In the 2025 academic year regular admission process, the number of applicants for medical and pharmaceutical fields increased by 18.4% compared to last year. This is attributed to the influx of applicants due to the increase in medical school enrollment.
According to Jongno Academy on the 8th, the number of applications for medical, dental, Korean medicine, and pharmacy schools in the regular admission process for the 2025 academic year totaled 22,546, which is an increase of 3,509 (18.4%) from the previous year (10,937).
By field, the number of medical school applications was 10,519, reflecting a 29.9% (2,421) increase from the previous year. Both the scale of applications and the increase are the largest among all fields.
Additionally, pharmacy school applications totaled 7,670, an increase of 8.3% (588) from the previous year. Korean medicine applications were 2,700, and dental school applications were 1,657, representing increases of 10.9% (266) and 16.4% (234), respectively.
Of the total increase in applications for medical and pharmaceutical fields (3,509), regional applicants accounted for 78.2% (2,743).
The average competition ratio was highest for Korean medicine schools at 10.5 to 1, followed by pharmacy schools (9.0 to 1), medical schools (6.6 to 1), and dental schools (6.1 to 1).
The highest competition ratio among all medical and pharmaceutical fields was recorded at Jeju National University, with a ratio of 57.0 to 1 for pharmacy.
Jongno Academy noted, "The increase in medical school enrollment has led to a rise in overlapping applications among dental, Korean medicine, and pharmacy schools within the medical and pharmaceutical fields," adding that "top scorers in the College Scholastic Ability Test are likely applying to medical school from the science and engineering fields, with applicants flocking to all medical and pharmaceutical fields including dental, pharmacy, and Korean medicine schools."