Jongno Academy, Survey of 1,400 Parents
44% Say "Regional Medical Schools Better Than Seoul National University"
Nine out of ten parents of elementary and middle school students hope their children will choose a science track for their future careers. Among them, the trend of concentrating on medical fields, which guarantee stable high income, is accelerating.
On the 21st, Jongno Academy released the results of an online survey conducted from the 16th to 17th of this month, targeting 1,395 parents, including 676 parents of elementary school students and 719 parents of middle school students.
The survey results showed that 88.2% of parents answered that they hope their children will pursue a science track. Among them, 92.3% were parents of elementary school students, and 84.4% were parents of middle school students.
The preferred majors among parents who hope for a science track were medical fields (medicine, dentistry, pharmacy) at 49.7%, ranking first, followed by engineering fields at 40.2%. Only 10.1% responded that they hope their children will pursue pure natural sciences.
In particular, the preference for medical fields among parents of elementary school students (52.3%) was higher than that of parents of middle school students (47.0%). Regarding preferred universities for the science track, medical schools including those in provincial areas (44.0%) surpassed Seoul National University’s science and engineering departments (20.5%) and KAIST (18.8%). This indicates a tendency to prefer medical schools in provincial areas over other majors at Seoul National University.
In response, a representative from an academy said, “In the science track, students tend to choose medical schools over engineering, and within medical schools, many opt for specialties like dermatology or plastic surgery rather than majors directly related to life sciences,” adding, “Ultimately, the trend is that the most outstanding students choose well-paying and comfortable jobs.”
Furthermore, 55% of respondents predicted that the preference for medical fields will increase in the future. On the other hand, 78.3% expected a decline in preference for the College of Education, which was once a popular major. Similarly, the preference for the Army, Navy, Air Force academies, and the Police University was expected to decline (each in the 30% range) rather than increase (each in the 10% range).
In fact, according to recent reports from the education sector, the number of academy medical school classes for elementary and middle school students is increasing, especially around Gangnam-gu, Seoul. These academies, operated with small elite groups of fewer than 10 students, require entrance exams, and the competition rate is said to reach up to 10 to 1.
Lim Seong-ho, CEO of Jongno Academy, emphasized, “This year, the proportion of liberal arts students in the College Scholastic Ability Test is expected to fall below 40% for the first time, and the preference for science tracks becomes stronger as you go down to elementary and middle school levels,” adding, “Since the imbalance between liberal arts and science tracks may worsen, policies for outstanding liberal arts students are necessary.”
Meanwhile, the most preferred majors among parents for the liberal arts track were media-related majors such as broadcasting and journalism (35.2%), followed by business administration (26.5%) and social sciences (19.1%).
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