Medical School Early Admission Grades Drop Compared to Last Year... "Impact of Increased Quotas"

This year, it was found that the academic records (school grades) of freshmen admitted to medical schools through the rolling admission process were lower than those of the previous year. As this is considered a temporary phenomenon caused by the increase of 2,000 seats in medical school enrollment, the admissions industry advises that applicants should be cautious when applying to medical schools in next year's admissions, when the enrollment quota will return to previous levels.

Yonhap News

Jongro Academy announced on August 9 that, according to its analysis of the academic records of successful rolling admission applicants to 39 medical schools for the 2025 academic year, the proportion of admitted students with grades between 1.0 and 1.3 was 45.9%.

This represents a decrease of 20.4 percentage points compared to the previous year's 66.3%. This means that the proportion of students with top academic records among successful medical school applicants has declined.

The number of students admitted to medical schools through rolling admissions with comparatively lower academic records increased significantly compared to the previous year.

This year, the total number of admitted students whose grades fell outside the 1.6 range was 543, which is more than three times the previous year's 159. The number of admitted students with grades of 2.0 or lower also increased from just 72 nationwide last year to 123 this year.

The minimum grade required for rolling admission also dropped from 3.47 last year to 4.65 this year.

However, since the number of students to be admitted to medical schools next year will be reduced to 3,058, which is the pre-expansion level, it is advised not to base rolling admission strategies solely on this year's results.

Lim Sung-ho, CEO of Jongro Academy, stated, "For the 2025 academic year, the increase in medical school enrollment allowed students with grades in the upper 1.0 range to those outside the 2.0 range to participate in rolling admissions. However, as the quota will be reduced next year, the admission rate for students with grades within the 1.4 range will rise, while the admission rate for those outside the 1.6 range will decline."

He added, "Students from general high schools with grades in the upper 1.0 to 2.0 range should be extremely cautious when applying to medical schools. Students from special-purpose or autonomous private high schools with grades outside the 2.0 range should also be careful."

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