Even a Perfect GPA Is Not Enough: "Six Medical Schools Set Early Admission Cutoff at 1.0 GPA"

Jongro Academy Analyzes 2026 Medical School Record-Based Admissions
"Even With a Perfect GPA in All Subjects, Rejection Possible Under New 5-Tier System"

For the 2026 academic year, the cutoff for the student record-based early admissions track at six medical schools was a perfect 1.0 GPA across all subjects.

According to an analysis released on the 28th by Jongno Academy of the 2026 student record-based admissions criteria at medical schools nationwide, out of 32 universities that disclosed their cutoff scores, six institutions—Yonsei University, The Catholic University of Korea, University of Ulsan, Kyung Hee University, Inha University, and Ajou University (18.8%)—had a cutoff GPA of 1.0. The student record-based track is an early admissions process that selects students primarily based on their school grades. In addition, the average cutoff GPA at 31 medical schools (96.9%) was within 1.45.

A medical school in downtown Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Looking at the cutoff GPA in more detail: six schools (18.8%) required 1.0; five schools (15.6%) required between 1.02 and 1.09; seven schools (21.9%) required between 1.11 and 1.15; four schools (12.5%) required between 1.16 and 1.19; four schools (12.5%) required between 1.20 and 1.28; five schools (15.6%) required between 1.30 and 1.45; and one school (3.1%) required 1.53. This means that even students who received a 1.0 GPA in all subjects may still be rejected by some medical schools that use the student record-based admissions process.

Jongno Academy predicted that, once the current nine-level GPA system is changed to a five-level system starting from the 2028 academic year, it will be difficult to maintain selectivity in the student record-based medical school admissions process based solely on GPA.

Starting with the 2028 university entrance exams, which current high school sophomores will take, the GPA system will change. Under this new system, a 1.45 GPA under the old nine-level system is estimated to correspond to a 1.0 under the new five-level system. This means that most medical schools’ cutoff scores could fall into the 1.0 category of the five-level system. Leading medical schools also use other criteria to select students, such as College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) scores, application reviews, and interviews.

Lim Seongho, CEO of Jongno Academy, said, "After the transition to the five-level GPA system, we expect to see a surge in students who receive a 1.0 GPA but are still rejected from medical schools’ early admissions. With a large number of applicants tied at a perfect GPA, it may become impossible to differentiate students based solely on GPA."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.