College Scholastic Ability Test

College Scholastic Ability Test also known as Suneung or Ipsi is a type of standardized test accepted by all South Korean universities. The CSAT is managed by the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Examination. The test is offered on the second Thursday of November. On the test day, government employees arrive to work later than the ordinary time to avoid traffic jams that could prevent students from getting to testing sites. The CSAT is one of the most rigorous standardized tests in existence, and students start preparing for it as early as elementary school. Since South Korea has one of the highest number of post-secondary degree holders in the world, the extreme pressure felt by students culminate to teenage depression and high rates of suicide. Oftentimes, students are escorted by police, especially if students don't think they will arrive at the test centre on time. Since the test is almost literally a life-and-death exam for students, the preparation for it is so secure and strict that since its beginning from 1993, Suneung questions were never leaked. Questions are made by chosen professors and teachers, who are locked in a hotel with blacked windows, no communication and a full library of questions until the end of Suneung.