"Accepted to Yonsei, Korea, and Catholic Medical Schools, But Not Enrolling"...Why Did Half of Early Admits Decline to Register?

Impact of Multiple Admissions to Other Medical Schools
Seoul National University Records Zero Additional Admits for Fifth Consecutive Year

It has been revealed that nearly half of the students who were accepted to the medical schools at Yonsei University, Korea University, and The Catholic University of Korea through the early admission process chose not to enroll. This is attributed to a significant decrease in the number of medical school applicants compared to the previous year, which led to a sharp increase in multiple admissions. During the same period, there were no unregistered students among the first-round early admission admits at Seoul National University’s medical school.

Students at a high school in Seoul are consulting with their homeroom teacher while reviewing their report cards and college admission reference sheets. Photo by The Asia Business Daily

On December 22, Jongro Academy announced that, based on an analysis of eight medical schools nationwide that released their 2026 academic year additional early admission results, 90 out of a total of 186 early admission slots at the pre-medical programs of Yonsei, Korea, and The Catholic University of Korea were filled by additional admits (48.4%).

This means that 90 students who were initially accepted through early admission declined to enroll, resulting in additional admissions. This is an increase of six students (7.1%) compared to the previous year and marks the highest number since the introduction of the integrated College Scholastic Ability Test in the 2022 academic year.

By university, Korea University had the highest additional admission rate among the three schools at 58.2%, up slightly from 55.2% the previous year. Yonsei University recorded 44.4%, and The Catholic University of Korea 41.1%. Both universities also saw an increase compared to last year’s rates of 41.3% and 37.5%, respectively. Seoul National University continued its five-year streak with zero additional admissions, as all initial early admission admits enrolled again this year.

In contrast, at three regional medical schools, the additional admission rate due to non-enrollment fell from 35.7% to 26.8%. Notably, Pusan National University, which had an additional admission rate of 42.3% last year, saw it drop to 27.1% this year. Yonsei University’s Mirae Campus saw a slight increase from 21.7% to 25.0%, while Jeju National University’s rate fell from 48.6% to 31.8%.

Lim Seongho, CEO of Jongro Academy, explained, “The decrease in the non-enrollment rate at regional medical schools is due to a reduction in the number of available spots and a decrease in regional talent selection, which has narrowed the entry path for top students.” He added, “Conversely, the higher non-enrollment rate at major Seoul-based medical schools appears to be because more students received multiple acceptances to different medical schools, while the number of regional students applying to Seoul-based schools decreased.”