In the increasingly competitive higher education market, universities facing waves of transformation are striving to enhance their brand image and reputation through rebranding efforts to meet the new demands of the market and consumers. According to the hierarchical effect model proposed by F.J. Lavidge and G.A. Steiner, in the communication process between a brand and consumers, the symbol mark, as a key visual contact, can intuitively stimulate the cognitive response of the audience and induce their consumption behavior. Therefore, it is essential to explore the impact of different types of university brand symbol marks on audience perception. In the case analysis section, this study comprehensively investigated the cases of brand symbol marks of 193 four-year universities in Korea to understand the current design status of domestic university brand symbol marks and analyzed the frequency by type of symbol mark. According to the case analysis results, abstract marks are currently the most used, followed by combination marks, acronym marks, concrete marks, and initial marks. In the empirical research section, this study measured the cognitive responses (awareness, attention) of the audience according to the types of university brand symbol marks based on the hierarchical effect model. Finally, it was confirmed that there are statistically significant differences in the cognitive responses (awareness, attention) of the audience according to the types of university brand symbol marks. According to the statistical results, acronyms marks showed the highest awareness. This was followed by concrete marks, initial marks, combination marks, and abstract marks. In terms of attention, concrete marks showed the highest level. This was followed by combination marks, abstract marks, acronyms marks, and initial marks. The research results provide basic reference material for university rebranding strategies.