The U.S. Supreme Court just ended racial preferences in undergraduate admissions, in landmark cases filed by Asian-American high-school students against Harvard and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The linked opinions overturned the decision, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, 438 U.S. 265 (1978),which disallowed racial quotas in admissions at the U.C. Davis Medical School, but permitted the use of race in conjunction with other personal attributes.
In the 45 years between these momentous Supreme Court cases, historic demographic changes in medical-school applicants and graduates have occurred.
The first is the spectacular growth of female graduates. In 1980-81, of the 15,657 graduates, 11,755, or 75%, were male, and just 3,902, or 25%, were female.
But in 2019, of 19,937 medical-school graduates, 10,382, or 52%, were male, and 9,555, or 48% female.
Thus, during these four decades, male graduates declined by 1,373, or 12%, while female graduates increased by 5,653, or a phenomenal 145%.
Total enrollment jumped by 47%, from 65,497 in 1980-81, to 96,520 in 2022-23.
Furthermore, of the 22,692 first-year medical students in 2022-23, females are 12,630, or 56%, and males are 10,062, or 44%, according to data from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).
There have also been enormous changes in the racial or ethnic identities of America’s medical students.
In 1980, among 16,587 first-year students, 13,884, or 84%, were white; 999, or 6%, were Black; 807 students, or 5%, were Hispanic; and 679, or 4%, were Asian.
No biracial or ethnic/racial categories existed.
But in 2022-23, the AAMC recognizes a mind-boggling 17 racial and ethnic identities, including "White Only"; "Asian-Black"; "Hispanic-White"; and "Black Only."
Of 22,692 first-year medical students, 9,595, or 42%, identify as "White Only"; and 5,597, or
25%, as "Asian-Only."
"Black Only" students are 1,855, or 8%; and "Hispanic Only" are 1,444, or 6%.
The four categories total 81%.
Additionally, 916 first-year medical students, or 4%, identify as "Hispanic-White"; 614 students, or 3%, as "Asian-White"; and 141 students, or less than 1%, as "Black-White."
Another little-publicized feature of medical-school applicants is which undergraduate institutions are incubators of the largest number. It must be noted that, of 55,114 this past year, 23,810, or 43% were accepted, and 22,712, or 41%, enrolled.
Despite the obsessive media attention lavished on the overrated eight Ivy League colleges, their
combined 1,935 represent a miniscule 3.5% of applicants in 2022-23.
Cornell leads with 405 applicants; Penn is next, 321; Brown, 267; and Harvard, 260. Princeton is last with a paltry 146.
By contrast, eight flagship state universities — three in California, two in Texas, and one each in Florida and Michigan and Georgia — account for a hefty 5,423, or 9.8%, of all medical-school applicants.
The Top 4 are UCLA, 1,195; University of Texas-Austin, 993; University of Florida-Gainesville, 860; and University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, 824.
Significantly, seven Ivies have a combined 682 Asian applicants, who represent a robust 38% of the schools’ anemic 1,787. (Dartmouth, with fewer than 50 Asian applicants, is omitted from this demographic.)
By contrast, as a result of Proposition 209, which in 1996 outlawed affirmative-action admissions at the University of California, five campuses — UCLA (603), Berkeley (441), San Diego (354), Davis (247) and Irvine (219) — total 1,864, or a remarkable 13.2%, of 14,134 Asian applicants.
Seven Ivy colleges have a total of 217 Black applicants, or a tiny 4.2% of 5,181. (With fewer than 15 Black applicants, Yale isn’t included.)
Three Historical Black Colleges — Howard, Xavier-New Orleans and Spelman – have 276 Black medical-school applicants, or 5.3%.
And five Florida public universities — in Gainesville, Orlando, Tampa, Boca Raton and Tallahassee — have 327 Black applicants in 2022-23, or 6.3%.
Unsurprisingly, the eight Ivies have just 211 Hispanic applicants this year, or a puny 3.7% of 5,629.
Again, the five Florida public universities, and one in Miami, have a very impressive 784 Hispanic applicants, or 13.9%.
Six Ivy League schools have 614 White medical-school applicants this year, or a feeble 2.6% of 23,558. (With fewer than 100 White applicants each, Yale and Dartmouth are below this threshold.)
Six flagship public universities — two in Texas, and one each in Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin and California — have a combined 2,370 White applicants this year, or 10.1%. Florida-Gainesville leads with 489; Michigan-Ann Arbor, 433; Texas-Austin, 376; and Texas A & M, 372.
Undoubtedly, Americans should stop unthinkingly overvaluing the eight Ivy League colleges, which play an undistinguished role in educating America’s highly motivated and intelligent pre-med students.
Indeed, there are 95 undergraduate institutions, each of which has more applicants than the 146 from Princeton, the lowest-performing Ivy League college.
Their combined 29,644 applicants represent 54% of America’s 55,114.
Finally, the compulsive focus on the percentages of Black and Hispanic medical-school applicants and graduates should not obscure, that the continuing vigorous expansion of female physicians, is the most significant advancement in this crucial profession, since the landmark 1978 Supreme Court decision, Bakke v. University of California.
Mark Schulte is a retired New York City schoolteacher and mathematician who has written extensively about science and the history of science. Read Mark Schulte's Reports — More Here.
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