The results of the early admissions period at national and public universities have been announced, and the 2025 entrance exams are drawing to a close. The total number of successful applicants, including those from private universities, has not yet been tallied, so the overall picture, such as the competition ratio, is not yet known, but the number of applicants for the general selection process at national and public universities has already been determined. Here, we will take a look at the trends in entrance exams at national and public universities in 2025, based on the confirmed number of applicants.
As the average score for the Common University Entrance Examination rises, the predicted borderline also rises
The 2025 entrance exam is the first since the high school curriculum changed, so it is the so-called new curriculum entrance exam. There were some changes in the Common Test for University Admissions (hereinafter referred to as the Common Test), such as the inclusion of questions on the new subject "Information" and an increase of 10 minutes in the test time for Japanese and Mathematics. In particular, the Japanese test was expected to become more difficult with one more question added to the modern Japanese section, but the average score increased. The average scores for English Listening, Mathematics II BC, and Science dropped, but the average scores for the comprehensive test takers (6 subjects, 8 subjects), which account for the majority of those aspiring to national and public universities, increased for both humanities and science students.
The average score for the comprehensive test has been increased to 1000 points this year, with the addition of "information," so it is not possible to simply compare the scores with last year, but looking at the score rates listed on each company's website, Kawaijuku predicts that humanities students will gain +2% and science students will gain +1%. Sundai Preparatory School/Benesse Corporation predict that humanities students will gain +2.4% and science students will gain +1.2%.
If the average score of the common test rises, the predicted borderline for national and public universities will also rise. Generally, if the average score of the common test rises, students will take the plunge and take the test, even if the predicted borderline rises. According to Kawaijuku's entrance exam information site, the number of applicants for the general selection of national and public universities is 101% for the early schedule, 100% for the late schedule, and 106% for the mid-term schedule, as of March 2025th, compared to the previous year, so it is a slight increase. In 18, the population of 103-year-olds has increased by XNUMX% compared to the previous year, so it is likely that the actual number of people applying to university has also increased. Therefore, the number of applicants to university is on the rise. Considering this and the increase in the average score, it feels a little disappointing.
Kawaijuku's "Kei-Net Plus," an information site for people involved in education, has an article that goes into detail about the application situation. Reading through the article, although it doesn't directly touch on it, it seems that the number of applicants is likely being affected by factors such as the expansion of comprehensive and school recommendation-based selection at national and public universities, which has led to a decrease in the number of people applying to the general selection process, and the rise in the expected line for the first stage selection process due to an increase in the average score and a tougher application ratio for the first stage selection process.
[Kei-Net Plus, an information site for educators] Application status for national and public universities in 2025
https://www.keinet.ne.jp/teacher/exam/topic/index.html
By region, there was an increase in "Hokuriku," "Chugoku," and "Shikoku," with some universities seeing more than double the number of students from last year.
Kawaijuku's "University Entrance Examination Information Site Kei-Net," which is mainly aimed at students taking entrance exams, publishes the "application status" for the 2025 entrance exams. In addition to the number of applicants for each university, the site also publishes statistics by "district" and "faculty."
Here we look at the early schedule, which has the highest number of applicants, and the results by region show that the number of applicants is higher than the national average in Hokuriku, Chugoku, and Shikoku. As mentioned above, the number of applicants compared to last year for the early schedule is 101% (numbers are year-on-year changes in number of applicants, same below), while Hokuriku is 111%, Chugoku is 108%, and Shikoku is 107%. Looking at individual universities in each region, in addition to an increase in the number of applicants to base universities such as Toyama University (134%) in Hokuriku, there is also a noticeable increase in public universities such as Fukui Prefectural University (122%). Fukui Prefectural University has also been in the news for establishing a new dinosaur department.
In the Chugoku region, the number of applicants has increased at base universities such as Okayama University (111%), Hiroshima University (110%), and Yamaguchi University (121%), and the number of applicants has nearly doubled or even more than doubled from last year at Tottori University of Environmental Studies (186%) and Yamaguchi University of Tokyo, Sanyo-Onoda City (209%). The School of Pharmacy at Yamaguchi University of Tokyo, Sanyo-Onoda City, had only offered mid-term admissions up until this point, but this year they introduced early-term admissions, which also has an impact. However, the actual ratio of applicants to applicants at both universities last year was less than 280:138, so this is likely a major backlash. In Shikoku, there have also been extreme fluctuations in the number of applicants, likely a backlash from last year, with Kagawa Prefectural University of Health Sciences (167%), Kochi Prefectural University (XNUMX%), and Kochi University of Technology (XNUMX%).
Such extreme fluctuations in the ratio can be seen at national universities, such as in the medical department, but are more common at public universities. With the exception of Tokyo Metropolitan University, Osaka Municipal University, and Nagoya City University, many public universities have small admissions quotas, so increases or decreases in the number of successful applicants can have a large impact on the ratio. It takes several years to level out the biennial fluctuations in the ratio, but sustained efforts may be difficult at public universities that are small and have limited human resources.
In other areas, the increase in the number of applicants to Tokyo Metropolitan University and Yokohama National University in the capital region is noticeable. Tokyo Metropolitan University is now requiring English in the second round of exams for some faculties, so the number of entrance exam subjects is increasing. This may be because Tokyo has the highest increase in the 18-year-old population in the country, but the number of applicants is increasing, contrary to entrance exam theory. The increase in Yokohama National University is also likely due to the fact that the Faculty of Economics, Faculty of Management, and Faculty of Science and Technology do not implement a two-stage selection process. In Kyushu, the number of applicants to Kumamoto University is increasing. Kumamoto Prefecture is currently attracting attention for various reasons, so it will be quite some time before we know whether applications from outside Kyushu are also increasing, but it will be interesting to watch.
[Kei-Net, Kawaijuku's university entrance examination information site] 2025 entrance examination "Application status"
https://www.keinet.ne.jp/exam/future/
The most popular fields are "Social Studies/International Studies," "Law/Politics," "Science," "Dentistry," and "Interdisciplinary."
The results of the survey by faculty type reveal the popularity or unpopularity of each faculty type, with the most popular being "Social Studies/International Studies," "Law/Politics," "Science," "Dentistry," and "General Studies/Environment/Information/Humanities." Looking at the number of applicants by university, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and Kobe City University of Foreign Studies have both seen an increase, so it could be said that the popularity of international studies has returned, just as it has at private universities. However, the aforementioned article states that the increase in "Social Studies" in "Social Studies/International Studies" was large, so it is conceivable that universities that are surveyed under "Social Studies" have seen a reactionary increase in the number of applicants.
In addition, the increase in "Law/Politics" is thought to be due to an increase in applicants challenging the law faculty, which is the most difficult to get into among the difficult national universities. In the science field, the number of applicants for "Science" and "Dentistry" has increased. In "Science", the number of applicants for "Mathematics/Mathematical Information" and "Chemistry" has increased in particular. "Dentistry" has increased for two consecutive years. It is difficult to imagine that medical school applicants are moving to dental school, so it is fair to say that "Dentistry" is popular. The expected borderline is not as high as that of medical school, with most universities having a score rate of 70% or higher for six subjects and eight subjects. However, compared to medical school, the number of admissions for dental school is overwhelmingly smaller, so it cannot be said that it is easy to get into. In any case, "Dentistry" is a field that will be watched for future trends. "Information" is increasing in "General/Environment/Information/Humanity". At national and public universities, the number of new faculties in the "Information" field is also increasing. The momentum of the data science field has slightly decreased at private universities, but it can be said that the popularity of data science field continues at national and public universities.
This time, we have mainly looked at the trends for the early schedule, but there are also universities where the number of applicants has changed significantly for the mid-term and late schedules. In particular, the number of applicants has increased significantly for the mid-term schedule at Sanjo City University, Suwa Tokyo University of Science, and Shunan University. We are curious to know the number of successful applicants and the competition ratio that will be revealed in the future.
