PEET(Pharmacy Education Eligibility Test) is a test that examines the fundamental eligibilities of students to be educated in the College of Pharmacy. This test first started in 2009 with a reorganization of the 4-year pharmacy school into a 6-year program. The existing 4-year pharmacy schools were abolished and students who completed 2 years in other colleges or universities have a qualification to take PEET. The competition between examinees is becoming more intense and the competition rate of PEET has been rising as years go by, from 6.7:1 in 2010 to 9.2:1 in 2015. It means that 15,000 people took PEET in 2015 battling for a 1,693 entrance quota.
  As the competition rate shows, PEET is gaining in popularity. Not only students in colleges directly related with pharmacy, but also students in Colleges of the Natural Sciences and Engineering are leaving their majors for PEET. Even students in the Colleges of Liberal Arts are taking the test. Owing to PEET’s rising popularity, the private education market is outrageously growing. Students who prepare for the exam in private educational institutes spend more than 10,000 dollars per year. Also, a boarding academy whose tuition fee reaches 2,400 dollars a month has appeared lately.
  The reason for the great popularity of PEET is definitely the tendency that people prefer to get specialized jobs because of the sustained recession and the unemployment crisis. The graduates of Pharmacy can have a highly-paid and specialized job. Also, 27 of 35 pharmacy schools display more than an 80% employment rate, which is higher than other colleges. In addition, as a reflex effect of a situation where other specialized graduate schools, such as medicine and dentistry, switch colleges, more and more people are leaning toward PEET.
  In this social atmosphere, it is natural that the popularity of PEET is increasing, but students requisitely should reconsider their sense of a purpose. They may commonly expect to live a stable life for a long time, but they have to keep in mind that every occupation might have its own difficulties. They also have to pay attention to the fact that a majority of graduates prepare for pharmacy. If you have a different goal, such as working for pharmaceutical companies, you should be conscious of a lack of work study programs in that college. On the other hand, the field of production and quality assurance of medicine always experiences a labor shortage. If you clearly indicate your intention and recall your objectives, PEET can be a superb gateway for you.

By Lee Sang-yi
sy36@cbnu.ac.kr