On the Third Day of Early Admission, Medical School Competition Rate at 11 to 1... Seoul National University and Korea University Application Deadline

Seoul National University and Korea University Early Admission Competition Rates Both Rise

On the 11th, the third day of early application submissions for the 2025 academic year, nearly 11 times the number of applicants compared to the recruitment quota applied to medical school early admissions. The early admission competition rates for Seoul National University and Korea University medical schools, which closed applications on this day, mostly increased compared to last year.

According to Uway, as of 6 p.m. on this day (7 p.m. final deadline for Seoul National University), 32,594 applicants applied to early admissions at 39 medical schools nationwide. Considering that the recruitment quota for these universities is 2,978 students (excluding some social consideration and balanced opportunity admissions), the competition rate is 10.9 to 1.

The 2025 Academic Year Early Admission University Information Fair, held at COEX until the 27th, is bustling with examinees and parents either consulting or waiting in line on the first day, the 25th. Photo by Heo Young-han

This early application submission period is conducted for at least three days between the 9th and 13th, depending on the university. The application periods for Korea University and Seoul National University were from the 9th until this day, when they closed.

Excluding the special admissions for overseas Koreans and foreigners (29 students), the number of students selected through early admissions at 39 medical schools is 3,089. Among 26 non-metropolitan medical schools, 1,549 students are recruited through regional talent admissions. Some schools had competition rates exceeding 100 to 1 even before the application deadline, such as Sungkyunkwan University's essay excellence admission (190.4 to 1) and Inha University's essay excellence admission (104.5 to 1).

The high competition rate in essay admissions for medical school entrance exams is because students strong in mathematics flock to these programs, as they only need to pass the essay evaluation based on math subjects and meet the minimum CSAT score requirements.

Competition Rates for Early Admissions at Seoul National University and Korea University Both Rise

According to Jongno Academy, the early admission competition rates for Seoul National University and Korea University, which closed applications on this day, both increased compared to the previous year. The competition rate for Seoul National University's 2025 early admissions was 9.1 to 1, up from 8.8 to 1 the previous year. The total number of applicants was 19,820, an increase of 541 from 19,279 the previous year.

Korea University saw a larger increase in competition rate than Seoul National University. The competition rate for Korea University's early admissions was 20.5 to 1, a significant rise from 13.0 to 1 the previous year. The total number of applicants was 54,041, which is 20,863 more than the 33,178 applicants the previous year.

By major, Seoul National University's early admission competition rate for humanities was 8.05 to 1, down from 8.42 to 1 the previous year. The natural sciences rate rose to 9.37 to 1 from 8.92 to 1 the previous year. The Interdisciplinary Studies Division, which admits students from both humanities and natural sciences, saw a significant increase from 7.50 to 1 last year to 10.00 to 1 this year. Korea University's humanities competition rate was 19.22 to 1, and natural sciences was 21.49 to 1, both up from 10.61 to 1 and 15.00 to 1 respectively the previous year.

At Seoul National University, the department with the highest competition rate in humanities was the Sociology Department general admission (18.50 to 1), and in natural sciences, the newly established Smart Systems Science Department general admission (19.50 to 1) this year. At Korea University, the highest competition rates were in the essay admission for humanities' Interdisciplinary Studies Division at 91.00 to 1, and for natural sciences, the essay admission for the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at 102.00 to 1.

Seoul National University's medical school had a competition rate of 8.97 to 1 for the comprehensive student record regional balance admission and 16.12 to 1 for the comprehensive student record general admission. All competition rates at Seoul National University increased compared to last year. Korea University's rates closed at 20.5 to 1 for school recommendation, 38.34 to 1 for academic excellence, and 28.6 to 1 for suitability to the field. Korea University's competition rates increased except for school recommendation.