Clear Preference for Seoul National University and Medical Schools
Increasing Dependence on Private Education
It has been found that graduates of science gifted high schools are more likely to enter comprehensive universities (such as Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University) than science and technology-focused universities (such as KAIST and POSTECH). In particular, there is a growing preference for Seoul National University and medical schools, and it has been analyzed that reliance on private education remains high even after admission.
Many parents are attending the 'Special High School and College Admission Briefing for Gifted Schools, Science High Schools, Autonomous Private High Schools, Foreign Language High Schools, International High Schools, and General High Schools' held on the 31st at Jinsun Girls' High School Hoedang Memorial Hall in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@
On June 28, Mina Lee and Heehyun Lee, researchers at the Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI), presented these findings in their research titled "The Current Status and Issues of Gifted Education as Seen Through Graduates of Science Gifted High Schools" at the annual conference of the Korean Educational Research Association held at Seoul National University of Education.
They analyzed employment statistics for 2,091 graduates from eight science gifted high schools between 2019 and 2022, and found that the rate of advancement to comprehensive universities averaged 60.0%, which was higher than the 40.0% advancement rate to science and technology-focused universities.
Among approximately 800 students who entered science gifted high schools in the 2017 academic year, the university with the highest enrollment was Seoul National University, accounting for 28.1%. This was followed by KAIST (20.8%), Yonsei University (11.0%), and Korea University (10.0%). UNIST (4.3%) and POSTECH (4.1%) had relatively lower enrollment rates.
A notable trend was the shift toward medical and pharmaceutical fields. Among students who entered science gifted high schools in the 2017 academic year, the proportion advancing to medical and pharmaceutical programs increased from 6.4% in the 2020 academic year to 11.2% in the 2021 academic year, a rise of 4.8 percentage points in just one year.
Reliance on private education is also increasing. The participation rate in private education among first-year high school students rose from 73.1% for those who entered in the 2017 academic year to 89.0% for those who entered in the 2022 academic year. Notably, 78.9% of students cited "improving school grades" as their main reason for participating in private education, while only 3.04% cited "exploring areas of interest."
However, the proportion of students relying on private education tended to decrease as they advanced to higher grades. The researchers emphasized, "The reality is that reliance on private education does not decrease due to ongoing competition for grades and the pressure of university admissions even after entering science gifted high schools," and added, "There is a need for policy discussions regarding the gap between the goal of autonomous, inquiry-based education and the current reality."
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