination Students in the Smartphone Era''.
According to a survey conducted by Studyplus Trend Research Institute in 2022, the first year of junior high school is the most common time for junior high and high school students to start using smartphones, and the percentage of junior high and high school students who use SNS exceeds 1%, indicating that digital tools have become a part of students' daily lives. It has become indispensable. The influence of the spread of digital tools is also reflected in the way examinees study and collect information, with a survey conducted in 9 showing that 2022% of university examinees were “smart studying” (studying on smartphones), and university information was also available. Approximately 97.2% of respondents said they would rather collect information digitally (on the web, YouTube, SNS, etc.) than on paper. Before the 8s, when smartphones became popular, examinees mainly studied and gathered career information through analog means, but now they are increasingly using digital methods.
Studyplus Trend Research Institute conducted this research study to gain a more detailed understanding of the career decision process of examinees in the "smartphone era." According to the survey, it was found that there are two main patterns in the process that current university applicants go through to decide on the school of their choice.
Model pattern A is "gather information → learn about/be interested in universities → compare/consider → apply/take the exam." Model pattern B is ``Know and have an interest in the university → Gather information → Compare and consider → Apply and take the exam.'' With the spread of smartphones and SNS among high school students, there are more opportunities to "learn about and be interested in universities" in daily life, which is thought to be connected to model pattern B.
When we delved deeper into the process of ``gathering information'' and ``getting to know/be interested in universities,'' we found that when asked, ``When you decided on your desired school, how many universities did you know by name?'' answered ``11.'' 20% of examinees were aware of 22.4 or more universities, with 20% answering ``up to 37.7 universities'' and 6% answering ``more than 11 universities''. Regarding how they learned about the university, about half of the respondents said they were introduced by a teacher at school or cram school, while around 4% said it was through a senior at school or a friend, or from a family member. The fourth most popular response was YouTube, at around 4%, followed by digital channels.
A survey of the "comparison and consideration" step at the final stage of deciding on a school of choice, as well as changes after making a decision, reveals that "when deciding on a school of choice, how many schools did you consider (and hesitated) before choosing a university?" 1% answered "3-59.6 universities," followed by 4% "6-26.0 universities." Approximately 8% of respondents answered ``Faculty'' as the reason they became interested in the university they were considering. This is followed by "deviation value" and "location."
About half of the respondents answered that there had been a change in the universities they considered from spring to fall during the entrance exam period, and the reasons for the change were ``I didn't get good results on mock exams,'' ``I went to open campuses, etc.'' Over 3% of respondents said ``change in their feelings.''
While most applicants are aware of the number of universities in the double digits, in the "comparison and consideration" step they are narrowed down to "1 to 3 universities" and "4 to 6 universities", which makes it difficult for them to be interested in considering them. It can be seen that 8% of the reasons for this were due to the "faculty" (content of study), and items such as "deviation score", "location", and "campus atmosphere" were also important factors.
From the survey results, Studyplus Trend Research Institute found that when compared to examinees before the spread of smartphones, the biggest difference is that the channels used to collect information and become aware of university admissions have shifted to digital, such as YouTube. , points out that this trend is unique to the ``smartphone era.''
In future marketing to prospective students, it will be important to capture the attention of prospective students digitally, and since there is a tendency for students to change their preferred schools from spring to fall during the exam period, we will pay close attention to the environment surrounding prospective students and consider the timing. He summarized that there is a need for even more communication that takes into consideration the content and information.
