Universities with less than 40 percent of enrollment quota met double in numbers

This year saw a doubling of the number of universities that only met less than 40 percent of their enrollment quota in the early admission process compared to last year. Seoul National University of Education ended up with 80.5 percent of its registration quota unfilled, 40 percent points up from 36.9 percent on a year-on-year basis. This sharp drop in applicants is attributable not only to the shrinking school-age population amid the country’s low birth rate but also to last year’s controversy over the infringement of teachers' rights.

Jongno Hagwon reported on Thursday that 221 universities failed to recruit 37,332 new freshmen nationwide in the 2024 early admission process. The rate of the quotas left unmet was 14 percent, slightly up from 13.9 percent last year. "It also results from the higher early admission quotas set by universities than the previous year,” said an analyst at Jongno Hagwon.

As many as 15 universities filled less than 40 percent of their registration quota, making the number of such universities double compared to last year. Among them, 11 universities are located outside the capital area. For example, a school in North Gyeongsang Province met less than 10 percent of its registration quota.

Notably, things are harsh on education universities. Four out of the top 20 universities in terms of unfilled freshman seats are education universities. Seoul National University of Education had 149 out of 185 freshmen seats empty. Likewise, the rate of enrollment quotas unmet surpassed 60 percent at Chinju National University of Education in South Gyeongsang Province, Jeonju National University of Education in North Jeolla Province, and Chuncheon National University of Education in Gangwon Province.

By region, 42 universities in Seoul recorded 3.4 percent, while 47 schools around the capital area showed 4.8 percent. In particular, the non-capital area with 132 universities reached 18.7 percent, 5.5 times higher than Seoul. As Seoul-based universities also showed a slightly higher rate of unfilled seats in early admissions, even top universities in the capital city are likely to seek additional early admission students. The application deadline for regular admissions is this Saturday. The announcement of final results is scheduled until Feb. 6. Universities recruit additional freshmen from Feb. 22 to Feb. 29.


choigiza@donga.com