Medical School Applications Continue to Decline.

WASHINGTON -- The number of medical school applicants has dipped sharply over the past 4 years, from a record of 46,968 applicants in 1996 to only 37,137 applicants in 2000, Association of American Medical Colleges President Jordan J. Cohen said at a press briefing.

Yet despite the downturn, the number of applicants still exceeds the number of available positions. A total of 16,303 students entered medical school in 2000.

According to the AAMC, 91% of graduating medical students say that changes in the health care system are impairing physician independence. This same fear is exhibited by students considering medical school and may be one of the reasons for the decline in applications.

Other reasons for the downturn in applications may include a strong economy that has opened up other career opportunities, as well as the "natural ebb and flow" of interest in professional schools, Dr. Cohen said.

Prospective students also may be turned off by the enormous debt accrued from medical training, typically averaging about $90,000, he added.

Yet all of these deterrents may be having the positive effect of weeding out the less-gifted applicants, so that only the brightest are applying to medical schools.

"Virtually nobody applies to medical school who doesn't think they have a chance to get in," Dr. Cohen said. Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores this year for each of the three testing categories (verbal reasoning, physical sciences, and biological sciences) are the same or better than last year, according to the AAMC.