"Accepted to Seoul National University, But Not Going"... Where Did the 188 Who Declined Registration Go?

Increase in Unregistered Students in Humanities Due to Overlapping Admissions with Korean Medicine Programs
Natural Sciences See 10% Drop in Unregistered Students Following Reduction in Medical School Quotas

In the early admission process for Seoul National University for the 2026 academic year, 188 students who were accepted ultimately declined to enroll. While the number of students who did not register in the natural sciences decreased due to a reduction in medical school admissions quotas, the number of unregistered students in the humanities increased slightly, reflecting a growing preference for professional careers.

According to Jongro Academy on December 23, the number of additional students admitted from the waitlist for Seoul National University's 2026 early admissions totaled 188: 157 in the natural sciences, 29 in the humanities, and 2 in the arts and physical education. This represents a decrease of 16 students (7.8%) compared to last year’s 204.

By academic track, the number of unregistered students in the natural sciences dropped from 175 last year to 157 this year, a decrease of 18 students (10.3%). In contrast, the number in the humanities increased by 1 student (3.6%), from 28 to 29.

The decrease in unregistered students in the natural sciences is attributed to a reduction in overlapping admissions to medical schools, following the cut in medical school quotas. By department, the Department of Advanced Convergence Studies had the highest number of unregistered students at 29, followed by the College of Pharmacy (13), the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (11 each), the Department of Food and Animal Biotechnology (8), and the Department of Forest Sciences and the Department of Applied Biological Chemistry (7 each).

Lim Seongho, CEO of Jongro Academy, stated, "The decrease in unregistered students in the natural sciences at Seoul National University could be cautiously interpreted as a slight decline in students' preference for medical schools. It is also possible that more students applied to natural science departments at Seoul National University rather than to medical schools during the early application stage." He added, "However, it is difficult to draw definitive conclusions based solely on the situation at Seoul National University, and we need to monitor the regular admissions and additional acceptance rounds as well."

On the other hand, in the humanities, the number of unregistered students increased mainly in the top-tier departments. In the Department of Liberal Studies, 7 students declined to enroll, more than doubling from 3 last year. The Department of Economics and the College of Business Administration also saw 5 and 3 students, respectively, forgo enrollment. Last year, only 1 student in each of these departments declined to enroll.

Lim explained, "Most of the students who declined enrollment in the Department of Liberal Studies, the Department of Economics, and the College of Business Administration are believed to have also been accepted to programs such as Kyung Hee University's College of Korean Medicine, and chose to enroll there instead. This appears to reflect the realities of a preference for professional careers and concerns about the difficult job market."