The proportion of gifted high school graduates who advanced to the medical field in universities has decreased for two consecutive years. The rate of advancement to the medical field from science high schools has also declined for the third year. The government noted this is the result of strengthened guidance for engineering and science career paths.
The Ministry of Education announced on the 12th the results of the analysis of the advancement rate to the medical field for the 2020-2025 academic years from gifted high schools and science high schools.
According to the Ministry of Education's announcement on that day, the advancement rate of graduates from nine gifted high schools nationwide to the medical field for the 2025 academic year was recorded at 2.5%. This marks a decrease for two consecutive years, following the previous year's rate of 6.9%. Until then, the advancement rate of gifted high school graduates to the medical field had consistently been on the rise, starting with 6.9% in the 2020 academic year, increasing to 7.5% in 2021, 8.8% in 2022, and reaching 10.1% in 2023.
Science high schools show a similar trend. This year, the advancement rate to the medical field from 20 science high schools stood at 1.7%, a decrease from the previous year's rate of 2.1%. It has declined for the third consecutive year since the 2023 academic year, which recorded 2.2%. In the 2020 academic year, the rate was 1.5%, 1.8% in 2021, and 2.9% in 2022.
The Ministry of Education said, "The trend of advancement to the medical field among graduates of gifted high schools and science high schools, which had shown an upward trend since 2020, has turned to a downward trend," adding that, "This can be seen as a result of the Ministry of Education and all gifted high schools jointly establishing measures for advancement to the medical field in April 2021, and continuously strengthening guidance for the engineering and science career paths for gifted school students."
According to the measures established at that time, if graduates of gifted high schools advance to the medical field, they must return tuition fees and scholarships. Additionally, if they wish to apply to medical schools through rolling admissions after entering gifted high schools, the calculation method for grades at gifted high schools must be re-evaluated based on the standards applied to general high schools.
Kim Cheon-hong, the Director of Educational Policy at the Ministry of Education, said, "We will continue to collaborate with gifted schools and science high schools to continuously monitor the advancement trends of graduates and reinforce guidance for engineering and science career paths, as well as evaluate school operation outcomes, to ensure that education for nurturing engineering talent is carried out more thoroughly."
However, the admissions industry indicated that the figures released by the Ministry of Education that day exclude repeat students and others. Accordingly, Jongro Academy stated that the actual number of students advancing to the medical field from science high schools and gifted high schools is likely to be higher. According to Jongro Academy, the number of new students from science high schools and gifted high schools at the 39 universities with medical schools this year is 1,502, the highest in five years.