How will the current economic crisis affect the upcoming application cycle?

[chudat]

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Any suggestions?
More applications, less applications, about the same?

According to past studies, during recessions, the applications for graduate school considerably increase=more selectivity.

I feel bad for the 10'ers.

 

[engineeredout]

Since the med school application process generally requires more foresight than going to regular grad school with prereqs and volunteer/shadowing in addition to a standardized test, I doubt you'll see the increase in the 09-10 application cycle like you're probably going to see in the grad school apps. Maybe the year after you'll see a spike.

 

[Semicolon]

I would think it depends. For DO schools, the number of applicants has been increasing every year, so I think that there will continue to be more applicants for medical school overall, especially as new campuses/schools and more seats open up.

In terms of the economy, job security is becoming a large issue, and physicians usually have it good when it comes to that (which will make it a more attractive option). But then there's medical school costs, which are only rising...

 

[ShyRem]

I think you'll see a rise for the '10'ers and beyond for a few years. I wouldn't be surprised if more people started prepping for med school admissions last year due to the recession (which plenty of folks were aware of before our government finally admitted the problem).

 

[dozitgetchahi]

I think there will be more AACOMAS/AMCAS primaries submitted but fewer secondaries overall. More people will want to go to medical school but they won't have the money to send out a blizzard of secondaries to every single medical school in the land. Furthermore, they will probably submit secondaries only to the med schools in their local areas so as to stay closer to their families and perhaps save on student expenses by living with relatives. If the trend plays out this way, overall competitiveness for admissions at most medical schools may actually be reduced.

 

[Jack Daniel]

I think there will be more applications but maybe, with the additional MD & DO schools and the increase in MD seats, it won't be so bad for people looking to just get in somewhere. But, I'm usually a glass half-full kind of guy.

 

[Chocolate Bear]

I think there will be more applications but maybe, with the additional MD & DO schools and the increase in MD seats, it won't be so bad for people looking to just get in somewhere. But, I'm usually a glass half-full kind of guy.

Half full of what? 😉

 

[EricH]

I think that there will be one more good job on the market...once I quit

 

[ShyRem]

Hello, Jack. (how are rotations treating you?) I respectfully can't agree with you. There are perhaps what... 300 extra seats for the 2010 class? Maybe? I wouldn't be surprised if there were more than 3000 extra applicants. Med school has been looking very good lately with the massive layoffs in every sector, unemployment rising for the past two or three years, stores closing down... medicine is pretty much a guaranteed job at least.

 

[chudat]

to get into medicine is not that easy; there are pre-reqs and extra-curriculars that one must have undertaken for couple of years.

i do think that law apps will significantly increase, but med apps will only see a large increase in 1-2 yrs.