Decrease in Medical School Applicants

[muohio17]

I recently heard a statement that medical school applications had decreased by 70% this cycle primarily due to the concerns over the health care debate. I find this hard to believe given the amount of time and preparation that goes into becoming a decent candidate. I can't imagine just giving up over concerns related to the health care debate now. Maybe some of the less committed students wouldn't apply, but a 70% decrease seems ludicrous. Have any of you heard of similar claims?

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[jvesco22]

 

[J ROD]

I call bull$hit!!

 

[caseofthemndays]

HA! There are a record number of applicants this year!

 

[TheMightySmiter]

I recently heard a statement that medical school applications had decreased by 70% this cycle primarily due to the concerns over the health care debate. I find this hard to believe given the amount of time and preparation that goes into becoming a decent candidate. I can't imagine just giving up over concerns related to the health care debate now. Maybe some of the less committed students wouldn't apply, but a 70% decrease seems ludicrous. Have any of you heard of similar claims?

Where'd you hear this? They're either bull$hitting or have NO idea what's going on.

 

[Zona Pellucida]

Faux.

 

[SoutherNtellect]

Don't believe everything you hear?

 

[DirtyJustice]

Id imagine the economy effecting those statistics over health care reform.

 

[Contrarian]

Id imagine the economy effecting those statistics over health care reform.

how would economic conditions reduce the number of applicants to med school? if anything, the economic outlook encourages a "flight to quality," which entails more stable career options.

 

[LizzyM]

It would be terrifying it if were true. We have fewer applications than this time last year but we could still fill our class more than 10 times over with the number of good candidates we've reviewed thus far this year so I've no worries about a dramatic decline in applications.

 

[FlowRate]

how would economic conditions reduce the number of applicants to med school? if anything, the economic outlook encourages a "flight to quality," which entails more stable career options.

Theoretically, less people have the funds to apply to med school.

 

[ILikeDrugs]

Only 5k applicants? That's half the number that apply to UCLA each year.

 

[Contrarian]

Theoretically, less people have the funds to apply to med school.

I guess applicants may be more conservative where they choose to send their money, so some schools would see a minor decline (certainly not 70%), but I would still say overall there has been a slight uptick in total applicants, and that will probably accelerate over the next few years.

Or maybe people really are that scared of Obamacare. I guess that's the wildcard.

 

[LizzyM]

A 70% decline in the number of applicants would drop the number to less than the number of seats available. That would be terrrible.

A 70% decline in the number of applications made would drop the number of applications from ~554,000 to ~160,000. Given the number of applications we're seeing, it would seem very unlikely that there are so few out there spread over 100+ schools.

 

[longhorn09]

Only 5k applicants? That's half the number that apply to UCLA each year.

Oh God, please let me get into UCLA, coz I love California. Amen.

 

[schrizto]

lol, the OP really should have used some common sense before making this thread.

 

[wanderer]

HA! There are a record number of applicants this year!

Data please.


I'm curious as to what the actual numbers are. 2008 had roughly the same number (~100) of applicants as 2007. The financial meltdown (and loss of high paying jobs in finance) is too recent to significantly affect the number of applicants. The same is probably true with health care reform.

 

[MexicanDr]

Its actually increasing homeboy/homegirl..

 

[lawyerdoc2b]

I have been to a few interviews at D.O. schools. At PCOM GA, I was told that a record number had been received. Last year, approximately 2600 applications for 86 seats. This year, it could reach 4,000 applications. I presume that M.D. schools are experiencing the same.

 

[LizzyM]

Allopathic is a different ball game. In Georgia, Emory had 6,055 applications for 128 seats.

Among the schools receiving the most applications: NY Medical College, Drexel, Georgetown, George Washington all with over 11,000. You would not expect them to see a doubling of applications.

 

[bannie22]

-.- wanst there a 5% increase or something this year??? esp because of the economy

 

[LizzyM]

-.- wanst there a 5% increase or something this year??? esp because of the economy

The stats aren't out yet for this year although they might be out next week to coincide with the AAMC annual meeting.


from 2007 to 2008 there was a tiny 0.2% decline in the number of applicants.
That was after a steady climb in applications from 2002 to 2007. We are still off from the high of over 43,000 applications in 1997.

http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/2008/2008slr.htm

 

[Sammich117]

What's the total amount of people admitted each year? I tried searching for it, but couldn't really find a definitive answer.

 

[wanderer]

What's the total amount of people admitted each year? I tried searching for it, but couldn't really find a definitive answer.

For 2008:
total applicants: 42,231
first time applicants: 31,019
Acceptees: 19,135
Matriculants: 18,036
Number of people who get admitted through BA/MD programs: (~670)
Number of people who get admitted through early acceptance: ~ 313

 

[Sammich117]

Thank you!

 

[RogueUnicorn]

[sigh] if only...

 

[amine2086]

Wishful thinking. Based on the numbers wanderer100 posted, if there was a 70% decline in number of applicants, there would be only about 12,670 applicants. Given that 18,036 matriculated last year, there would be over 5000 open seats in the next matriculating class even if the medical schoolS admitted all the applicants. That means some medical schools would have to close their doors due to lack of students. Given that some schools receive over 10,000 applications for couple hundred seats, that is unlikely to happen anytime soon.

I recently heard a statement that medical school applications had decreased by 70% this cycle primarily due to the concerns over the health care debate. I find this hard to believe given the amount of time and preparation that goes into becoming a decent candidate. I can't imagine just giving up over concerns related to the health care debate now. Maybe some of the less committed students wouldn't apply, but a 70% decrease seems ludicrous. Have any of you heard of similar claims?

For 2008:
total applicants: 42,231
first time applicants: 31,019
Acceptees: 19,135
Matriculants: 18,036
Number of people who get admitted through BA/MD programs: (~670)
Number of people who get admitted through early acceptance: ~ 313

 

[fahimaz7]

nvm