For the fourth year in a row, medical schools across the nation saw a drop in new student applications this year.
Total applications dropped 3.7 percent in 2000, according to a report published last weekin the Journal of the American Medical Association. Preliminary estimates indicate a similar dip in applications this fall.
The University's Medical School experienced a drop in applications last year that was in line with national trends: 3,700 students applied for admission, marking the lowest number in six years. Applications peaked at 4,879 in 1996.
A Medical School official said the decline is nothing to worry about.
"This is a natural fluctuation, and I'm not terribly concerned," said Benjamin Sturgill, Medical School Associate Dean for Admissions.
Fewer minority students applied for admission to the University's Medical School as well. The school received 407 applications from minority students last fall compared to 529 in 1996. Nationwide, minority applications actually rose 2 percent from 1999, bucking recent declining trends.
Last year, the Medical School offered admission to 139 out of 3,700 total applicants.
Although the quantity of applicants has decreased, the quality remains the same as in previous years, Sturgill said.
According to their average GPAs and MCAT scores, the medical students are actually improving.
In 1996, for example, the average GPA of accepted students was 3.57 and average MCAT score was 10.34 out of 15 on each of three sections; last year, GPA was 3.67 and MCAT average was 10.65.
Student debt, a relatively stable job market, and the decreasing appeal of managed care are among potential reasons for the nationwide application decline, according to medical school officials across the country.
"We've seen this before. It's beyond U.Va.'s control," said Beth Bailey, the Medical School's director of admissions. "On the national level, however, some of the bad press about managed care needs to be counteracted"
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