All Top Students with 1.0 GPA Choose Medical and Pharmaceutical Fields in Early Admissions
Strong Preference for Medical Schools Persists Up to 1.5 GPA
In the 2025 university admissions early decision process, it was found that virtually all top-tier students with a perfect 1.0 GPA chose to enter medical and pharmaceutical fields.
According to data released by Jongno Academy on August 17, out of approximately 6,700 science and engineering departments at 176 universities nationwide, only six departments had a minimum admission cutoff of 1.0 GPA, and all of them belonged to medical and pharmaceutical fields, such as medical schools, pharmacy schools, and colleges of Korean medicine.
Parents and students attending the '2026 Early and Regular Admission University Selection Strategy Special Seminar' held at Jongno Academy in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the 27th. Photo by Yonhap News
The departments were as follows: Catholic University Regional Balanced Medical Science, Kyung Hee University Regional Balanced Medical Science, Konyang University General Student (Interview) Medicine, Soonchunhyang University Academic Excellence Medical Science, Daejeon University Hyehwa Talent Korean Medical Science, and Duksung Women’s University 100% Student Record Pharmacy. Among the total 79 enrolled students in these departments, 49 (62%) entered medical schools, 25 (31.6%) entered pharmacy schools, and 5 (6.3%) entered colleges of Korean medicine.
Even when the GPA range is expanded to 1.1, the preference for medical and pharmaceutical fields remains prominent. There were 22 departments with a 1.1 GPA cutoff, and 95.2% of them were in the medical and pharmaceutical fields. Only 4.8% were general science and engineering departments. When the cutoff is lowered to 1.2, the proportion of medical and pharmaceutical fields is 87%, and at 1.3, it decreases to 66.3%, but still accounts for the majority.
Jongno Academy commented, "It can be said that almost all top-tier students with a 1.0 GPA chose to pursue medical and pharmaceutical fields," and analyzed that "the rate of entry into general science and engineering departments among students with up to a 1.1 GPA is only 3 to 4%."
They also noted, "With the increase in medical school admissions this academic year, the tendency for students with GPAs of 1.4 to 1.5 to prefer medical fields has grown," and predicted, "Even in the 2026 academic year, when admission quotas are expected to be reduced, the concentration of students into the so-called 'medical, dental, Korean medicine, and pharmacy' fields will continue."
Among general science and engineering departments, the highest admission cutoff was recorded by Seoul National University's Department of Mathematics Education and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (both regional balanced admissions), with a cutoff of 1.1 GPA. In the humanities, Kyung Hee University's Department of Korean Medical Science (Humanities) had the highest cutoff at 1.04 GPA.
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