8 out 10 med school freshmen found to be repeat applicants

In the 2024 admissions cycle for medical schools, it has been revealed that 8 out of 10 successful applicants admitted through the regular admission process had attempted the entrance exam more than once, indicating a significant prevalence of students labeled as 'repeaters.' Additionally, statistics show that 62.5% of all regular admission acceptances came from high schools in the Seoul metropolitan area.

According to the analysis of the '2024 Medical Schools Regular Admission Applicants Analysis' released by the policy research organization 'Education Lab Public Factory' in conjunction with lawmaker Kang Deuk-gu of the Democratic Party, data submitted by 33 out of 40 medical schools nationwide indicated a concerning trend. The proportion of successful applicants from third-year high school students decreased by 8.1 percentage points from the previous year to 17.9%, marking the lowest figure in the past five years. In comparison, the percentage of third-year high school students admitted in previous years was 21% in 2020, 18% in 2021, 20.4% in 2022, and 26% in 2023.

An intriguing trend is emerging in the admissions cycle. While the proportion of successful applicants who were repeaters decreased by 4 percentage points to 39.6% compared to the previous year, those who attempted the exam three times or more increased by 10.7 percentage points to 39.7%. This points to a shift where prominent university students majoring in natural sciences are transferring to medical schools through re-examinations or after multiple attempts. In fact, the number of dropouts from major universities majoring in natural sciences, excluding medicine and pharmacy, increased from 1,118 in 2019 to 1,699 in 2022.

Regionally, candidates from the metropolitan areas constituted two-thirds of all successful applicants. Moreover, 41.9% of successful applicants hailed from Gangnam, Seoul, with the highest representation at 20.8% when analyzed by city and county nationwide.


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