Medical school applications: A disconcerting drop

[opus]

Medical school applications: A disconcerting drop
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/770477/posts

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[14931]

http://www.studentdoctor.net/forums/showthread.php?threadid=47638

 

[abw]

I know that analyses of this year's application cycle probably won't be completed until next year, but has anyone heard if the # of people who took the mcat was smaller than normal, or if they can tell yet if there will be a decrease in med school apps. this year? Or is the only info around from the last couple of years?

 

[Cerberus]

nice commemtary by the idiots at freerepublic

{edit further reading shows that some of these people aren't as big of idiots as i'd assumed /edit}

{edit II i take the prior edit back!}

 

[chopsuey]

when is AMCAS' deadline for submission of the primary to them? I thought it was Oct. 15th (i'm not sure if that's right, so check it out if you want to be sure)... if it is, then they should have some idea of numbers sometime soon. it's just a matter of if they want to release those numbers or not!

 

[opus]

Cerberus
Hand Wringing Liberal...............only a liberal would insult

 

[Mutterkuchen]

This article is kind of bogus, because it is using data from the entering classes of 2001 and earlier. Those that entered in 2001 applied in the summer/fall of 2000. The economy was pretty good back at that time. We'll see what happens this year or next. That will be more telling.

 

[SolidGold]

Wasn't there some JAMA article that said this years applications are following the same downward trend as previous years?

 

[dpark74]

From the MCAT website, ~50-55K people (incl. retesters) took the exam last year (2001) with 34K applying. I think the # of test takers has been somewhat steady the last two years but with the # of applicants declining.

 

[secretstang19]

The admissions director for VCU/MCV told me that applications are actually UP this year. She said that, while it's just a preliminary estimate, it looks like the applicant pool increased by 10% this year.

I wasn't clear about if she meant that statistic to apply only to VCU's applicant pool, or the nationwide pool. But an increase of 10% at a given school is still significant, and seems like it would indicate some increase in the applicant pool as a whole... ?

 

[Blitzkrieg]

I have been told by some schools that apps are up as well.

 

[Philism]

I can see the story a year from now:

Pre-med Applicants: untapped source of fuel and slave labor!

Scientists today announced their discovery of a new fuel source - pre-med applicants. Europe has been keen on this idea for some time now, and has already adopted their use in trains by burning them as cheap and efficient fuel. Americans and Japanese love these new creatures as pets, often training them to do their bidding by shouting "Bad newbie, bad! C- on OChem exam!"

 

[opus]

A little more info........

http://www.ama-assn.org/sci-pubs/amnews/pick_02/prsc0923.htm

 

[applejuice1979]

The articles are great. But I don't think that the eventual debt of attending medical school is a deterrant for would-be applicants (freerepublic article states this). Most of us pre-meds know that we will be able to pay off our debt within a few years after residency so I don't know if this is accurate. I think scoring lower on your MCAT than expected or not having a good enough relationship with professors to get letters are bigger reasons that people do not apply after taking the MCAT.