"Even Securities Executives Come"…After Work, 'Medical School Night Special Class' Crowded

"Due to Increased Life Expectancy, Greater Anxiety About Old Age"

As the government plans to increase medical school admissions by 2,000 students starting from the 2025 academic year, the number of working professionals flocking to cram schools with dreams of entering medical school is rising.

According to the admissions industry on the 10th, since the government announced the plan to increase medical school admissions by 2,000 last month, registrations of working professionals preparing for medical school after work hours at cram schools have continued.

On the afternoon of the 13th of last month, a student at Megastudy Academy in Seocho-gu, Seoul, is looking at the '2025 Admission Schedule' while waiting for the 'Analysis Briefing on the Impact of Medical School Expansion on Admissions.'
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Megastudy Education has decided to open a special night class called 'Suneung ALL in Class' for working professionals preparing for medical school on the 18th at the Seocho Medical Science Specialized Center. The tuition fee is 700,000 KRW per month, and the class will initially start with 20 students.

Classes will be held on weekdays from 7 PM to 10 PM, and weekends will be self-study sessions. The cram school stated that even though they mention "it may be difficult to prepare for the entrance exam within a year," working professionals do not easily turn back.

This is the first time that a special night class for medical school has been opened exclusively for working professionals in the cram school industry.

Among the working professionals knocking on the door of the medical school night special class, many are mid-30s managers and assistant managers from large corporations. In particular, there is significant interest from graduates of top universities such as Seoul National University, Yonsei University, Korea University, and KAIST in science and engineering fields.

An admissions industry official said, "Executives in their 50s from financial companies who are not far from retirement and businessmen in their 50s also inquire about medical school admissions," adding, "There was even a senior government official in his late 40s working at a government ministry."

Admissions consultants advised that even if one had good scores on the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) in the past, it might be difficult to succeed in medical school admissions within a short period.

One admissions consultant said, "This is not an exam that someone who has taken a long break from studying can pass just by vaguely studying," and added, "Even if the medical school acceptance cutoff lowers, it will be very minimal, and it is clear that you must be within the top tier to pass."

The enthusiasm for taking the CSAT, not only by repeat test takers but also by working professionals aiming for medical school admissions, is expected to continue at least until the 2027 academic year. It is predicted that once a new college admission system is applied from 2028, factors such as school records and university-specific teachers will become more important, reducing the number of people aiming for a 'one-shot' CSAT success.

According to the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, as of the 4th, 40 universities nationwide with medical schools have applied for a total increase of 3,401 medical school admissions for the 2025 academic year.

However, due to ongoing opposition from professors concerned about the decline in the quality of medical education, medical students' collective leave of absence, and mass resignation of residents, there are expected to be many difficulties until the final increase is confirmed.

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