"I’m Going to Medical School?"... 1 in 10 Students Who Passed Seoul National University Do Not Enroll

Top in Natural Sciences Early Admission Registration Withdrawal
Zero Registration Withdrawal at Seoul National University College of Medicine

This year, the number of students who gave up their admission registration after being accepted to the so-called SKY universities?Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University?exceeded half of the recruitment quota. A total of 3,923 students were accepted to SKY universities but did not register.

On the 29th, Jongno Academy analyzed the additional admission results for the 2024 academic year for Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University, which ended the previous afternoon, and found that 3,923 students, equivalent to 56.6% of the recruitment quota, gave up their registration.

On the 14th, a parent attending the '2024 Academic Year Regular Admission Strategy Briefing' held at Jamsil Student Gymnasium in Seoul is taking notes on the regular admission strategy analysis chart. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

Seoul National University re-admitted 228 students in this early admission round. This means that 10.5% of the 2,181 early admission recruits gave up their registration. Yonsei University re-admitted 1,390 students, which is 64.6% of its early admission quota of 2,153, while Korea University had to re-admit 2,305 students, accounting for 88.9% of its quota of 2,593.

Seoul National University conducted two rounds of additional admissions, while Korea University and Yonsei University each conducted four rounds through their websites, but even among students who received additional acceptance notifications, some gave up their registration.

By academic division, 2,318 students (63.1% of the quota) were from the natural sciences, and 1,584 students (52.6% of the quota) were from the humanities and social sciences.

The departments with the largest scale of additional admissions relative to their recruitment quotas were all from the natural sciences. Among these, some departments had all initially accepted students fail to register, requiring the full recruitment quota to be filled through additional admissions.

The industry views this phenomenon as a result of the concentration on medical schools. Lim Seong-ho, CEO of Jongno Academy, analyzed, "The increase in non-registration at Seoul National University, especially in the natural sciences, can be interpreted as an increase in top-tier admitted students moving to medical schools."

Regarding medical schools, Seoul National University had no students who gave up registration, Yonsei University had 24 students (40%), and Korea University had 70 students (112.9%).

Concentration on Medical Schools Evident in Early Admission Competition Rates... Increasing Dropouts and Leaves of Absence

Students in the 3rd grade at Gyeongbok High School are checking their grades. Photo by Joint Press Corps

The concentration on medical schools was also evident in the competition rates for early admission applications. In the early admission held last September, the average competition rate for Seoul National University’s College of Medicine (excluding special admissions) was 12.30 to 1, higher than last year’s 10.49 to 1. By admission type, the general admission, which recruits 50 students, had 782 applicants, increasing the competition rate from last year’s 14.58 to 1 to 15.64 to 1. The regional balanced selection admission, recruiting 39 students, had 313 applicants, rising from last year’s 5.33 to 1 to 8.03 to 1.

Korea University College of Medicine’s competition rate (excluding special admissions) also rose to 27.0 to 1 from last year’s 24.3 to 1. The school recommendation admission competition rate (23.44 to 1) surpassed last year’s 21.60 to 1, and the general admission showed an upward trend compared to the previous year in both the academic excellence type (30.28 to 1) and the field suitability type (24.93 to 1).

The number of students who enroll at Seoul National University but choose to drop out aiming to enter medical school has also increased. According to data received by Rep. Jeong Kyung-hee of the People Power Party from Seoul National University in October, as of September 15 this year, there were 418 students on leave of absence among new students, about 2.5 times the 168 students in 2019. The number of dropouts among new students also increased 2.5 times, from 83 in 2019 to 204 last year.