Medical school applications and enrollments skyrocketed to record highs during the 2021-22 school year across the US, especially among underrepresented minorities, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).
Applications typically rise and fall by 2% or 3% for the past 20 years, but for the 2021-22 season, they increased by 17.8%, with 62,443 total applicants eclipsing the previous record of 53,370 in 2019-20, according to the AAMC.
Out of the over 22,000 students who enrolled in medical schools this fall, there was a 21% increase in those who self-identified as Black or African American, an 8.3% increase among Asian students, and 7.1% among those of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin, per the AAMC.
The association added there’s no single reason for the massive influx and interest in medicine.
