Why so many applicants for 2006?

[Nabipbuh]

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Thre is an old saying: when unemployment is high, graduating seniors apply to grad school because jobs are scarce and they are unlikely to get a job right out of college. This is less true for professional schools although I suspect that there is a similar situation when unemployment is low and high salaries are being offered for entry level workers; a pre-med or pre-law student might take a job for a year or two with a brokerage firm or a biotech start-up with the hope of making some big money before going on to professional school. When those jobs aren't there (even if the economy is otherwise good), then it seems to make sense to go straight to professional school.

There might be some effect on the poor job market (including bursting of the dot-com bubble, and the post 9/11 economic downturn) on non-trad applicants although I would think that most of those applicants will be admitted by Fall '06 or will move on with their lives.

And by making some big money, you mean no more than $30K per year? This would be the market rate for someone straight out of undergrad.
Trust me I've been there, 30k would have been great, but I was a couple thousand short.

 

[LizzyM]

People just had a lot more sex in the mid-80's than other periods.

The number of live births in the U.S. peaked in 1957 (4.3 million) and declined from there. It fell below 4 million in 1965 andt didn't return to 4+ million until 1989 and despite how young some of the applicants look, we aren't seeing that birth cohort (1989-1993) applying to medical school yet in any great numbers.

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0005067.html

People were having more sex that resulted in babies in the 1920s & the 1950s than in the 1980s, particularly when you consider the birth rate per 1,000 women rather than the number of live births.

😍

 

[LizzyM]

And by making some big money, you mean no more than $30K per year? This would be the market rate for someone straight out of undergrad.
Trust me I've been there, 30k would have been great, but I was a couple thousand short.

In some industries the starting salaries can be much higher...

According to a 2002 survey by the Association of Management Consulting Firms, the average total cash compensation (salary plus bonus or profit sharing) for research associates was $47,826; for entry-level consultants, $61,496; for management consultants, $78,932; for senior consultants, $112,716; for junior partners, $168,998; and for senior partners, $254,817.

According to a 2003 survey conducted by Abbot, Langer, and Associates, the median annual cash compensation for junior consultants was $48,248; for consultants, $58,817; for senior consultants, $80,000; for principal consultants, $98,000; and for senior or executive vice presidents (with an ownership interest in the firm), $144,200.

Besides earning a straight salary, many workers receive additional compensation, such as profit sharing, stock ownership, or performance-based bonuses. In some firms, bonuses can constitute one-third of annual pay.



That's the sort of thing that makes an applicant think that a couple of years out might be interesting and lucrative.

 

[Brainsucker]

All you pre-med type people might want to keep in mind that the extra applicants are not necessarily quality applicants. Maybe some of them are, but it's possible that the most of the best applicants would apply no matter what and that the less dedicated do not pose as great a threat.

 

[DoctorMoLLY]

What's the deal with the increase in applicants for the 2006 cycle? I blame Grey's Anatomy. Any other ideas?

Grey's Anatomy premiered last March, when all of us applying in the 2006 cycle were preparing for the April MCAT. I highly doubt that anyone just up and decided to take the MCAT (and had all the necessary course work) because of a show that had been on for a month.
You may have a point in about 4 years if the show is still successful, but now? no way!

 

[MN81]

Blame it on the Bird Flu

 

[NoSoupforYou13]

All you pre-med type people might want to keep in mind that the extra applicants are not necessarily quality applicants. Maybe some of them are, but it's possible that the most of the best applicants would apply no matter what and that the less dedicated do not pose as great a threat.

I think that pre-med classes and the MCAT eliminate a large portion of these “less qualified” applicants.

 

[HMSNeuro]

Heh. heh. Yea. He said "heard[,]" but you[one] can't actually hear form [sic] a message board. Heh. Heh. Yea.

Pretty funny.

The thought crossed my mind as I wrote it but didn't think anyone would be so lame as to have trouble with it. Guess I was wrong.

(Hint: look up the word "heard" at Merriam Webster, www.m-w.com, and look at definition 2.a. My usage is proper. Thanks for playing.)

You're very witty.

 

[Nebuloso]

Grey's Anatomy premiered last March, when all of us applying in the 2006 cycle were preparing for the April MCAT. I highly doubt that anyone just up and decided to take the MCAT (and had all the necessary course work) because of a show that had been on for a month.
You may have a point in about 4 years if the show is still successful, but now? no way!

Ah, thought someone would bring this up. Besides my attempt at humor , my thinking was that Grey's may have inspired those who had the prereqs and such to either A. finally apply or B. take/re-take the MCAT and apply. It's possible.

 

[ilovehedgehogs]

Grey's Anatomy and House, without a doubt

 

[Law2Doc]

Ah, thought someone would bring this up. Besides my attempt at humor , my thinking was that Grey's may have inspired those who had the prereqs and such to either A. finally apply or B. take/re-take the MCAT and apply. It's possible.

ER, Scrubs, Dr. 90210, Nip Tuck etc. were all on TV with ample time to persuade folks to take this route. House and Greys only add fuel to the fire. Currently, there are more examples of physicians on TV than at any time in history. I wouldn't underestimate the power of TV to influence folks perception of careers. 🙂
You can find suggestions in the media that LA Law was part of the impetus of the big rise in law students a couple of decades back, so why not the same for medicine.

 

[LizzyM]

ER, Scrubs, Dr. 90210, Nip Tuck etc. were all on TV with ample time to persuade folks to take this route. House and Greys only add fuel to the fire. Currently, there are more examples of physicians on TV than at any time in history. I wouldn't underestimate the power of TV to influence folks perception of careers. 🙂
You can find suggestions in the media that LA Law was part of the impetus of the big rise in law students a couple of decades back, so why not the same for medicine.

Ben Casey, Dr. Kildare,
Medical Center, Marcus Welby, M.D.,
M*A*S*H, St. Elsewhere,
Bill Cosby Show, Doogie Howser, Quincy M.E.,
ER, Chicago Hope

It's always something ....

 

[Law2Doc]

Ben Casey, Dr. Kildare,
Medical Center, Marcus Welby, M.D.,
M*A*S*H, St. Elsewhere,
Bill Cosby Show, Doogie Howser, Quincy M.E.,
ER, Chicago Hope

It's always something ....

There were far fewer temporal overlaps in those groups you mentioned. We are talking critical mass here. Also I didn't count shows where the main subject was not medicine, so Cosby doesn't count (otherwise shows like Out of Practice, the Sopranos etc could be brought in, and create a mess). Also if Quincy counts then we have to bring in all the CSIs and that opens a whole different can of worms..

 

[Law2Doc]

There were far fewer temporal overlaps in those groups you mentioned. We are talking critical mass here. Also I didn't count shows where the main subject was not medicine, so Cosby doesn't count (otherwise shows like Out of Practice, the Sopranos etc could be brought in, and create a mess). Also if Quincy counts then we have to bring in all the CSIs and that opens a whole different can of worms..

For an article on TV influencing career choices, see: http://www.personneltoday.com/Artic...ce+for+careers+influence+for+young+people.htm

 

[LizzyM]

There were far fewer temporal overlaps in those groups you mentioned. We are talking critical mass here. Also I didn't count shows where the main subject was not medicine, so Cosby doesn't count (otherwise shows like Out of Practice, the Sopranos etc could be brought in, and create a mess). Also if Quincy counts then we have to bring in all the CSIs and that opens a whole different can of worms..

I'm not talking temporal overlaps... I'm showing that since 1961 there has been a pair of "doctor" shows on at almost all times. I'd be willing to pull Cosby (although he gave the impression that one could do OB a couple of minutes a week and have plenty of time for the family 😉 ) but I'd add Northern Exposure (how could I forget that "pay back med school loans by working in Alaska" show).

Quincy was a physican. Come to think of it, let's add in "Crossing Jordan". The rest are police procedurals and the main characters are not physicians.

And the article you linked to about choosing professions does not reference "doctor shows" but does illustrate that some young people report being more interested in obscure fields (such as crime scene investigation) because they have been made aware of the career through TV. People don't need TV to inform them that people called doctors make a living attempting to cure sick people. People aren't being introduced to medicine through TV but it does glamorize it (one resident reported that real residents laugh at the idea that they would be sleeping with their peers - or with attendings - as shown on Grey's Anatomy).

 

[Law2Doc]

And the article you linked to about choosing professions does not reference "doctor shows" but does illustrate that some young people report being more interested in obscure fields (such as crime scene investigation) because they have been made aware of the career through TV. People don't need TV to inform them that people called doctors make a living attempting to cure sick people. People aren't being introduced to medicine through TV but it does glamorize it (one resident reported that real residents laugh at the idea that they would be sleeping with their peers - or with attendings - as shown on Grey's Anatomy).

I realize that that article doesn't specifically discuss medicine, but I just linked that article to bolster my claim that TV does, in fact, play a role in influencing career choices for some. It probably will influence folks sleeping with their peers and attendings in the coming years.

 

[happydays]

I realize that that article doesn't specifically discuss medicine, but I just linked that article to bolster my claim that TV does, in fact, play a role in influencing career choices for some. It probably will influence folks sleeping with their peers and attendings in the coming years.

But TV also influences careers in EVERYthing. From movie stars to fire-fighters to congressmen. You name it, there's a show for it.

 

[Law2Doc]

But TV also influences careers in EVERYthing. From movie stars to fire-fighters to congressmen. You name it, there's a show for it.

Yes - That's why I'm saying it requires a critical mass to actually drive up application numbers -- that's why having more top shows relating to medicine at the same time is required. Probably a relatively few folks flocked to med school just because of ER. But when you have five or more top medical shows on at once, it starts to have a real societal influence.

 

[LizzyM]

I think that TV, if it does have an influence on career choices, is influential on much younger kids who may or may not follow through. My own kid who is very logical, rational, concerned with justice and fairness, very argumentative and good at negotiation (with the understanding that some things Mom says are non-negotiable) looks at the law & order shows and sees that law might be a future career (but applying to law school is a decade away).

Thankfully, most kids (and most adults) have no insight into the world of criminal law, national government and political campaigns, or restaurant operations (what was that reality show about a restaurant in NYC?). TV provides that insight although it may be a biased and inaccurate view of what the profession is really all about. Nonetheless, it might get kids thinking about it.

 

[DoctorMoLLY]

Ben Casey, Dr. Kildare,
Medical Center, Marcus Welby, M.D.,
M*A*S*H, St. Elsewhere,
Bill Cosby Show, Doogie Howser, Quincy M.E.,
ER, Chicago Hope

It's always something ....

you seem to have forgotten Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman- one of my personal favorites!

 

[BlondieMD]

you seem to have forgotten Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman- one of my personal favorites!

Are you serious? Because if you are...I absolutely LOVED that show...I believe it was on Sunday nights...I would BEG my parents to plan their schedules around it. She was the coolest pre-modern era doctor ever. And Sully was a hottie too. Haha Those were the days...

 

[DoctorMoLLY]

Are you serious? Because if you are...I absolutely LOVED that show...I believe it was on Sunday nights...I would BEG my parents to plan their schedules around it. She was the coolest pre-modern era doctor ever. And Sully was a hottie too. Haha Those were the days...

Heck yes I'm serious, I loved her too. I think it was on Saturday nights- the best part of my weekend as a 10 year old.

After med school and residency, I plan on venturing into the mountains of Colorado, practicing rural medicine, and finding a mountain man like Sully to marry!

 

[BlondieMD]

Heck yes I'm serious, I loved her too. I think it was on Saturday nights- the best part of my weekend as a 10 year old.

After med school and residency, I plan on venturing into the mountains of Colorado, practicing rural medicine, and finding a mountain man like Sully to marry!

You are correct about the Saturday night showings...

Here's hoping I get off OSU's waitlist...then we could watch Dr. Quinn for inspiration during med school...

And finding mountain men like Sully? Sign me up. Now.