“No Retaking the Exam”: Applicants Play It Safe as Early-Admissions Competition Falls at Seoul National University and Yonsei University

[Financial News] The average competition rate for early admissions at Seoul National University, Korea University (KU), and Yonsei University—collectively known as “SKY”—fell year on year for the 2027 academic year. Applicants showed a clear preference for safer choices as they sought to take advantage of the final admissions cycle under the current system ahead of a comprehensive overhaul in 2028. The decline was also attributed to the dispersal of top-tier natural-sciences applicants following the introduction of regional-doctor admissions at medical schools outside the capital region.

On the 9th, Jongno Academy reported that 103,014 applicants applied to early-admissions programs at Seoul National University, KU, and Yonsei University for the 2027 academic year. That was 3,363 fewer than the 106,377 applicants recorded the previous year, a decline of 3.2%. As a result, the average competition rate across the three universities fell slightly to 14.40 to 1, from 14.93 to 1 for the 2026 academic year.
The decline was particularly pronounced at Seoul National University and Yonsei University. Seoul National University received 16,487 applications, down 1,443, or 8.0%, from the previous year, while its competition rate fell from 8.12 to 1 to 7.37 to 1. Yonsei University also saw applications drop by 2,786, or 8.3%, to 30,652, with its competition rate declining from 15.10 to 1 to 14.02 to 1. By contrast, KU received 55,875 applications, an increase of 866, or 1.6%, and its competition rate edged up from 20.35 to 1 to 20.46 to 1.

Competition rates for medical schools, a major battleground for top applicants, also fell across the board. According to Jinhak, the three universities offered a combined 210 early-admissions places in their medical schools, unchanged from the previous year. However, applications fell by 360, or 12.2%, from 2,947 to 2,587. The average competition rate consequently dropped from 14.03 to 1 to 12.32 to 1.
By university, the competition rate at Korea University College of Medicine fell from 22.93 to 1 to 19.90 to 1. Seoul National University College of Medicine declined from 10.67 to 1 to 9.44 to 1, while Yonsei University College of Medicine dropped from 9.97 to 1 to 8.88 to 1.
Results were mixed for contract-based semiconductor programs, an advanced field. Applications to the Department of Semiconductor Engineering at Korea University rose 21.1%, lifting the competition rate from 12.04 to 1 to 14.57 to 1. Meanwhile, applications to the Department of System Semiconductor Engineering at Yonsei University fell 1.3%, and its competition rate edged down from 11.26 to 1 to 11.11 to 1.

The highest competition rates by academic field were concentrated mainly in essay-based admissions.
In the humanities, the essay-based admissions track for the Department of Business Administration at Yonsei University recorded a competition rate of 100.20 to 1, while the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Humanities) posted 88.50 to 1. At KU, the essay-based admissions track at Korea University Business School recorded the highest rate overall at 198.33 to 1, followed by the Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences at 114.20 to 1 and the Department of Philosophy at 113.00 to 1. At Seoul National University, the highest rates under general holistic admissions based on school records were recorded by the Department of Sociology at 18.60 to 1 and the Department of Social Welfare at 16.57 to 1.
In the natural sciences, the essay-based admissions track for the Department of Pharmacy at Yonsei University recorded 87.00 to 1, while the Department of Astronomy and Space Science posted 43.00 to 1. At KU, the essay-based admissions track for the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering recorded 110.30 to 1, followed by the Department of Mechanical Engineering at 91.15 to 1. At Seoul National University, the general admissions track recorded 15.80 to 1 for the School of Applied Biosciences and 14.70 to 1 for the Department of Biosystems & Biomaterials Science and Engineering.
Admissions experts attributed the trend to applicants’ efforts to minimize the risk of having to retake the entrance exam, as a comprehensive overhaul of college admissions is scheduled to begin in the 2028 academic year. The changes include abolishing elective subjects in the College Scholastic Ability Test and introducing a five-grade high-school-record system.
Lim Seong Ho, head of Jongno Academy, explained, “Because this is the final year under the current system, third-year high school students in particular clearly favored safer applications that prioritized their chances of admission. The regional-doctor admissions system has also broadened the options available to top-tier applicants, dispersing some applicants to the natural-sciences programs at Seoul National University and Yonsei University.”
[email protected] Park Ji-hyun Reporter