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This is an interesting interpretation of these data. I, too, have been deeply inspired by Dr. Fauci and all of the front-line health care heroes. In addition, I wonder how much of this rise can be attributed to cost of applying. 1/ https://www.npr.org/2020/12/07/942170588/fauci-effect-drives-record-number-of-medical-school-applications?utm_medium=social&utm_term=nprnews&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=npr&fbclid=IwAR3pY1V3tUm9r2-TOR9texR6zXLULXPJNlw0n2PZyuriSpf6RD7Dyp4ymOA
My understanding is that most (all?) interviews are being conducted via video this year. This means, of course, no need to pay for flights and room/board for interviews, expenses that make up a sig proportion of the cost of applying to med school. 2/
More to this point, I think the MCAT requirement was pulled by multiple schools. The test itself isn’t cheap and, furthermore, the review courses by test-prep companies can reach thousands of dollars. 3/
For many people, including myself, deciding to apply to med school became a question of “when”, not “if”. In particular, when would I have sufficient funds saved for test-prep, applications, and interview travel. 4/
One piece of data I’d be interested in seeing is how much of this rise in applications is made up of students from <$100k family households. If I remember correctly, those data are collected on primaries. 5/
It could offer some insight into the barriers preventing more diversity and inclusion in medicine; whether some groups of people are systematically being excluded from participating in this amazing field. done/ #MedTwitter
