Unaccepted applicants to medical school as a health resource

The career decisions of national samples of male and female unaccepted applicants to the 1971-72 entering U.S. medical school class are studied in order to determine whether the increasing number of unaccepted applicants is a potential manpower pool for alternative health occupations. The dominant response to rejection among respondents is reapplication to medical school in subsequent years, and the principal determinant of reapplication is receiving postrejection support (usually from family or friends) of the original career intentions. Most of the respondents who do not gain admittance to medical school on reapplications still aspire to doctoral-level degrees, but only half remain in the health area. Those respondents who had formulated contingency career plans in the professions and who had high science aptitude but low math aptitude tended to remain in the health area. A service orientation toward occupations is not associated with remaining in the health area.