A student from Triam Udom Suksa Pattanakarn School in Bangkok has received top scores in the fourth round of this year's Central Admission System (TCAS).
Chayanit Sriviroj received 91.29%, and won a place to study at the Faculty of Communication Arts of Chulalongkorn University, said Suchatvee Suwansawat, rector of King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang in his capacity as a chairman of Council of the University Presidents of Thailand (CUPT).
Visarut Kongsuk, a student from Ratwinit Bangkaeo School in Samut Prakan, came second in the top five with a score of 87.19% for a seat at the Faculty of Psychology at Chulalongkorn University.
Chutikarn Kaweeworayansakol, from Rajwittayanukul School in Sakon Nakhon, received the third-highest score of 85.85% and she won a place to study at Chulalongkorn's Faculty of Political Science.
Thitaporn Chuto, from Satriwitthaya 2 School in Bangkok, scored 85.63% in the exam to study at Thammasat University's Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication.
And Chayapong Suwanchart, from the Demonstration School of Thepsatri Rajabhat University in Lop Buri, scored fifth highest at 84.6% to study at Mahidol University's Faculty of Liberal Arts, according to the CUPT chairman.
Mr Suchatvee said the Faculty of Medicine at Burapha University had the highest competitive entry rate of 110 to 1 in this round of TCAS, followed by Thai-language education programme offered at Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University with a competitive entry rate of 92 to 1.
The elementary education programme and the social education programme offered at Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University's Faculty of Education had the third and fourth highest competitive entry rates at 90 to 1 and 67 to 1 respectively, while the Department of Communication Arts and Information Science at Kasetsart University's Faculty of Humanities had the fifth-highest competitive entry rate of 56 to 1, he said.
About 55,000 students applied for admission via the fourth round of TCAS to a total of 88 universities and other types of educational institutions that altogether offered about 120,000 places in 754 faculties or fields of study, said Mr Suchatvee.
"When considering the popular fields of study that Thai university students choose to pursue this year, it shows that social science studies are still popular among Thai youths as four majors in the top-five popular fields were in social science fields," he said.
CUPT chairman said Education and Communication arts have been top choices of students in recent years; therefore, he was not surprised by the results.
"Many universities have already adjusted their Communication Arts curriculum to focus more on digital platforms in order to catch up with the changing world. That's why they are still able to attract students," he said.
For Education majors, Mr Suchatvee said many students decided to study in this field because at present the government provides quotas for people who hold degree in education studies in some programmes to automatically become government teachers at public schools when they graduate.
"Students always choose to study in majors which they think can land them on secure jobs such as government teachers or high-paying jobs such as doctors and engineers. You can see the competitive entry rate of these majors in some universities went up to 90-100 to 1," Mr Suchatvee said.
Launched for the first time this year, TCAS features five rounds. Those who have already won a seat in an earlier round of TCAS cannot move on to the next round.
The first round selected successful applicants based solely on their portfolios.
The second round involves quota seats for specific groups of students, such as sports talents or applicants living in the chosen institute's home region.
The third round is called the "joint direct admission" in which students have to sit for central exams organised by the National Institute of Educational Testing Service. Candidates are allowed to choose four department options. The fourth is a "general admission".