The number of students seeking admission to gifted schools aimed at nurturing science and engineering talent has surged sharply, according to data released Wednesday.
Gifted schools, established under the Gifted Education Promotion Act, place graduates at a significant disadvantage in their high school grade point average when applying to medical schools. As a result, most students enroll in science and engineering universities, except for those who become so-called "regular admissions fighters" or drop out mid-semester.
According to Jongro Academy on the 29th, a total of 4,155 students applied to seven of the eight national gifted schools that closed applications for the 2027 academic year on the 26th, posting an average competition ratio of 6.21 to 1. The figures cover Seoul Science High School, Gyeonggi Science High School, Sejong Academy of Science and Arts and four other schools that disclosed their numbers, excluding Korea Science Academy of KAIST.
The number of applicants to the seven schools rose 8.6 percent from 3,827 a year earlier, marking the highest level since duplicate applications across schools were banned starting in the 2022 academic year. The competition ratio also exceeded the 6.20 to 1 recorded in the 2023 academic year.
By school, applications to Sejong Academy of Science and Arts climbed 30.2 percent year-on-year to 634, while Daejeon Science High School rose 13.8 percent, Daegu Science High School 12.5 percent, and Gyeonggi Science High School 8.8 percent.
"This suggests that more top-ranked middle school students are choosing science and engineering careers over medical school," Lim Sung-ho, head of Jongro Academy, said. "It can be linked to the recent surge in interest in semiconductor contract-based programs run with Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK hynix (000660.KQ)."
In the 2027 academic year admissions, 10 universities including Yonsei University, Korea University and Sungkyunkwan University will select a total of 460 students for semiconductor contract-based programs affiliated with Samsung Electronics or SK hynix.
