94-02-10 UVa Medical School applications topped 5,000 RELEASE ON RECEIPT Contact: Beth Bailey CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Feb. 9 -- Applications for admission to the Universi ty of Virginia School of Medicine this year topped the 5,000 mark for the first time, and 28 minority students are among the applicants who have been accepted and expressed an interest in joining the 139-member fall entering class. Director of admissions Beth Bailey said that the figure on minority studen ts is a "snapshot" that will change, because some people apply to several medical schoo ls and then during the spring select one and withdraw their applications to the others. But she added that minority applicants also are on the alternate list to f ill openings that may occur, so the final total of minority students in the new class may be lower but could equal the current 28 -- which, if it were maintained, would be 20 percent of the entering class and a new record. Last year's class contained 23 minority studen ts, about 16 percent. Women who have been accepted and expressed interest would make up about 43 percent of the new class, a figure that Bailey expects to be maintained within one or two percentage points. Recent entering classes have contained 41 to 43 percent wome n. Bailey said total applications for the fall 1994 class have reached 5,028 with a few still trickling into the admissions office. That's a 12 percent increase over l ast year's total, more UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA -- PAGE 2 and the third straight annual record. About two-fifths of the applicants -- 2,1 13 -- were women, and 552 were minority students, up nine percent over last year. "We're delighted that our efforts to recruit highly qualified minority med ical students are succeeding," said Dr. Don E. Detmer, vice president and provost for health sciences. "This strengthens our programs and benefits all of us. "Dean Robert M. Carey, Professor Moses Woode and the medical school admiss ions committee and staff -- indeed, all of those associated with minority recruitmen t -- are doing a terrific job. I am very grateful for their efforts. "Many of our minority students are truly stellar performers; in fact, seve ral have won national recognition in recent months, which is good for them and good for thei r future patients and the communities they will serve, in Virginia and elsewhere." U.Va.'s aggressive programs to attract minority students to the medical pr ofession have helped increase applications, noted Dr. Benjamin C. Sturgill, associate de an for admissions. An important source of students among minority Virginians, he said, is the Post- Baccalaureate Program, an intensive, year-long course of study for students who hold a bachelor's degree but need further preparation for the demanding medical curric ulum. Ten students are enrolled in the program each year, with strong preference given to minority residents of the Commonwealth, and all who successfully complete "post -bac" are accepted for enrollment in U.Va.'s medical school. Two other initiatives, Medical Academic Advancement Programs I and II, pro vide a more UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA -- PAGE 3 summer-long course of study to strengthen students' knowledge of the sciences t hey need for success in medical school. Sturgill said that between 120 and 130 students are completing the MAAP I program each year and many apply to U.Va. # # # Charlotte A. Buttner, Program Support Technician, Health Sciences Center News O ffice, McKim Hall Rm 3116, #429, Charlottesville, Va. 22908, 804-924-5679, cab2j@virgi nia.edu, CompuServe 72203,1033 [Submitted by: unknown (cab2j@dmt03.mcc.virginia.edu) 10 Feb 94 13:57:37 EST]