Applications Down for Medical Schools

Medical schools are reporting a decline in applications for the first time in nearly a decade, and the reasons cited include an 11% drop in minority applicants, managed care and the booming economy. After a decade of robust growth in applications, the number of students applying for the fall of 1997 incoming class dropped 8.4% from the previous year, when a record 46,968 people competed for 16,000 first-year slots. And the pool of applicants for the fall 1998 incoming class is expected to be even smaller, according to the Assn. of American Medical Colleges.