Study of U.S. medical school applicants, 1974-75.

The applicant activity for the 1974-75 first-year class in U.S. medical schools presents an unusual combination of statistics. There were more applicants than ever before, but the annual growth rate showed a decline, a trend that began in 1973-74; the national acceptance average remained unchanged; and the average application frequency per individual was accelerated. Most of the traditional tables cover five years of historical data (1970-71 through 1974-75), while the new features--acceptance success for first-time and repeat applicants and ability levels by acceptance success and application frequency--depict data for one year (1974-75). As in past studies, the conclusion enumerates major efforts instituted by the Association of American Medical Colleges to assist medical schools with admission problems. The most important innovations among these were two new task forces--one for minority admissions and one for financial aid.