Have rural background students been disadvantaged by the medical school admission process?

The proportion of rural background applicants to medical school does not reflect the proportion of the general population that resides in rural communities. It is also believed that rural background applicants are disadvantaged by the admission processes of urban-based medical schools. This study sought to examine how rural background applicants actually fare as they progress through the stages of admission.

A 10-year cohort of Alberta applicants were tracked as they progressed through the interview and admittance stages. Background, grade point averages (GPAs) and Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores plus interview ratings were utilised in the analysis.

Of the 4407 applicants, 1138 were interviewed. Significantly greater proportions of urban (26.8%) and rural (29.1%) background applicants than regional background (21.0%) applicants were interviewed, although the GPAs and MCAT scores of regional background applicants did not differ from those of the other applicant groups. Of those interviewed, 463 applicants were admitted. The proportions of urban (39.9%), regional (42.3%) and rural (46.3%) background applicants admitted were similar. Reviewers did not rate the files of urban, regional and rural background applicants differently. Only 6.7% of applicants admitted had rural backgrounds.

Rural background applicants were not disadvantaged or discriminated against by the admission process. Although the backgrounds of applicants admitted reflect those of the original applicants, the proportion of rural background applicants is below the proportion of Albertans who reside in rural areas. Strategies to increase the number of applicants of rural origin are recommended.