▲ Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
Early admissions applicants to the four major science and technology institutes for the 2027 academic year reached an all-time high, surpassing 30,000 for the first time.
According to Jongro Hagwon, a total of 33,349 students applied for early admissions to the four institutes—Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), and Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST)—for the 2027 academic year.
This is a record-high scale, increasing by 8,926 (36.5%) from 24,423 the previous year.
In addition, the number of applicants to the four institutes has grown to about 2.5 times the level seen in the 2022 academic year, when there were 13,315 applicants, over a span of five years.
By university, the increase rate was highest for DGIST at 48.9%, followed by UNIST at 41.6%, GIST at 36.2%, and KAIST at 20.1%.
The average competition rate for the four institutes stood at 16.13 to 1, which also rose from 14.14 to 1 the previous year.
While the recruitment quota increased by 340 (19.7%) from 1,727 for the 2026 academic year to 2,067 for the 2027 academic year, applicants increased by an even larger margin, driving up the competition rate.
The sharp rise in applicants to the science and technology institutes is interpreted as the result of rising preference for semiconductor contracted departments and artificial intelligence (AI) majors.
In addition, the fact that they are exempt from the limit of six early admissions applications is also seen as having influenced the increase in applicants.
Lim Sungho, CEO of Jongro Hagwon, noted, "It is notable that the number of applicants to science institutes increased sharply even in a situation where medical school admissions quotas have been expanded." He added, "However, if students applying to science institutes also apply to medical schools and secure dual admissions, they may choose to go to medical schools."
He also added, "Their enrollment choices are expected to act as significant variables for the admission cutoffs of science and engineering departments at general universities and regional medical schools."
(Photo: KAIST, Yonhap News)
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