"Even Medical Schools in Provinces Are Less Preferred"…Top-tier Students Filling Early Admission Slots: 0 vs. 24 in Provincial Universities

Unfilled Positions at Regional Medical Schools Increase 2.5 Times Year-on-Year
No Unfilled Early Admission Slots at 'Big 5' Medical Schools Including Seoul National University

As the craze for medical school among exam takers continues day by day, it has been revealed that there is a strong concentration toward top-tier medical schools such as Seoul National University among medical schools.

[Photo by Asia Economy DB]

On the 5th, Jongno Academy disclosed the number of unfilled early admission spots for the 2024 academic year at 39 medical schools nationwide. According to the data, a total of 33 spots were unfilled in early admissions at 14 medical schools and were rolled over to regular admissions. Among these, top-tier universities preferred by high-ranking students, such as ▲Seoul National University ▲Yonsei University ▲Sungkyunkwan University ▲Catholic University ▲Ulsan University, did not experience even a single dropout. These schools are linked with the so-called 'Big 5 Hospitals'?▲Seoul National University Hospital ▲Severance Hospital ▲Samsung Seoul Hospital ▲Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital ▲Seoul Asan Hospital?and are considered the top-tier medical schools among medical schools.

On the other hand, regional medical schools had 24 unfilled early admission spots. Even in Seoul, there were 9 unfilled spots, including 8 at Korea University and 1 at Hanyang University, which are expected to be rolled over to regular admissions. The number of unfilled spots at regional universities increased 2.5 times compared to the previous year (13 spots).

Over the past five years, the number of unfilled early admission spots in medical schools has steadily decreased: ▲2019 academic year (213 spots) ▲2020 academic year (162 spots) ▲2021 academic year (157 spots) ▲2022 academic year (63 spots) ▲2023 academic year (13 spots). Jongno Academy estimated that the slight increase in unfilled spots this year compared to last year was due to examinees applying up to six times in early admissions, increasing the number of medical school applications, which caused movement due to overlapping admissions among medical schools.

Specifically, the unfilled spots were found at ▲Korea University (8 spots) ▲Konkuk University (Glocal Campus, 4 spots) ▲Yonsei University (Mirae Campus, 3 spots) ▲Chosun University (2 spots) ▲Pusan National University (2 spots) ▲Chungnam National University (2 spots) ▲Yeungnam University (2 spots) ▲Keimyung University (2 spots) ▲Daegu Catholic University (2 spots) ▲Konyang University (Daejeon Campus, 2 spots) ▲Hanyang University (1 spot) ▲Inje University (1 spot) ▲Catholic Kwandong University (1 spot).

The total number of unfilled early admission spots in medical and pharmaceutical fields at 109 universities nationwide was 97, accounting for 2.5% of the total recruitment. This was a slight increase from the previous year (65 spots, 1.7%). By department, the unfilled rate was lowest in Korean Medicine at 1.7% (8 spots), followed by medical schools (1.8%), veterinary schools (1.9%), pharmacy schools (2.9%), and dental schools (6.0%).

It is also expected that top-tier students will concentrate on medical schools during regular admissions. Jongno Academy CEO Lim Seong-ho stated, "Non-metropolitan medical schools select about 60% of their early admission students through regional talent screening, but this proportion drops to 30% in regular admissions. Therefore, it is expected that a significant number of students from Seoul and other metropolitan areas will apply to non-metropolitan medical schools."

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