Assessing Medical Student Applicants and Matriculants and Medical School Selection Criteria

Recent trends in admissions policies in higher education have the potential to alter the medical education learning environment. These changes affect not only undergraduate education but also extend to MD and MD-PhD programs. The full consequences of these policy shifts are currently unknown and present several important knowledge gaps that we seek to address in this study. Firstly, we will examine how trends in medical school applicants and matriculants have changed following the policy trends of the last 10 years. Second, we will describe how MD and MD-PhD programs are adapting applicant selection criteria in response. Third, we will characterize the application and matriculation experiences of MD and MD-PhD students under the revised admissions landscape. Our findings will be disseminated widely through peer-reviewed scientific publications, conference presentations, policy and advocacy reports, and podcasts to various stakeholders in education and health policy via partnerships with the Association of American Medical Colleges, the American Medical Association, and the National Academy of Medicine.