Applications to regional national universities rise 5.2% amid 'top 10 universities' push

Applications to regional private universities as well as regional national universities rose from the previous year in the 2027 academic year's early admissions cycle, data showed. Amid growing expectations for the government's policy to develop regional national universities, the average competition ratio for medical school early admissions fell due to an expansion in enrollment capacity.

Jongno Academy analyzed application data from universities that closed their early admissions windows on Friday, finding that 65 regional private universities received a combined 639,285 applications — up 0.5 percent, or 3,004 applicants, from the previous year. The figures exclude applications submitted under special tracks for North Korean defectors, overseas Koreans and foreign nationals.

The nine regional hub national universities received a combined 294,725 applications, up 5.2 percent, or 14,477 applicants, from the previous year. The 12 regional national universities outside the hub designation received 154,424 applications, a 12.6 percent increase of 17,308 applicants.

Concerns had been raised that the government's tuition-free policy for regional national universities could hurt enrollment at regional private universities, but applications to those schools also edged up. Students may apply to up to six four-year universities in the early admissions round.

However, application trends at regional private universities varied by area. The 12 schools in the Honam region saw applications rise 3.2 percent from the previous year, while the three schools in Gangwon Province recorded a 17.1 percent decline. Schools in the Busan-Ulsan-South Gyeongsang Province area rose 1.2 percent, those in the Chungcheong region 0.9 percent, and those in the Daegu-North Gyeongsang Province area 0.8 percent.

Among the regional hub national universities, the three schools selected for intensive support under the government's "10 universities on par with Seoul National University" initiative — Pusan National University, Chungnam National University and Chonnam National University — received a combined 99,883 applications, up 11.6 percent from the previous year.

The remaining six regional hub national universities saw an average application increase of 2.1 percent. Jeonbuk National University posted a 23.5 percent surge in applications, while Chungbuk National University saw a 17.1 percent decline. Among regional national universities outside the hub category, Kumoh National Institute of Technology recorded the highest growth, with applications up 58.2 percent from the previous year.

Jongno Academy said the data suggest the zero-tuition policy has not triggered a sharp concentration of applicants at regional hub national universities.

Woo Yeon-cheol, head of the admissions strategy research institute at Jinhaksa, said growing expectations for the government's "10 universities on par with Seoul National University" initiative and its tuition-free national university policy had translated into a real increase in applications, reflecting students' practical preference for hub national universities.

Meanwhile, the competition ratio for medical school early admissions fell nationwide. Jinhaksa data show the total number of early admissions slots at medical schools reached 2,586 — up 502 from the previous year — while the number of applicants rose by 1,676 to 53,752.

Because the increase in available slots outpaced the growth in applicants, the average competition ratio fell from 24.99 to 1 to 20.79 to 1.

Woo said the drop in the medical school competition ratio reflected a combination of factors: the expansion in enrollment capacity, the newly introduced regional physician track, which dispersed the applicant pool, and students' tendency to aim for safe admissions rather than reach schools ahead of the 2028 college entrance reform.

The regional physician track drew 5,091 applicants for 458 spots, recording an average competition ratio of 11.12 to 1. Applications through the general track fell by 3,077 from the previous year to 37,770.