What they’re saying: The declines are “much larger than we would expect,” even taking the Supreme Court decision into account, Norma Poll-Hunter, senior director of the Association of American Medical Colleges’ human capital portfolio, told Axios.
By the numbers: 11.6% fewer Black students and 10.8% fewer Hispanic students began their first year at an M.D. degree-granting institution this year compared with a year earlier, according to the AAMC.
- But the schools saw a 2.8% and 2.2% increase in Black and Hispanic applicants, respectively.
- The current first-year class of M.D. students is about 51% white, 32% Asian, 11% Hispanic and 9% Black.
- American Indian or Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiian students account for less than 1% each. Just over 4% of students identify as from other groups. Students could self-identify as multiple races.
Medical schools saw a nearly 13% increase in new students who identified their race as “other,” and a more than 9% increase in students whose race and ethnicity were unknown.