□ DGIST (President Kunwoo Lee) recorded 5,010 applicants for its 2025 undergraduate early admission, showing a 17.4% increase compared to the previous year, and reached a competition rate of 23.3 to 1, achieving the highest competition rate among the six specialized science and technology colleges for two consecutive years.
□ With 4,268 applicants for 2024 early admission, reflecting a significant 45.6% increase from 2023, the continued rise in applicants and the competition rate for 2025 is an impressive accomplishment. Notably, despite unfavorable conditions such as a preference for medical schools, a declining school-age population, and its location outside the Seoul Capital Area, DGIST has consistently increased its number of applicants through improvements in its admission process and PR strategies.
□ A total of 5,010 applicants applied for 215 slots in the 2025 early admission, marking a 17.4% increase from the previous year. By admission type, the competition rates were as follows: 25.6 to 1 (110 slots, 2,816 applicants) for general admission, 22.06 to 1 (50 slots, 1,103 applicants) for principal’s recommendation, 34.2 to 1 (20 slots, 684 applicants) for equal opportunity admission, 7.9 to 1 (10 slots, 179 applicants) for science talent admission, and 9.12 to 1 (25 slots, 228 applicants) for semiconductor engineering admission.
□ By region, the application rates were as follows: 36.6% (1,833 applicants) in the Seoul Capital Area, 16.36% (820 applicants) in Daegu/Gyeongbuk, 16.39% (821 applicants) in Busan/Ulsan/Gyeongnam, 17.8% (890 applicants) in the Jungbu (Central) Region, 9.6% (479 applicants) in Honam/Jeju, 2.3% (114 applicants) in Gangwon, and 1.1% (53 applicants) from overseas.
□ “We have established the new science talent admission track in line with the Ministry of Science and ICT’s ‘Strategy for Discovering and Nurturing the Gifted in Science,’ thereby constantly improving our admission processes, while also flexibly responding to the rapidly changing admissions environment by implementing our own PR strategies every year,” said an official from DGIST. “Recently, we have been actively promoting our admission processes to attract outstanding talent to DGIST, by significantly increasing promotional visits to high schools. This strategy likely played a key role in attracting a higher number of exceptional applicants.”