Decrease in Number of High School Seniors Affects Early Admission Competition Rates... Increase at Seoul National University, Decrease at Korea University and Yonsei University

2023 Admission Competition Rates for Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University
Seoul National University Slightly Up to 6.86:1, Down 14%
Yonsei University at 14.09:1, Korea University at 12.69:1
Increased Enrollment in Advanced Contract Departments Lowers Competition Rates

2023 Academic Year Early Admission Competition Rates for Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University (Source: Jongro Academy)

The decrease in the number of high school seniors affected the competition rates for early admissions at Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University. Only Seoul National University, which reduced its early admission quota by 14%, saw a slight increase, while both Yonsei University and Korea University experienced a decline in competition rates.

According to the admissions industry on the 16th, the early admission application results for the 2023 academic year showed that Seoul National University had a competition rate of 6.86 to 1, slightly up from 6.25 to 1 the previous year. Korea University’s rate decreased slightly to 14.09 to 1 from 14.66 to 1 last year, and Yonsei University’s competition rate dropped to 12.69 to 1 from 14.64 to 1 the previous year.

Seoul National University reduced its early admission quota by 337 students (14.1%) compared to last year, which caused a slight increase in competition rate. However, despite a slight increase in early admission quotas at Yonsei University and Korea University, the number of applicants decreased, leading to lower competition rates. This year, the number of high school seniors is 431,118, which is 15,455 (3.5%) fewer than last year’s 446,573.

2023 Academic Year Early Admission Major Screening Competition Rates for Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University (Source=Uway)

Competition rates for contract departments in advanced fields such as semiconductors also generally decreased. This is due to a significant increase in the number of recruits compared to last year, along with the addition of newly established contract departments. The competition rate for Korea University’s Semiconductor Engineering academic excellence track dropped significantly to 10.5 to 1 from 16.7 to 1 last year, and Yonsei University’s System Semiconductor Engineering also lowered its admission threshold to 8.3 to 1 from 13.63 to 1 the previous year.

The newly established contract departments this year, Korea University’s Next-Generation Communication Department and Smart Mobility Division, recorded mid-to-lower tier competition rates. They closed at 15.33 to 1 and 12.67 to 1 for the academic excellence track, and 13.22 to 1 and 10.13 to 1 for the suitability track, respectively. Yonsei University’s Display Convergence Engineering department had a competition rate of 5.55 to 1.

Competition rates in the medical and pharmaceutical fields also declined compared to the previous year. Seoul National University’s regional balance track competition rate fell to 5.33 to 1 (from 6 to 1 last year), but the general track competition rate slightly increased to 14.58 to 1 (from 11.74 to 1 last year). Korea University’s school recommendation track was 21.6 to 1, academic excellence track 26.56 to 1, and suitability track 24.47 to 1, all lower than last year’s 22.8 to 1, 29.89 to 1, and 24.73 to 1, respectively. Yonsei University’s Pharmacy Department saw a sharp decrease in applicants for the essay track from 147.2 to 1 last year to 99.8 to 1, and the activity excellence track competition rate also dropped from 18.67 to 1 to 12.17 to 1. This was influenced by the dispersion of applicants, who were able to strategize based on last year’s admissions results.

Universities accepting early admission applications until the 16th include Konkuk University, Kyung Hee University, Kongju National University of Education, Sogang University, Seoul National University of Education, University of Seoul, Sungkyunkwan University, Sungshin Women’s University, Sookmyung Women’s University, Chung-Ang University, Jinju National University of Education, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Hanyang University (Seoul), and KAIST. The remaining universities, such as Catholic University, accept applications until the 17th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.