Top Medical Schools Reattempt... Expected 300+ Students Due to Quota Expansion and Leave of Absence
Last year, 201 students dropped out, failed to register, or did not return to school midway through their studies at medical schools nationwide. Although non-metropolitan areas accounted for 74%, the number increased more in Seoul and the metropolitan area.
On the 8th, Jongno Academy analyzed the dropout data from 39 medical schools nationwide disclosed on the University Alimi website and found that 201 students quit last year. This is a 12.3% increase from 179 dropouts nationwide the previous year. Non-metropolitan areas accounted for 148 students (73.6%), and the metropolitan area accounted for 53 students (26.4%).
By region, 41 students dropped out from 9 universities in the Seoul area (31 the previous year), 12 students from 3 universities in the Gyeongin area (9 the previous year), totaling 53 students in the metropolitan area (40 the previous year). Sungkyunkwan University was classified as Seoul according to the Korea Council for University Education disclosure standards.
Dropouts by region were as follows: Honam area 41 students from 4 universities, Chungcheong 32 students from 7 universities, Busan·Ulsan·Gyeongnam 31 students from 6 universities, Gangwon area 27 students from 4 universities, Daegu·Gyeongbuk area 13 students from 5 universities, and Jeju area 4 students from 1 university.
The average number of dropouts per school by region was highest in Honam with 10.3 students, followed by Gangwon with 6.8, Busan·Ulsan·Gyeongnam with 5.2, Seoul area with 4.6, and Chungcheong area with 4.6. Daegu·Gyeongbuk had the lowest average with 2.6 students. The metropolitan area had an average of 4.4 dropouts per school, while non-metropolitan areas had 5.5.
The university with the highest number of dropouts was Chungnam National University with 16 students. This was followed by Hanyang University with 14, Yonsei University Mirae Campus, Gyeongsang National University, Chosun University, and Wonkwang University each with 11, Jeonbuk National University with 10, Chonnam National University with 9, and Inha University with 8.
The only university nationwide with no dropouts was Eulji University. Seoul National University, Yonsei University, Dongguk University (WISE), and Konkuk University (Glocal) each had 1 dropout, while Sungkyunkwan University, Kyung Hee University, Ewha Womans University, Yeungnam University, Keimyung University, Inje University, Ajou University, and Gachon University each had 2. Jongno Academy estimated that medical students who dropped out tended to re-enter top-tier medical schools.
Recently, even students enrolled in top-tier medical schools in Seoul and Gyeongin areas have shown a clear trend of reapplying to even higher-ranked medical schools.
With a significant increase in medical school admission quotas and prolonged collective leave of absence by medical students in protest, it is expected that the number of medical school dropouts will increase further this year. The medical school admission quota increased from 3,092 students (including inside and outside the quota) last year to 4,581 this year, an increase of 1,489 students. Non-metropolitan areas increased by 1,187 students (79.7%), and the metropolitan area increased by 302 students (20.3%).
Jongno Academy predicted that the large expansion of medical school admission quotas for the 2025 academic year could lead to a significant trend of students reapplying from one medical school to another. In particular, it is expected that the large increase in admission quotas in non-metropolitan medical schools will inevitably cause a significant number of dropouts in those regions.
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