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Interest in Medical School Rises After Six-Year Downturn

Data from the AAMC predict that the number of applications to U.S. medical schools is on the upswing for the coming academic year.

A six-year decline in medical school applications may be coming to an end, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).

Preliminary data for 2003 indicate that the number of medical school applicants will increase by 4 percent to 6 percent this year. The data are based on the number of individuals who took the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) in 2002 and initial applications to date.

The MCAT program administered 57,573 examinations this year, an increase of 5.6 percent over last year’s total. In addition, applications processed to date through the AAMC’s American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) are up 6 percent over this time last year. Currently, 115 medical school programs participate in AMCAS.

"With our nation facing new health challenges and a possible physician shortage, the apparent flagging interest in the medical profession, as reflected by the shrinking applicant pool over the last several years, has been cause for some concern," said AAMC President Jordan J. Cohen, M.D. "These early projections for 2003, however, provide hope that this six-year decline may finally be over."

In 1996 almost 47,000 individuals applied to U.S. medical schools, the culmination of a dramatic buildup that began in 1989. Since then, the number of applicants has steadily dropped anywhere from 1,000 to 4,000 each year.

The applicant pool of 33,501 for the current academic year is the smallest in the last six years, a 3.9 percent drop from the 2001 total of 34,859 applicants. However, it is still larger than the 26,721 applicants in the 1988 pool, according to the AAMC.

The sharp decline of men applying to medical schools, a trend that started in 1997, also continued in 2002. There were a total of 16,999 men applicants this year compared with 18,142 in 2001. Fewer women applied as well, although the decline was less steep—16,454 versus 16,717 in 2001.

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