SNU Sees 16.3% Increase in Regular Admission Withdrawals Compared to Last Year
Top Students Likely Opting for Medical Schools at Other Universities
It has been revealed that 235 students who were admitted to Seoul National University (SNU) through the 2025 regular admission process gave up their enrollment. This is analyzed as a result of an increase in top-tier students choosing medical schools amid the intensifying 'medical school concentration' in university admissions.
On the 20th, Jongno Academy analyzed official SNU data (based on general admissions) after the announcement of additional admissions for the 2025 regular admission cycle. The number of admitted students who gave up enrollment this year was counted at 235, a 16.3% increase compared to the previous year (202 students).
Among the students who gave up enrollment, 178 were from the natural sciences track and 51 from the humanities track, increasing by 8.5% and 45.7% respectively compared to the previous year.
The admissions industry analyzed that most of the natural sciences students who gave up enrollment at SNU likely went to medical schools at other universities. It is also believed that humanities track admitted students withdrew after cross-applying from natural sciences and being admitted to multiple medical schools at other universities.
The department with the highest number of enrollment withdrawals in SNU's natural sciences track was the College of Nursing (16 students), followed by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (12 students), Department of Computer Science and Engineering (11 students), and Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (10 students).
In the humanities track, the Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences had the most withdrawals (11 students), followed by the Department of Economics (7 students), Humanities (6 students), College of Business Administration (5 students), and College of Liberal Studies (5 students).
At Yonsei University, 690 admitted students gave up enrollment in the regular admission cycle, a slight decrease from 724 the previous year. Among them, 211 were from the humanities track and 474 from the natural sciences track. Particularly, the Department of Business Administration (112 students), Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (93 students), and Department of Advanced Computing (74 students) saw many withdrawals.
The number of students who gave up admission to medical schools was 1 at SNU and 18 at Yonsei University. It is presumed that the student who did not enroll in SNU's medical school chose KAIST, reapplied to SNU College of Medicine as a 24th class student, or opted for foreign universities. However, their exact path has not been confirmed. Yonsei University medical school enrollment withdrawals are estimated to be due to overlapping admissions to SNU medical school, SNU dental school, and SNU pharmacy school.
Lim Seong-ho, CEO of Jongno Academy, said, "The 2026 admission cycle will be considerably difficult to predict as the medical school admission quota has not been finalized," adding, "This could create even more confusion for examinees."
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