[Opinion] The Reality of 'Medical School Concentration' and 'Liberal Arts Invasion'

The results of this year’s college entrance exams are very chaotic. Regional universities failed to fill their quotas, while top-tier universities suffered from an ‘overconcentration on medical schools’ and an ‘invasion by liberal arts students.’

The popularity of teacher training universities for elementary school teachers has also waned. Interest in the ‘semiconductor contract departments,’ expanded under President Yoon Seok-yeol’s special attention, was colder than the government expected. The Ministry of Education is blaming the entrance requirements of science and engineering universities. They say that unless the mandatory subject requirements for science and engineering departments in the CSAT are abolished, they will cut the ‘high school education contribution university support funds.’

The difficulties faced by regional universities and teacher training universities were expected by everyone. This is because the school-age population is rapidly decreasing. The number of CSAT test takers, which once exceeded one million, has dropped below 500,000 in 20 years, and by 2040, it will be halved again.

The total number of CSAT test takers has already surpassed the university admission quotas. As the size of elementary schools shrinks, it has become as difficult as catching stars in the sky to get appointed as a teacher after graduating from a teacher training university. Ultimately, the desire of examinees to enter top-tier universities can only grow more intense.

The overconcentration on medical schools is clearly a serious issue. It is not only high school graduates who are fixated on entering medical schools. Now, the medical school concentration is also burdening the normal operation of universities. The number of students who abandon their studies at regular universities to pursue admission to medical schools is rapidly increasing. The harsh reality is that the top-tier SKY universities produce the most medical school entrants.

The medical school concentration is a regrettable reality created not by college entrance exams but by an unstable social environment. It is true that the social status of doctors is absolutely high, and it is also true that the size of medical schools is far too small to accommodate the demand from examinees. There is no reform that can solve the medical school concentration at once. The only option is for our society to strive for stability as soon as possible.

The ‘invasion by liberal arts students’ is unexpected. The Ministry of Education and the media’s interpretation that it is caused by ‘cross-application’ of high school ‘natural sciences’ graduates to ‘humanities and social sciences’ departments is unconvincing. Natural science students have no reason to enter humanities and social sciences departments, where employment prospects are hopeless. The ‘science and engineering concentration’ in the job market, which prefers natural science graduates from regional universities over humanities graduates from top metropolitan universities, is not a new phenomenon.

It is necessary to specifically verify the true nature of ‘cross-application.’ Both the curriculum and the CSAT are ‘integrated humanities and sciences’ types, where the distinction between humanities and sciences is ambiguous. Of course, the reality in schools differs from the system created by the Ministry of Education. Humanities students are taught ‘Speech and Composition’ and ‘Probability and Statistics,’ while science students are taught ‘Language and Media’ and ‘Calculus/Geometry.’

However, students who chose ‘Calculus’ in the CSAT cannot be simply classified as ‘science students.’ This is because the ‘standard conversion score’ for Calculus in the integrated humanities and sciences CSAT is a fact that examinees absolutely cannot ignore. It is also true that the ‘math specialized classes’ teaching Calculus in the private education market are thriving.

In fact, this year’s CSAT saw an increase of 25,591 students taking Calculus, while the number of students taking Probability and Statistics decreased by 16,797. The claim that the mandatory subject requirements for science and engineering departments in the CSAT are encouraging cross-application is also unconvincing. After the IMF crisis, the real ‘cross-application’ was when genuine humanities students who ‘did not even know the integral symbol’ entered science and engineering departments.

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