Among 1,874 Midway Dropouts in 2022, 1,421 Were in Natural Sciences
59.1% Increase Compared to Two Years Ago... Humanities Remain Similar Annually
Estimated Repeaters for Medical School and Retakers... Impact of Pharmacy College Transition
[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] Among the students who left Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University, three out of four were from natural science fields. It is analyzed that the preference for medical and pharmaceutical fields is intensifying not only at the university admission stage but also after enrollment.
According to Jongno Academy on the 25th, the number of students who dropped out from Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University in 2022 was 1,874. Among them, 1,421 students, accounting for 75.8%, were from natural science fields, more than three times the number of humanities students (453).
By school, Seoul National University had 275 natural science students and 66 humanities students among the total 341 dropouts. Yonsei University had 493 natural science students and 185 humanities students. Korea University had 653 natural science students and 202 humanities students. In all three schools, more than 70% of the total dropouts were from natural science fields.
In particular, for the "Seoyeongo" schools, the number of natural science dropouts increased by 59.1% over two years, from 893 in 2020 to 1,096 in 2021, and 1,421 in 2022. In contrast, the number of humanities dropouts remained at a similar level each year: 444 in 2020, 446 in 2021, and 253 in 2022.
By department, Yonsei University's engineering field had the highest number of dropouts (144), followed by Korea University's Department of Biotechnology (81) and Department of Health and Environmental Convergence (61). At Seoul National University, the Department of Biological Sciences had the highest number with 22 dropouts.
It is analyzed that most of the natural science dropouts among the "Seoyeongo" students likely transferred to medical and pharmaceutical fields. Humanities students also have a high possibility of switching to science fields and subsequently entering medical and pharmaceutical programs. The transition of pharmacy college admissions to undergraduate programs in 2022 is also considered to have had a significant impact, according to the admissions industry.
Lim Sung-ho, CEO of Jongno Academy, stated, "The concentration on medical fields is becoming very pronounced, and if the number of medical school admissions expands in the future, the movement of students transferring to medical fields during their university years is expected to increase even more than now." He added, "The increase in dropouts at top-tier universities could occur much faster than expected, and the chain movement of students between universities could lead to a significant polarization of competitiveness not only at admission but also due to mid-course dropout."
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