Changes in profiles of students admitted to Florida allopathic medical schools 1990-1996

The demographic and academic profiles of first-year classes entering the three allopathic medical schools in Florida (UM, UF, and USF) between 1990 and 1996 have been summarized. In general, the high academic standards for admission (high GPAs and MCAT scores) have been maintained, and in some cases, increased. The percentages of women admitted to the first-year classes at UM and UF have increased in recent years, and the number of women enrolled in MD programs in Florida has increased by 26% since 1990. At the University of Miami, the student body has reached gender parity. There also has been a marked shift in the ethnicity of medical students in the state of Florida. Non-hispanic white students have decreased by 9% to 64.4% of the total population. Black students and hispanic students have made modest gains, and now constitute 7.4% and 11.5% of the population, respectively. Asian students have made the largest gain (6.4%), now making up 15.8% of all Florida medical students. In contrast, there has been no sustained increase in the overall number of underrepresented minority students admitted to first-year classes despite national programs and institutional commitments to do so. These changes have not occurred just at Florida medical schools. They parallel far broader national trends resulting from a dramatic increase in the number of medical school applicants and demographic changes in the applicant pool.