Given a choice, top students snub STEM and pick medical school

Top students in Korea prefer medical schools over STEM majors, even those with internships and job guarantees, while programs partnered with companies like Samsung and Hyundai also saw high dropout rates.

A student walks into a building used by a Busan-based university's medical school. [NEWS1]

Job guarantees and internship opportunities aren't enough to attract university students when top students only aim for medical schools.

A total of 76 students were accepted, but withdrew from science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) majors at Seoul National University for the spring 2024 semester, according to Jongro Academy, one of Korea's most famous cram schools.

Last year, there were 64 students who were accepted but withdrew.

Computer engineering, once considered to be one of the popular majors, is no exception.

Among 27 students accepted to the university's Department of Computer Science and Engineering via the jungsi track, similar to late applications in the U.S. college admissions system, seven students chose not to enroll.

However, everyone accepted to the university's College of Medicine enrolled.

"It's safe to assume that most of the students that were accepted to Seoul National University's STEM majors but decided not to enroll did so because they were accepted to other medical schools," said Lim Sung-ho, CEO of Jongro Academy.

Seoul National University's School of Transdisciplinary Innovations is a program that promised many benefits, but also struggled to attract students.

The department first started accepting students starting from the spring 2024 semester, given a quota of 128 for the susi track, which is similar to the U.S.' early decision. Admission was offered to 128, but 14 decided not to enroll.

Admission offers were extended to students on the waitlist, but only 11 vacancies were filled and the school wasn't able to fill the remaining three spots.

Various benefits were promised to students enrolled in the School of Transdisciplinary Innovations. Around 100 students were to be offered summer internships at IT companies abroad such as Amazon and Meta. The university said it will also offer internships at Korean companies for the remaining students.

"It seems like Silicon Valley internships aren't enough to compete with medical schools," said a representative from Seoul National University's College of Engineering. "If even Seoul National University's engineering programs are considered as a fallback option for medical school applicants, that can negatively affect Korea's industry."

"But on the other hand, there's nothing much that the university can do."

Majors made in partnership with conglomerates, which guarantee students jobs at the companies once they graduate, also aren't enough.

Yonsei University's System Semiconductor Engineering major is made in partnership with Samsung Electronics. Students are given full scholarships and are guaranteed jobs at the company's research and development fields after graduation.

Despite the benefits, 23 out of the 25 students accepted in the jungsi track for the spring 2024 semester decided to not enroll. That means 92 percent withdrew, up 22 percentage points from the previous year.

Korea University's Department of Communications is another program established in partnership with Samsung Electronics, also offering full scholarships and a position at the company.

The department selected 10 students for its jungsi track, but seven, or 70 percent, didn't enroll. That's up 53.3 percentage points from the previous year.

Korea University's School of Smart Mobility is a department created in partnership with Hyundai Motor, also offering full scholarships and a position at the company.

Admission was offered to 20 students for the jungsi track, with 13, or 65 percent, not enrolling. The figure is up 28.6 percentage points compared to the previous year.

"Students with good scores tend to apply to both medical schools and the majors made in partnership with conglomerates, so students will inevitably withdraw from the latter when accepted to both," said a woman surnamed Kim, whose children are in high school. "Students and parents think that jobs at a conglomerate aren't necessary professional or specialized professions, nor are they lifetime jobs, so the majors made with conglomerates aren't a compelling option."

Although some think raising the medical school quota will affect students' preferences, Lim, CEO of Jongro Academy, says otherwise.

The government announced the annual enrollment quota for medical schools will be increased to 5,058 starting next year to resolve the shortage of doctors. Enrollment had been capped at 3,058 since 2006.

"Some say that there will be less preference toward medical schools once there's a bigger student quota and enough doctors in the market," said Lim. "But the reaction of students after a quota increase was announced isn't what people were expecting, and it seems like there will continue to be a preference toward medical schools."

BY LEE HOO-YEON, LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]