Profession
Record number vied for 2007-08 medical school slots
■ Among allopathic applicants, MCAT scores were better than ever before, with a mean of 28 points.
By Myrle Croasdale — Posted Nov. 5, 2007
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Growing awareness of an impending physician shortage is partially behind an all-time high in medical school interest, experts say. So is an upcoming generation of college graduates with a strong sense of altruism, a growing population and a cyclical upswing tied to a softer economy.
Allopathic medical schools saw 31,946 first-time applicants for the 2007-08 academic year, according to the Assn. of American Medical Colleges. It reflects an 8% increase over 2006-07.
"These numbers are important because our own analysis and those of many others show that our country faces a serious shortage of doctors," said AAMC President Darrell G. Kirch, MD.
The American Assn. of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine also saw its applicant pool reach a record level for the 2007-08 academic year, with 11,500 candidates.
"The buzz right now is health care," said Jamie Rehmann, director of admission for the Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Iowa. "It's a fact there are jobs, and a lot of counselors and parents are encouraging their students into health care fields."
In addition to this sense of opportunity, some say the generation that started graduating from college in 2003 is drawn to the altruistic aspects of medicine.
"Millennial students ... want to help others. They are smart and have spent a lot of time studying math and science in primary and secondary school. They feel they can improve society, and what better way to do that than medicine?" asked Carol Elam, EdD, associate dean for admissions at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine.
The economy also plays a part, experts said. When it is growing, the medical profession sees strong competition from law and business. Medicine attracts people when the economy is soft because it is considered more recession-proof than other fields.
This past year it attracted attention from highly qualified students.
Allopathic applicants posted the highest mean Medical College Admission Test score to date: 28 out of 45 points. That's up from 27.6 a year ago. Grade-point averages were higher, too -- a mean 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. The average was 3.4 last year. Osteopathic applicants for 2007-08 also had stronger scores on those measures. They had a mean 25.3 MCAT and 3.5 GPA, compared with a 24.5 MCAT score and 3.4 grade-point average last year.
Some schools see huge jumps
Every school is experiencing an increase in applicants, according to the AAMC, but some saw a bigger uptick than others thanks to facility upgrades, expanded recruitment drives, tuition freezes and other changes.
For example, the University of Kentucky medical school's 2007-08 applicant numbers surged 56% over 2006-07. Applications pouring in for 2008-09 are on target to match -- if not surpass -- the 2007-08 pool.
Word is out that the state is short 2,000 physicians, Dr. Elam said. And the school is capturing attention as it seeks state approval for a rural medicine track that would boost enrollment to 130 students per class over the next decade, up from 103.
But the millennial generation's craving for state-of-the-art education may be the biggest reason behind the University of Kentucky's applicant surge. Jay A. Perman, MD, dean of the medical school, said plans for a new hospital, new research facilities and curriculum innovations are a big draw. In addition, the university is one of the few that offers a tuition freeze, where students pay the same amount all four years.
Tuition offerings also may explain why the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis saw a larger-than-average jump -- 22% -- in applicants for 2007-08. The school offers a flexible MD program, where students pay the same amount of tuition whether they finish their degree in 3½ years or six.
But Minnesota's dean, Deborah E. Powell, MD, said she can only guess at what is behind the unexpected increase. One other theory is that this was the first year Minnesota attended out-of-state premed gatherings to pitch the school to state natives.
No matter the reason for the upswing, it is having an impact on class size. Minnesota planned to enroll 165 students this fall and offered slots to the same number of students it had in years past. But by mid-summer, 183 said they planned to show. That forced Minnesota to boost class size.
Nationally, the allopathic 2007-08 class reached nearly 17,800 students, a 2.3% increase from last year. Osteopathic schools saw the size of first-year classes grow 11.8% to 4,300, as new schools opened in Arizona, New York and Tennessee.
The growth is exactly what the AAMC hoped for in 2005 when it asked schools to ramp up class size 30% by 2015 to avert a physician shortage. With enrollment increases under way and a flood of top-quality candidates, Dr. Kirch said he was optimistic that the medical school piece of the physician pipeline was on pace to meet tomorrow's needs.