The committee finalized the delay based on the latest forecasts: Bawi is likely to pass off eastern Taiwan into northern waters on the 10th-11th, landfall cannot be ruled out, and wind and rain will peak on those two days.

Only the dates change; exam numbers and test sites remain the same. Score release moves to August 3, application registration to August 5-8, and final admission results to August 17.

Northern Taiwan fears the 'worst script'

With Bawi's track shifting west, forecasters warn Taipei, New Taipei, Keelung and Yilan could sit inside a force-10 wind circle on Saturday. Sea warnings may come Wednesday night to Thursday, land warnings around Thursday. Until the announcement, Taiwan baked in 38-degree heat with afternoon thunderstorms.

With comparisons to deadly Typhoon Winnie of 1997, local governments are checking pumps and landslide-prone slopes. Typhoon day-off decisions will follow the storm's Friday-evening approach.

A third perspective

The delay upends schedules for hundreds of thousands of families, yet Taiwanese society largely accepts that safety comes first. It echoes South Korea's earthquake-forced exam delay — a shared East Asian question of how rigid exam systems bend before disasters.