Soaring applications to medical school are making it more difficult for candidates to get accepted. Between 2006 and 2016, the number of applicants to U.S. medical schools increased by more than 35 percent, rising from 39,108 to 53,042, according to Association of American Medical Colleges admissions data. U.S. News data show an uptick in applicants at most medical schools, particularly at primary care programs. The average number of applicants at the top 10 primary care programs more than doubled between 2006 and 2016, rising from 3,273 applicants for the class entering in 2006 to 7,175 applicants for the class entering in 2016. Experts say this rise in demand for a medical education poses challenges for aspiring doctors, because it means they have to do more than achieve good grades and scores to earn a spot at a U.S. medical school. "Show passion for something," Scott Wallace, associate professor with the new Dell Medical School at the University of Texas—Austin, said via email. "A lot of med school candidates look the same; they've worked so hard to get good grades and scores they seem flat. Those who have done something interesting stand out." Wallace, who is also managing director of the medical school's Value Institute for Health and Care, says many Dell students have fascinating life experiences. For example, he says the school admitted a former military pilot, a former paramedic and a mother of two with community-oriented work experience in East Austin. Dr. Anthony McGreggor Crowley, a counselor at the admissions consulting firm IvyWise, says U.S. medical schools are now zealously recruiting applicants who are humanities majors, which they had not done in the past. "Undoubtedly this has encouraged a broader range of applicants, as well as a larger number of applicants, to apply to medical schools," Crowley said via email. "With a stagnant number of admission slots available, the overall admission rate has to decrease." U.S. News data reveal that medical school acceptance rates have dropped over the past decade and that this decline is particularly pronounced among the top 10 primary careprograms. The average acceptance rate at these programs nearly halved between 2006 and 2016, falling from 8.8 percent for the class entering in 2006 to 4.6 percent for the class entering in 2016. Some medical schools have experienced particularly steep drops in their acceptance rates over the past decade, U.S. News data show. For instance, the acceptance rate at Michigan State University's College of Osteopathic Medicine plummeted from 15.5 percent to 8.8 percent over the last 10 years. Experts say one factor that is contributing to the decline in medical school acceptance rates is the increasing number of applicants who are applying to more than a dozen medical schools. According to the AAMC, medical school applicants who sought spots in the fall 2016 entering class filed 16 applications on average. One way that applicants can increase their chances of medical school acceptance is by customizing their applications for each medical school, experts say. Another valuable strategy, Crowley says, is to deliberately explore academic experiences outside your comfort zone. A college student who excels in science, technology, engineering or math should cultivate his or her skills in humanities subjects, whereas humanities majors should deliberately challenge themselves with tough math and science courses, Crowley suggests. "To have a history student come in with a powerhouse physics score on the MCAT is a great thing," he said. "That would quite nicely help an applicant stand out in a crowded field." Dr. Luz Claudio, author of "How to Write and Publish a Research Paper: The Step by Step Guide," says it's vital for aspiring doctors to do meaningful scientific research before applying to medical school, because without that research background, they will not be nearly as competitive. Claudio, a tenured professor of preventive medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and chief of its division of international health, says clinical research internships with medical school faculty are ideal. "Once working in an internship program, they should aim to co-author a research paper with their internship mentor," she said via email. "In my experience, having a published research paper helps students get a second look by admissions committees." Dr. Pritham Raj, an associate professor at the Oregon Health and Science University Medical School, says one great way to stand out is to show a serious commitment to medicine by working as a medical scribe or by doing some other kind of health-related job. In general, he says, excelling in a few extracurricular activities is superior to doing many activities in an ordinary way. "There's still no substitute for excelling in the classroom, but we are looking for well-roundedness," says Raj, who previously served on his university's medical school admissions committee. "So, we don't want just a bookworm." Searching for a medical school? Get our complete rankings of Best Medical Schools. Source
