The application period for the regular admissions for the 2025 academic year concluded on 3rd. The biggest issue this year regarding college admissions was the increase of 1,509 medical school spots. After maintaining a quota of 3,058 for 19 years, the medical school quota was increased to 4,567 all at once. There are predictions that many top students in the engineering and science fields will move to medical schools, leading to a collapse of engineering education.

In fact, the number of applicants for the regular admissions at the four major science and technology universities, including Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), and Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), significantly decreased. The number of regular admission applicants at these four institutions decreased by 28.2% compared to last year.

The view of the main gate of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). As the regular admission process for the 2025 academic year has closed, reports have emerged on Dec. 7 that the expansion of medical school has started a crisis for the four major science and technology institutes. However, within the science institute, there are cautious voices suggesting that the impact is not as great as expected and that further observation of the trend is needed./Courtesy of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

However, an analysis from within the four major science and technology universities indicates that the impact of the increase in medical school spots was less than expected. A representative from one of the universities noted, "It is premature to say that the significant drop in applicants for the regular admissions means that a crisis in the engineering field has materialized. I believe it is a misunderstanding resulting from a lack of understanding of the unique characteristics of admissions at science and technology universities."

It is true that the number of applicants for the regular admissions at the four major science and technology universities significantly decreased this year. KAIST saw a 38% reduction in applicants compared to last year, while GIST experienced a decrease of 25.2%, UNIST saw a 23% decrease, and DGIST had a decrease of 22.7%.

However, the regular admissions quota for the science and technology universities is just 15 for each institution, totaling only 60 across all four. Considering that the overall quota for the four major universities is about 1,600, the regular admissions proportion barely reaches 4%. In the regular admissions, Seoul National University recruited 1,321 students, Yonsei University recruited 1,493, and Korea University recruited 1,210, showing that the situation is different between comprehensive universities and science and technology institutions.

The significant drop in the application rate for regular admissions at the science and technology universities is also attributed to the low number of seats available. With such a small pool, even a slight decrease in the number of applicants appears as a larger percentage drop. When including applicants from the regular admissions, which account for most of the science and technology university quotas, the popularity of these institutions has arguably increased compared to last year.

For example, at KAIST, the number of applicants for early admissions, including those who applied multiple times, increased by 514 to 6,500 compared to last year. In contrast, the number of applicants for the regular admissions, which has 15 spots, decreased from 2,147 last year to 1,333 this year, a drop of 814. Considering both early and regular admissions, the total number of applicants decreased by about 300. This reflects that the overall drop in applicants during this period was only 3.7%.

Results of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) admissions over the past 5 years. Although the number of regular applicants decreased in the 2025 admissions, considering that the number of non-regular applicants increased, the students hoping to enter KAIST have increased compared to before. Additionally, last year saw a record increase in regular applicants, leading to a relatively large drop that appears to have a significant effect./Courtesy of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

For DGIST and UNIST, the number of applicants actually increased this year. DGIST saw a decrease of 332 applicants for regular admissions, but an increase of 742 in early admissions, resulting in a total increase of 410 applicants. Similarly, UNIST recorded a drop of 387 in regular admissions, but had 772 more in early admissions, leading to a total increase of 385 applicants. GIST also had a decrease of 366 in regular admissions, but increased by 371 in early admissions, resulting in no significant change in overall applicants.

There is another reason why the drop in the competition rate for regular admissions at the four major science and technology universities appears large. Last year, during the 2024 admissions, there was an unusually high number of applicants for the regular admissions. For instance, KAIST's competition ratio for the 2024 admissions was around 107 to 1. In contrast, the ratios for the previous years were 37.05 to 1 in 2023, 61.8 to 1 in 2022, and 37.1 to 1 in 2021. This year, KAIST's competition ratio for regular admissions is 88.87 to 1, which is a high level compared to the usual rates. This trend is similarly observed at the other science and technology institutions.

A representative from another science and technology institution stated, "Because the regular admissions quota is very low, the competition rates can vary significantly based on the admissions environment each year. This year, while there was a drop in competition rates due to the increase in medical school spots and several other factors overlapping, I believe it is difficult to immediately determine that a crisis in the engineering field has materialized."

It is not the case that the increase in medical school spots had no impact on the science and technology admissions this year. The number of high school seniors, who predominantly make up this year’s applicants, increased by about 12,000 compared to last year's admissions. Nonetheless, it is clear that the number of applicants for regular admissions at the four major science and technology universities decreased. Since the results from the college scholastic ability test play a significant role, we must continue to observe how many students who passed the four major universities chose to give up admission.

A representative from the science and technology universities remarked, "While the influence of the increase in medical school spots cannot be completely discounted, I expect that the highest-caliber students aiming for careers in science and technology will continue to prefer science and technology universities."