Medical School Over Large Corporations... Semiconductor Contract Department Enrollment Dropout Rate 179%

"The Scale of Withdrawals May Increase Even More This Year"

It has been revealed that 179% of the quota for last year's regular admissions to semiconductor contract departments, which guarantee employment at large corporations, were forfeited. It is estimated that the admitted students shifted to higher-tier fields such as medical schools.

According to Jongro Academy on the 10th, 138 students who were admitted to the semiconductor contract departments affiliated with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix at Yonsei University, Korea University, Sungkyunkwan University, Sogang University, and Hanyang University last year did not enroll. This means that approximately 79% of all initially admitted students and additional admitted students on average forfeited their enrollment.

On the morning of the 23rd, when the 2021 College Scholastic Ability Test score reports were distributed, examinees entered the auditorium to receive their score reports at Ewha Girls' High School in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Joint Press Corps

At Korea University, Hanyang University, and Sogang University, where SK Hynix semiconductor contract departments are located, the enrollment forfeiture rate compared to the regular admission quota reached 200%. In particular, Hanyang University's Department of Semiconductor Engineering had a quota of 10 students, but 36 students forfeited enrollment. At Yonsei University and Sungkyunkwan University, which have Samsung Electronics semiconductor contract departments, 78 students forfeited enrollment out of a total regular admission quota of 47. Yonsei University's Department of System Semiconductor Engineering had an enrollment forfeiture rate of 260% compared to the regular admission quota, which was higher than Sungkyunkwan University's 59.1%.

It is estimated that a significant number of these students who forfeited enrollment shifted due to overlapping admissions to 'medical' fields such as medicine and pharmacy, as well as to top-tier science and engineering departments at Seoul National University. With the increase in medical school quotas, the scale of forfeiture from semiconductor contract departments may grow even larger.

For the 2025 academic year admissions, with enrollment starting this March, the competition rate for regular admissions to semiconductor contract departments is 9.79 to 1 for SK Hynix contract departments and 5.86 to 1 for Samsung Electronics contract departments. The highest competition rate is at Hanyang University's Department of Semiconductor Engineering (13.89 to 1). The first round of registration for initially admitted students in regular admissions will proceed until the 12th, and additional admitted students will be announced from the 13th to the 19th.

Lim Seong-ho, CEO of Jongro Academy, said, "In the 2025 academic year, especially with the expansion of medical school quotas, the economic conditions of related companies could also have a very sensitive impact," adding, "In cases of overlapping admissions between medical/pharmacy fields and large corporation contract departments, the preference for medical/pharmacy fields may increase."