About half of applicants to natural sciences in Seoul National University's regular admissions this year also applied to medical and pharmaceutical programs at other universities. As a result, many in Seoul National University's natural sciences gave up enrollment, but the number of additional seats filled by medical schools was only four nationwide.
According to Jinhak and Jongro Academy on the 19th, an analysis of 3,028 Seoul National University regular-admissions applicants who disclosed their application information found that 4.54% of those who applied to natural sciences said they simultaneously applied to medical and pharmaceutical programs at other universities.
In particular, 64.8% of applicants to Seoul National University's College of Engineering applied to medical and pharmaceutical programs. More than half did so as well in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (60.2%), Department of Mathematical Sciences (55.0%), Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (53.1%), School of Advanced Convergence (52.7%), and School of Biological Sciences (52.2%). The most frequently chosen program was medical school (64.5%), followed by pharmacy school (17.5%) and veterinary school (6.5%).
Amid the preference for medical schools, as many as 180 applicants who were admitted to natural sciences departments at Seoul National University gave up enrollment.
Among 39 medical schools nationwide, the number of additional seats for the 2026 academic year was only four. Additional recruitment is the freshman selection process conducted in late February to early March, after early and regular admissions end, to fill unregistered seats. This year, medical schools nationwide offered 1,043 seats in regular admissions, but only four moved to additional recruitment.
Im Sung-ho, head of Jongro Academy, said, "From nine additional seats at eight universities last year, it fell to four seats at three universities," and noted, "This was largely because many who were admitted to both medical schools and top engineering programs chose medical schools."