In the 2026 academic year early admission round, 2,415 test-takers who were initially accepted to Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University declined to enroll, the highest level in the past five years.
According to Jongno Academy on the 18th, the number of students who declined to enroll at the three universities has fluctuated since 2,246 in the 2022 academic year and reached a new high this year. By university, Korea University had the most at 1,259 (46.6%), followed by Yonsei University with 1,025 (46.3%) and Seoul National University with 131.
Excluding Seoul National University, nearly half of those admitted in the early round to Yonsei University and Korea University did not enroll. A significant number of them are believed to have moved after overlapping acceptances to medical schools at other universities.
The outflow was particularly pronounced in the natural sciences track. The number of students who declined to enroll in the natural sciences was 1,305, up 4.9% from a year earlier, hitting a record high. In contrast, the number who declined in the humanities was 1,084, a slight decrease from the previous year. Observers said top-tier test-takers' preference for medical schools is fueling overlapping acceptances and subsequent withdrawals from natural sciences departments.
Movement was active even within medical schools. Among initial early admits to the medical schools at Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University, 67 declined to enroll, with 39 at Korea University's medical school and 28 at Yonsei University's medical school apparently heading to other universities' medical schools. Seoul National University's medical school had not a single student decline to enroll.
Im Sung-ho, head of Jongno Academy, said, "Even though the quota for medical schools has been partially reduced, the tilt among the very top natural sciences students toward medical schools is becoming even more entrenched," and predicted, "As many of the natural sciences admits to SKY leave, the number of additional admits at top universities in Seoul will increase in a chain reaction."