Seoul National, Korea, and Sungkyunkwan Top the List
Korea University Most Popular Among Autonomous Private High School Students,
Seoul National University Preferred by Science High School Students
In the 2025 university admissions, the universities with the highest number of students from gifted schools, specialized high schools, and autonomous private high schools were Seoul National University, Korea University, and Sungkyunkwan University, in that order.
This year, the universities with the highest number of successful applicants from gifted schools, specialized high schools, and autonomous private high schools were Seoul National University, Korea University, and Sungkyunkwan University, in that order. Jongro Academy
On August 24, Jongno Academy announced these findings after analyzing the number of successful applicants from 97 gifted schools, specialized high schools, and autonomous private high schools across the country who entered 222 universities this year. The analysis covered 8 gifted schools, 20 science high schools, 28 foreign language high schools, 8 international high schools, and 33 autonomous private high schools.
This year, Seoul National University admitted the largest number of students from gifted, specialized, and autonomous private high schools, with a total of 1,372 students. This was followed by Korea University with 1,124 students and Sungkyunkwan University with 1,081 students. The next most popular choices were Yonsei University (989 students), Hanyang University (836 students), Kyung Hee University (713 students), Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (710 students), Chung-Ang University (685 students), KAIST (610 students), and Sogang University (600 students). In total, 8,720 students from these high schools entered the top 10 universities, which is 306 fewer than last year (9,026 students).
Among universities located outside the Seoul metropolitan area, Pusan National University had the highest number of such students with 269, followed by Kyungpook National University with 267, Chungnam National University with 181, Korea University Sejong Campus with 172, and Dankook University Cheonan Campus with 170.
By high school type, the largest number of students from foreign language and international high schools entered Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (499 students). The largest number of students from autonomous private high schools entered Korea University (647 students), and the largest number of students from gifted and science high schools entered Seoul National University (554 students). Other major universities for students from science and gifted high schools included KAIST (548 students), Sungkyunkwan University (224 students), POSTECH (173 students), and Yonsei University (163 students).
Im Seongho, CEO of Jongno Academy, analyzed that "students from gifted, specialized, and autonomous private high schools tend to focus on medical schools and advanced departments related to semiconductors, such as contract-based programs with large corporations." He further advised, "Students from these high schools should thoroughly analyze detailed data such as the number of successful applicants by university and high school type before strategically applying for early admissions."
In particular, CEO Im added, "It can be risky for students with a GPA below the 3rd or 4th grade to attempt overly ambitious applications."
The application period for the 2026 early admissions will run from September 8 to September 12.
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