SKY medical school applicants fall by 368 from last year

Semiconductor program applicants rise by 52 from last year

Korea University's SK hynix-linked program draws 408 applicants

Highest on record, reflecting 'preference among top students'

Applicants to the medical schools of Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University — the so-called SKY universities — for the 2027 admissions cycle's early-decision round fell more than 11 percent from last year, while applicants to the semiconductor programs at Yonsei University and Korea University rose more than 5 percent. The photo shows a student choosing a semiconductor program. [Created with ChatGPT]
Applicants to the medical schools of Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University — the so-called SKY universities — for the 2027 admissions cycle's early-decision round fell more than 11 percent from last year, while applicants to the semiconductor programs at Yonsei University and Korea University rose more than 5 percent. The photo shows a student choosing a semiconductor program. [Created with ChatGPT]

In the 2027 admissions cycle's early-decision round, applicants to SKY medical schools — Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University — fell more than 11 percent from last year. Applicants to the semiconductor programs at Yonsei and Korea University, meanwhile, rose more than 5 percent. Even as the rush toward medical school continues among test-takers overall, the trend suggests growing interest among the very top scorers in semiconductor programs that guarantee employment after graduation.

According to Jongno Hagwon's analysis of applications for the 2027 early-decision round, a combined 1,223 students applied to the semiconductor programs at Yonsei and Korea University. That was up 60 applicants, or 5.2 percent, from last year. By contrast, applications to the medical schools of Seoul National University, Yonsei and Korea University fell by a combined 368, or 11.3 percent, from a year earlier.

The increase was especially pronounced at Korea University's semiconductor engineering department, which is linked to SK hynix. The department received 408 applications this year, up 71, or 21.1 percent, from 337 last year. Its competition ratio of 14.57 to 1 marked the highest number of applicants and the highest competition ratio since the department was established in the 2021 admissions cycle.

Yonsei University's system semiconductor engineering department, which is linked to Samsung Electronics, received 815 applications, down 11, or 1.3 percent, from 826 last year. The competition ratio came to 10.87 to 1 for Yonsei's program and 14.57 to 1 for Korea University's.

The rise at Korea University's semiconductor engineering department was also evident by admission track. Under the aptitude-based track, which had 14 slots, 232 students applied, for a competition ratio of 16.57 to 1. That was up from 175 applicants and a ratio of 12.5 to 1 last year, an increase of 57 applicants. Under the academic-excellence track, 176 students applied, an increase of 14 from a year earlier.

By contrast, all three SKY medical schools saw applications decline. Seoul National University's medical school received 100 fewer applications, a 9.5 percent drop; Yonsei's fell by 85, or 12.4 percent; and Korea University's fell by 183, or 11.9 percent. As a result, competition ratios also eased. Seoul National University's ratio fell from 10.92 to 1 to 9.88 to 1, and Yonsei's fell from 10.86 to 1 to 9.51 to 1. Korea University's ratio fell from 22.97 to 1 to 20.24 to 1.

Jongno Hagwon attributed the rise in applications to the chip programs to improving conditions in the semiconductor industry and expectations tied to guaranteed hiring by the partner companies. For the medical schools, it said top-scoring students appeared to have opted for safer bets rather than ambitious applications, weighing their chances of admission. The expansion of regional physician quotas outside the capital also likely dispersed applicants, it added.

"The rise in applicants to the Yonsei and Korea University semiconductor programs suggests preference for such chip programs has grown among the very top scorers," said Lim Sung-ho, head of Jongno Hagwon. "The decline in applicants to the Seoul National University, Yonsei and Korea University medical schools reflects both a tendency toward safer applications and a dispersal effect from the expansion of regional physician quotas."


brunch@heraldcorp.com