337 SKY Early Admission Successful Candidates Withdraw Registration... 8 from Korea University College of Medicine

60% of Students in Yonsei Convergence Humanities and Social Sciences Department Withdraw Registration
"Many Departments with Unfilled Seats Even at Top Universities"
Korea University Medical School Has 8 Unfilled Early Admission Spots... Seoul and Yonsei Medical Schools Have None

As the regular admissions for the 2024 academic year begin on the 3rd, it has been found that the so-called 'SKY' universities?Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University?failed to fill 337 spots during the early admissions and thus transferred these to the regular admissions. Notably, Korea University was unable to fill 8 spots even in its medical school. This is analyzed as a consequence of increased applications to medical schools, leading to more overlapping acceptances.

Families of examinees visiting the '2024 CSAT Results and Regular Admission Score Prediction Briefing' held on December 17, 2023, at Daeyang Hall, Sejong University, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Asia Economy DB]

On the 2nd, Jongno Academy announced that 337 unfilled spots occurred in the early admissions for Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University based on the general admission quotas within the enrollment capacity, and these spots were carried over to the regular admissions. This number is 19 more than last year's 318.

Looking at each school, Seoul National University failed to fill 48 spots (2.2%), which is 15 more than the previous year (33). The department with the highest number of carryover spots was the Department of Applied Biological Chemistry with 5 spots (20.8%), followed by the Department of Clothing and Textiles and the College of Nursing with 4 spots each, and the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Advanced Convergence with 3 spots each. Even in highly preferred departments among top-tier students, such as Dentistry and Pharmacy, 2 and 1 spots respectively were carried over.

Korea University had 92 carryover spots, which is 55 fewer than the previous year's 147, unlike Seoul National University and Yonsei University. However, Korea University was the only one among the three schools to have vacancies in its top-tier department, the College of Medicine, with 8 spots (12.9%) unfilled. Accordingly, Korea University's College of Medicine plans to select 52 students in the regular admissions, which is an 18.2% increase from the originally planned 44 spots. This is considered unusual compared to last year when none of the 12 medical schools in Seoul and the metropolitan area had carryover spots from early admissions. The department with the most carryover spots at Korea University was the Department of Computer Science with 20 spots (27.8%) in the natural sciences, and the Department of Korean Language Education with 3 spots (12.5%) in the humanities.

Yonsei University carried over 197 spots (9.2%), which is 59 more than the previous year's 138. In the humanities, the Division of Convergence Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) had the highest number of unfilled spots, failing to fill 82 spots, which is 59.9% of its quota. In the natural sciences, the Division of Integrated Science and Engineering (ISE) had the most with 28 spots (39.4%), followed by the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering with 15 spots (15.5%) and the Department of Computer Science with 10 spots (28.6%).

Lim Seong-ho, CEO of Jongno Academy, analyzed, "Even in the top-tier universities' early admissions, there is a stronger concentration phenomenon toward popular departments and top medical schools. This year’s early admissions at Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University showed an unusual situation where many departments failed to fill their quotas."

He added, "Since more than half of the total early admission quotas in some departments remain unfilled, it may be difficult for applicants to devise application strategies based solely on predicted admission scores or the admission results published by each university."

Increasing Competition Rates for Medical Schools Every Year... Some Students Choose to Drop Out to Aim for Medical School Admission

Photo by Asia Economy DB

Meanwhile, in the early admissions held in September, the average competition rate for Seoul National University’s College of Medicine (excluding special admissions) was 12.30 to 1, higher than last year’s 10.49 to 1. By admission type, the general admission, which recruits 50 students, had 782 applicants, increasing the competition rate from last year’s 14.58 to 1 to 15.64 to 1. The regional balanced selection, which recruits 39 students, had 313 applicants, rising from last year’s 5.33 to 1 to 8.03 to 1.

Korea University’s College of Medicine competition rate (excluding special admissions) also rose to 27.0 to 1 from last year’s 24.3 to 1. The school recommendation admission competition rate (23.44 to 1) surpassed last year’s 21.60 to 1, and the general admission showed an upward trend in both the academic excellence track (30.28 to 1) and the suitability track (24.93 to 1) compared to the previous year.

Among the early admissions for 39 medical schools nationwide, the highest competition rate was recorded in Inha University’s College of Medicine’s Essay Excellence track. With 8 spots available, a total of 5,286 applicants applied, resulting in a competition rate of 660.75 to 1. Inha University’s Essay Excellence track for the College of Medicine set a record high last year with a competition rate of 648 to 1, which it has surpassed again this year. The second highest competition rate was the Essay Excellence track of Sungkyunkwan University’s College of Medicine at 631.6 to 1, followed by Ajou University’s College of Medicine’s Essay Excellence track at 398.2 to 1.

The number of students who enroll at Seoul National University but choose to drop out aiming to enter medical school has also increased. According to data received by Rep. Jeong Gyeong-hee of the People Power Party from Seoul National University, as of September 15 this year, there were 418 students on leave of absence among new students, about 2.5 times the 168 in 2019. The number of dropouts among new students also increased 2.5 times from 83 in 2019 to 204 last year.

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