The Top Scoring Medical Student in Gyeongbuk with 398 Points on the CSAT, Revealed

Medical Students in Gyeongbuk Region Challenge Major Medical Schools

This year’s preliminary scoring results of the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) revealed that an active medical student from the Gyeongbuk region achieved the highest score. Previously, there were predictions that many active medical students who took a leave of absence in protest of the increase in medical school quotas would participate in the CSAT to transfer to top-tier medical schools, and this upward support by medical students is now being seen as a reality.

News1, citing the education sector, reported that a student referred to as A, who scored a total of 398 points out of 400 on the raw scores of Korean, Math, English, and Inquiry subjects in this year’s CSAT, is estimated to have received the highest score in the Gyeongbuk region. According to the preliminary scoring results, A only missed one question in the Earth Science section of the Science Inquiry area and achieved perfect scores in all other areas.

On the afternoon of October 30, a doctor's coat was left in a lecture room at a medical school in Daegu. The Ministry of Education announced the day before that the approval of medical students' leave of absence would be left to the autonomy of the universities. Yonhap News

After the CSAT, most schools and academies collect students’ preliminary scores, during which information about high scorers is shared among institutions. The preliminary scores may change when the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation officially notifies scores on the 6th of next month.

It is reported that A graduated from Gyeongju High School in 2022 and is currently enrolled in a medical school in the Gyeongbuk region. He has been preparing for the CSAT to challenge so-called “major medical schools.”

Earlier, as the group leave of absence period for medical students lengthened, there were predictions that active medical students on leave would retake the CSAT aiming for higher-ranking universities than those they were enrolled in. This is because the medical school quota for the 2025 academic year increased by 1,497 students, widening the gateway, and the leave of absence gave them time to prepare for the CSAT. It was found that among 19,374 enrolled students in 40 medical schools nationwide in the second semester of this year, only 548 students (2.8%) actually attended.

According to Jongno Academy, the top 10 high schools for medical school admissions last year (based on Jongno Academy’s analysis) are Sangsan High School, Huimun High School, Sehwa High School, Jungdong High School, Sookmyung Girls’ High School, Gangseo High School, Dandae High School, Hyundai Cheongun High School, Kyungshin High School (Daegu), and Jungsan High School.

Medical School Entrance Academy Signboard. Yonhap News

In this context, some examinees and parents voiced complaints. They believe that the entrance to top-tier medical schools has become narrower because highly skilled repeat test-takers have joined the competition. On communities frequently used by examinees, posts appeared saying, “Medical students retaking the test is like killing all the active students” and “Active students feel heartbroken.”

Admissions experts predicted that although there have been cases before where students dissatisfied with regional medical schools retook the test to enter higher-ranking medical schools, this trend is likely more pronounced this year due to the large number of medical students on leave.