Minority students' career choices and education five years after they completed a summer enrichment program

The purpose of this follow-up study was to ascertain the career selections and college majors of 101 students from minority groups who had attended a summer enrichment program at the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) in Augusta from 1979 to 1983, to determine whether the program had been successful influencing the students to choose a health-related career. All the students had completed high school within the previous five years; they were contacted by mailed questionnaires or telephone. The study was completed by contacting the colleges where the students had enrolled and through the use of the Student and Applicant Information System of the Association of American Medical Colleges. The findings showed that the students had enrolled in and graduated from college and that a significant number of the students had chosen medicine or another health-related career. The study suggests the importance of early academic intervention for students from minority groups to choose a medical career.