Ministry of Education finalizes number of medical school admissions for next year

Promotional materials for medical school admission are displayed at a college admissions center in Seoul. By Cho Taehyung

The number of medical school admissions for next year has been increased by 1,497 compared to this year, and that for undecided majors at 73 universities has been set at around 38,000, a four-fold increase from this year. As the outline of the recruitment guidelines for each university was confirmed only three months before rolling college admissions and five months before the college entrance exam, this year's test takers are expected to be greatly confused in preparing for college admission. College admission experts say that that there are more variables surrounding the college entrance examination than ever before, such as the increase in students who has taken the college entrance test at least twice to enter medical schools and the aftermath of the expansion of undecided majors, and advise that that students should closely look at the recruitment content by university and department.

According to the data released by the Ministry of Education on May 30, the most prominent changes for next year's college entrance examination are the "confirmation of the size of the increase in medical school admissions" and "a significant expansion of the selection of undecided majors.” In terms of undergraduate studies, 39 medical schools nationwide have decided to recruit 4,610 students, up 1,497 from this year's number of students selected. If CHA University's School of Medicine, which is a graduate school, is included, the total number of new students in 40 medical schools is 4,695, up 1,540 from this year. The number of the local talent selection for non-metropolitan medical schools was set at 1,913. This effectively completes the expansion of medical school admissions for next year. In addition, the number of the selection for undecided majors, which allow students to select their major during their sophomore year, will increase significantly. Seventy-three universities and national universities in the Seoul metropolitan area will recruit 37,935 students for undecided majors next year, or 28.6 percent of the total quota. The intention is to give students opportunities to explore various majors and careers after entering college, but there are also concerns that it could deepen the focus on popular majors.
As the number of medical school seats targeted by top science and engineering students increases for the first time in 27 years, there is a possibility that there will be a craze for entering medical schools. This is because the influx of students taking the entrance exam several times, including those currently studying at top universities, can increase, and medical students who are taking a leave of absence can take the exam again to enter top universities.

When asked whether the format of the college entrance exam could change as the competition intensifies, Lim So-hee, head of the Talent Selection System Division at the Ministry of Education, said, “The ‘fair college entrance exam‘ format, which excludes super difficult questions and give questions that can be solved by students who have been faithfully educated at school, is maintained.”

As the number of undecided majors increases significantly, the number of recruitment in other departments may decrease, making it difficult to predict the passing line not only for free majors but also for other departments and increasing uncertainty in the prospect of the entrance exam.

“We don't know the cut-off score and competition rate for each department,” said Woo Yeon-cheol, director of the Admissions Strategy Research Institute of Jinhagsa.

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.