For the first time in the history of domestic entrance exams, it was analyzed that the passing score for Seoul National University’s science and engineering department was lower than that of Korea University and Yonsei University in the regular college entrance exam for the 2023 school year. Based on the average percentile in the Korean, math, and research sections of the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), Seoul National University scored 93.9 points, Korea University scored 94.9 points, and Yonsei University scored 94.2 points. Analysis suggests that the reason is that the top test takers eligible to be admitted to Seoul National University chose the medical and pharmacy field.
Seoul National University’s regular admission score for the science and engineering department was 95.0 points for the 2020 school year, 95.1 points for the 2021 school year, and 95.0 points for the 2022 school year, all ahead of Korea University and Yonsei University. However, in the 2023 school year, Seoul National University fell to the second place after the two universities. The passing scores of SKY science and engineering departments in the 2022 and 2023 school years are all lower than the passing scores of the national medical and pharmacy departments.
Analysis suggests that this is the result of the ‘medical school craze’. The gap in passing scores between 25 medical schools nationwide and Seoul National University’s science and engineering departments was 4.2 points in the 2023 school year, widening from the previous year (2.9 points). On the other hand, the gap between Korea University and Yonsei University has narrowed. It is presumed that the top test takers eligible to apply to Seoul National University chose ‘medical school rather than the Seoul National University sign’, and those with lower scores chose Seoul National University’s science and engineering department. Students in the science and engineering departments at Korea University and Yonsei University did not leave because they believed their grades were insufficient to enter medical school, resulting in a reversal of the acceptance criteria.
Lim Seong-ho, CEO of Jongno Academy, said, “Seoul National University has never been below Korea University and Yonsei University in the test taker placement list. He explained, “Even though Seoul National University’s mid-ranking departments’ scores fell, they were still in the top-ranking departments of Korea University and Yonsei University.” There are also predictions that the decline in Seoul National University’s passing scores due to the ‘black hole in science and engineering’ medical school craze may continue for the time being. This is because the government is discussing expanding the number of students admitted to medical schools, and even N students flocked to them, saying, “This is a golden opportunity to go to medical school.”
“Local medical school rather than Seoul National University’s science and engineering department”… Passed students leave with ‘Ui-Chi-Han-Yak-Su’
Recently, a Seoul National University professor said this to a reporter. Dong-A Ilbo and Jongro Academy analyzed the entrance exam results announced on the university entrance information portal ‘Where’, and found that the regular passing score (70% cut , 93.9 points) of Seoul National University’s College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) for the 2023 school year fell by 1.1 points from the previous year. (94.9 points), lower than Yonsei University (94.2 points).
● ‘Medical school rather than Seoul National University’ moves to the top rankingThe regular passing scores for Seoul National University’s science and engineering departments were similar at 95.0 points, 95.1 points, and 95.0 points, respectively, for the 2020-2022 academic years. There was no change in the regular admission system, but the score dropped to 93.9 in the 2023 school year. During the same period, Seoul National University College of Medicine’s passing score increased from 99.2 to 99.4. In addition, Seoul National University’s humanities department had an passing score of 95.7 points, ahead of Korea University (94.1 points) and Yonsei University (91.2 points). This appears to have had the effect of changing to an integrated CSAT system starting from the 2022 school year, with science students with relatively advantageous scores cross-applying to the humanities department to go to Seoul National University.
While the scores of Seoul National University’s science and engineering departments fell, the passing scores of medicine and pharmacy departments (medical school, dental school, oriental medicine school, pharmacy school, and veterinary school) nationwide rose. For the 2022 and 2023 school years, the regular passing score for medical schools (25 places) is 97.9 points → 98.1 points, dental schools (9 places) 96.8 points → 97.3 points, Oriental medicine schools (5 places) 96.0 points → 97.2 points, and pharmacy schools (24 places) 95.5 points → 96.3 points, veterinary schools (8 places) increased from 95.4 points to 96.1 points.
There is analysis in the admissions industry that this is a phenomenon brought about by the ‘medical school craze.’ The top test takers chose the medical and pharmaceutical sciences department rather than the science and engineering department at Seoul National University. Even if they apply only to the medical sciences department or to the science and engineering department at Seoul National University in the regular exam, if they withdraw after being accepted to the medical sciences department, a test taker with a lower score registers, lowering the passing score for the science and engineering department. There is an interpretation that the passing score for Korea University and Yonsei University’s science and engineering departments is generally higher than the Seoul National University passing score because applicants apply on their own convictions, rather than being guaranteed a secure entrance to medical school.
In particular, in the liberal arts and sciences integrated 온라인카지노CSAT, which was introduced from the 2022 school year, the advantage for science students who are better at math than liberal arts students continues, and the concentration of students in the medical sciences field is also worsening. The proportion of graduates among applicants for the 2024 CSAT, which will be held on November 16 this year, is 35.3% (177,942 people), the third highest since the introduction of the CSAT in 1994.
● Many students in science and engineering fields are medical school aspirants.Even Korea University and Yonsei University cannot avoid the ‘medical school craze.’ An official in the entrance exam industry said, “Many students in science and engineering departments at high school are not satisfied and are preparing for medical school.” There is also an analysis that many students who have been accepted to a high school think, ‘The student whose scores were not higher than mine went to the science and engineering department at Seoul National University,’ and think that they should study a little more and go to medical school.
Jongno Academy counted the number of dropouts from Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University in 2023, which were announced on ‘University Information’, and a total of 2,131 people were recorded, which was the highest in the past five years. Of these, 897 were from Korea University and 822 from Yonsei University, or 80.7% of the total. An official from Korea University said, “The number of science and engineering students who attend for only one semester and then choose to study for half the semester is increasing.” The departments with the highest number of dropouts in the SKY
Natural Science Department in 2023 were Yonsei University’s Engineering Department, Korea University’s Department of Biotechnology, and Korea University’s Department of Life Sciences. Professors’ opinions are that while in the past it was prominent in life-related departments, now it does not discriminate between departments. There are many cases where students are accepted into the science and engineering department at Seoul National University and then take the medical school entrance exam again. The departments with the highest number of dropouts in Seoul National University’s science and engineering departments in 2023 are the School of Life Sciences, the School of Applied Biological Chemistry, and the School of Electrical and Information Engineering. In the Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, 46% (24 students) of 52 enrolled students were counted as dropping out.