This undated file photo shows Kyung Hee University in central Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — More than seven out of 10 students who dropped out of medical school over the past three years turned out to be students at colleges located outside the greater Seoul area, data showed Monday.
According to Jongro Academy, one of the country’s leading educational institutions for college admissions, number of dropouts from the nation’s 38 medical schools stood at 561 during the 2020-2022 period, of which 74.2 percent were students from medical schools located outside the greater capital region.
The share of students who dropped out of Seoul-based and metropolitan area-based medical schools stood at 20.7 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively.
Four out of the top five dropout medical schools were regional colleges. All of the medical schools that recorded the lowest dropout rates were located in Seoul, excluding Ulsan University.
The number of dropouts from medical, dental, oriental medicine and veterinary schools has been on an upward trend, rising from 357 in 2020 to 382 in 2021 and 457 in 2022.
Among those who dropped out of medical schools, preparatory course students, those in their second year of study, accounted for the largest share at 88.9 percent, while students in their fourth year of study accounted for the lowest share at 11.1 percent.
The primary factor behind the higher share of preparatory course students dropping out was that they typically leave to enter more prestigious medical schools, rather than failing to adapt to campus life.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
