Applications down?

[chameleonknight]

Hey,

I heard that applications are down this year. Can anyone confirm this? Are there really fewer people trying to get into med school?

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[oldtimer]

For the past few years, I heard that was the trendline. I suppose HMO's and declining reimbursement amounts from the governments, plus the spector of massive school loan debt , have scared away many people. On the other hand, the sucky economy and layoffs have forced many people to evaluate whether to return to school.

 

[boomuntilnoon]

When I interviewed at the University of Arkansas, the Dean of Admissions expressed some concern about the fewer number of AMCAS applications they had received thus far. He even asked us at the Interview Orientation if we had remembered to submit our applications.

 

[spumoni620]

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/articles/brief/04med.choose_brief.php

Rx for future M.D.'s (excerpt from article)

For the first time in almost a decade, the number of applicants to the nation's medical schools has risen, a trend deans attribute in part to the fact that most doctors are very satisfied with their work, despite problems with managed care. Admissions officers say prospective physicians need to have competitive grades and board scores.


Just as important, they say, is experience that proves they've got what it takes to be a caring health professional in a stressful, often chaotic environment. "We're looking for people who are altruistic," says Robert Sabalis, associate vice president of student affairs and programs the Association of American Medical Colleges: "people who are interested in assisting others."

 

[OZ2003]

I forget which school it was, I'll have to think, but anyway during an application status call, the admissions office said that they had already received 4,000 applications as of October, whereas they had received 4,000 TOTAL during the entire previous year.

Therefore, I think individual schools for sure experience fluctuations as their applicant pool changes and students also affect admission patterns as they flock to certain schools over others based on MSAR admissions figures.

 

[kwanny]

BU's expecting to receive over 10,000 applications this year... which is over 2000 more than last year... 😳

 

[exmike]

And at about $100 a pop, BU should generate $1,000,000 in revenues just from the "secondary" I shudder to call it even that. What a money making machine.

Originally posted by kwanny
BU's expecting to receive over 10,000 applications this year... which is over 2000 more than last year... 😳

 

[dodo2]

Instead of going to a medical school, I have decided to start a new medical school. Accept applications for $100 and reject them all. Can someone lend $1 mil in venture capital?

 

[ventricle]

The number of MCATs taken in 2003 was approximately 2% greater than the number for 2002, so one would expect a modest overall rise in the number of applicants.

 

[mimi1]

Originally posted by OZ2003
I forget which school it was, I'll have to think, but anyway during an application status call, the admissions office said that they had already received 4,000 applications as of October, whereas they had received 4,000 TOTAL during the entire previous year.

I believe that school is VCU. Whoo hoo! (my first acceptance!)

 

[PianoGirl04]

I've been wondering about this too. Supposedly, the numbers were projected to go down. But every admissions office keeps on saying that there's a huge volume of applications this year, etc., and it's taken some schools over 2 months to contact me post-secondary. It will be interesting to see the final numbers in relation to last year.

 

[chameleonknight]

Well, this just sucks.

LOL

 

[acab]

My premed advisor said applications are up this year. Why do med schools keep their class size relatively small? Wouldn't 50 more students bring lots of more money in, and the quality of education doesn't need to suffer.

Any idea anyone?

 

[strangeattractor]

i'm guessing that admissions committees are partly concerned about rankings - whereas one could admit fifty people with a mean of 3.5, it might bode slightly better for their reputation (especially over time) if you decide to decline the bottom 10 percentile, and raise the gpa a tiny bit.

on the other hand, what i would like to think is more likely is that even if a school gets an amazing group of applicants that is way beyond the amount they've had apply before, they might not have the facilities (classroom space, etc.)

that's my two cents on it, anyhow.

 

[xanthines]

I don't have any real proof, but I'm almost certain that it costs way more to train medical students than they (I'm not in yet! 🙁) pay in tuition.

Any current medical students want to ask their professors?

-X

Originally posted by acab
My premed advisor said applications are up this year. Why do med schools keep their class size relatively small? Wouldn't 50 more students bring lots of more money in, and the quality of education doesn't need to suffer.

Any idea anyone?

 

[An Yong]

Originally posted by acab
My premed advisor said applications are up this year. Why do med schools keep their class size relatively small? Wouldn't 50 more students bring lots of more money in, and the quality of education doesn't need to suffer.

Any idea anyone?

Don't quote me on this, but someone told me long ago that medical schools are not allowed to increase their class sizes without approval from the ACGME.

 

[Robz]

I'll hold my vote till the ballots are all in. Hey I lived in florida for a time...so I am a little skeptical about counting apps in the middle of the season. Personally, I think there will always be a large amount of medical applicants. I think the reduction in numbers was due to a quick tech market and people getting MBA's and earning 6 figures without the 7+ years of medical school and residencies. I am intrested to see how this trend will go in the future but be sure that the process is still VERY competetive. Just be the best you can be and see how it works out. 🙂


BTW I read a really intresting article in a magazine about a lot of the old CEO types, managers, and tech people having to take retail jobs to pay thier bills as they had no jobs after some of the markets fell. It was a positive article saying they are only doing this till they can get back on their feet but it REALLY has to hurt going from 6 figures to 9 bucks or so an hour as one of the people in the article had happen to her.

 

[lessismoe]

I"m pretty sure that the costs of insuring a med student to touch patients, given their comparatively small amount of experience, is MUCH more than the cost of tuition. Think of how much a doctor pays in malpractice insurance premiums... how much more do you think it is to insure a student?

Plus, I don't even know how much it costs to get a cadaver...
... kind of a morbid thought. How much do you think your body is worth?

 

[steve007]

Originally posted by lessismoe
Plus, I don't even know how much it costs to get a cadaver...
... kind of a morbid thought. How much do you think your body is worth?

most schools have their cadavers willed to them.

 

[jenni4476]

We are working on a cadaver in our undergrad anatomy class and our prof said it cost $4600. We got it from MCW, I'm assuming they charge that much b/c it costs them that much to prepare it even if it's donated in the first place. Logically, I don't think it would justify that high of a price but when you think about the chemicals, labor, and the fact that it has to be stored for about six months to "set up" and be ready to use.....not to mention the capital investment in the equipment necessary to do all this stuff....

 

[OrthoFixation]

It would not surprise me that med school applications are increasing. All professional post grad programs have seen a rising tide during the last two years. Economic downturns tend to drive additional education and career shifts. The only difference, IMHO, being that law school (for example) requires no specific prereq's, just a degree and LSAT. B-school might have a few prereq's, but not as significant (if at all). Just take the GMAT.

This all translates into med school applications lagging the general trend of proffesional schools by a year or two. I think it has nothing to do with more people genuinely interested in medicine, just more looking for alternate paths to the promised land of wealth, well being, and possibly personal career satisfaction.

Cheers

 

[spumoni620]

Originally posted by OrthoFixation
It would not surprise me that med school applications are increasing. All professional post grad programs have seen a rising tide during the last two years. Economic downturns tend to drive additional education and career shifts. The only difference, IMHO, being that law school (for example) requires no specific prereq's, just a degree and LSAT. B-school might have a few prereq's, but not as significant (if at all). Just take the GMAT.

This all translates into med school applications lagging the general trend of proffesional schools by a year or two. I think it has nothing to do with more people genuinely interested in medicine, just more looking for alternate paths to the promised land of wealth, well being, and possibly personal career satisfaction.

Cheers

Yeah...it's a bit cynical, but true. in the late 90s, b-school/landing a banking/consulting job was an easier ticket to wealth/success than roughing it in a phd or m.d. program. you therefore saw a pretty steady decline in both m.d. and phd applications during the economic boom. it was ludicrous--i remember some of my friends a few years above me flying across the country in first-class seats, juggling 7 job offers and negotiating 6-figure salaries + bonsues. actually, during this period mba applications declined as well--with or without an mba, earning power was shooting to the roof. well, anyway, now not only are jobs hard to come by, but an mba is no longer a guaranteed ticket to a stable job (even harvard mbas no longer have a 100% employment rate upon graduation)...so it's more tempting to turn to the m.d. as a route to a stable, relatively high-paying profession.

i wouldn't be surprised if this year md apps rose by a statistically significant percent.