Several students have filed appeals with the examination board overseeing the medical entrance exam, claiming their peers may have committed fraud using ChatGPT, the board’s chairman, Jan Eggermont, confirmed to Belga.
This year’s pass rate was exceptionally high, but Eggermont suggests this may be due to the 2025 exam being less difficult than those set in previous years.
Three candidates were caught using ChatGPT during this year's exam, even though the AI chatbot, capable of solving complex questions, should theoretically have been inaccessible on exam computers. Those caught were disqualified.
While 2,608 candidates passed this year, just 1,741 will actually be able to start medical studies, due to limited spots. The 47% pass rate is unusually high compared to previous years: it was 18.9% in 2024 and 36.7% in 2023.
Some students who were excluded have submitted appeals, arguing that their exclusion was unfair given the alleged AI fraud.
Was there evidence of large-scale AI-enabled cheating?
“Participants were able to file objections until 31 July, and as of tomorrow, we’ll begin addressing the complaints,” Eggermont stated. “While rumours of widespread fraud have spread on social media, we do not have concrete evidence to support this at the moment,” he clarified.
Eggermont attributed the high pass rate to adjustments made to the exam’s difficulty. “We reassess the exam every year," he explained. "In 2024, we concluded that it was far too challenging, so this year we tailored it to better match students’ capabilities.”
The surge in successful candidates also correlates with record participation. This year there were 5,544 applicants, compared to 4,814 in 2024 and 4,545 in 2023, according to Eggermont.
Rumours of academic dishonesty and the unprecedented pass rate have sparked debate, but for now, the investigation awaits conclusive findings.
