Small Uptick in African-American Medical School Students

Medical school applicants of all races rose by nearly 5 percent this year compared to a year ago. Since 2003 the number of students applying to medical school is up about 12 percent.

For African Americans, the number of medical school applicants peaked in 1996 at 3,524. In 2006 there were 2,906 black applicants to U.S. medical schools. Like applicants as a whole, there has been a slight increase in black applicants in the past several years.

Of the 2,906 blacks who applied to medical school in 2006, 1,219, or 42 percent, were accepted for admission. Nationwide about 47 percent of all medical school applicants were admitted.

There were 1,155 black students who enrolled in medical school in 2006. The number of new African-American medical school students has increased 6 percent since 2004.

Copyright © 2006. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.