Perfect GPA Not Enough for Medical School Admission: 6 Universities Report 1.0 Grade Cutoff

For the 2026 academic year, six universities reported a 1.0 grade cutoff for medical school admissions through the student record-based screening process.

According to an analysis of the 2026 student record-based screening for medical schools nationwide released by Jongro Academy on June 28, among the 32 universities that disclosed their admission scores, six institutions—Yonsei University, The Catholic University of Korea, University of Ulsan, Kyung Hee University, Inha University, and Ajou University—recorded a 1.0 grade cutoff.

Furthermore, the average cutoff for 31 medical schools (96.9%) was found to be 1.45.

A detailed breakdown of the grade cutoffs is as follows: 6 schools (18.8%) at 1.0; 5 schools (15.6%) between 1.02 and 1.09; 7 schools (21.9%) between 1.11 and 1.15; 4 schools (12.5%) between 1.16 and 1.19; 4 schools (12.5%) between 1.20 and 1.28; 5 schools (15.6%) between 1.30 and 1.45; and 1 school (3.1%) at 1.53.

The student record-based screening process focuses primarily on high school grades, meaning that even with a perfect 1.0 grade in all subjects, students may still be rejected from certain medical schools.

Jongro Academy projected that once the current 9-grade system transitions to a 5-grade system starting with the 2028 admissions, it will be difficult to ensure sufficient differentiation in medical school admissions based solely on high school grades.

This is because a 1.45 grade in the current 9-grade system is estimated to correspond to a 1.0 grade in the 5-grade system, meaning the cutoff for most medical schools could fall within the 1.0 range.

"After the transition to the 5-grade system, we expect a surge in students who are rejected from medical school admissions nationwide despite achieving a 1.0 grade," said Lim Sung-ho, CEO of Jongro Academy. "With a large number of applicants tying for the top 1.0 grade, it may become impossible to ensure differentiation based on high school grades alone."
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.