Med school appl down 4.5%

[latestarter]

has anyone else got their sBMJ today... aparently UCAS is provisionally reporting a 4.5% drop in med school applications, even if UCAS reports a 9.1% overall increase in applications...

they blame student debt but is it simply that the applicant ratio and increasingly demanding entry requirements are taking effect?

I have to admit, I like hearing that the numbers have dropped. I know I'm being selfish and the drop is probably in the demographics that widening access is supposed to be supporting, but...

[Randolf_Rolm1919]

It's kinda weird they dropped. Usually they increase, I even heard that the average annual increase was 3%. Although I have no proof to substantiate what I've just said.

I suppose that the new generation is more into jobs that guarantee a fair amount of money but also less time spent studying?

I am guessing Pharmacy this year will be very high, and maybe also Dentistry (although Dentistry can't be related to number of years studying). Just taking the example of Pharmacy I know that it is a course that has its ups and downs, depending on the year.

You know it's all chance when it comes down to numbers, but tell me latestarter do you know the actual numbers that decreased from last year.

For Example:

50,000 applications to med. schools last year but only 47,500 applications to med. schools this year.

What is the actual drop in terms of numbers?

Also can you send me the link?

[Gizmo says -]

its been on the down for years, macca.

[Randolf_Rolm1919]

False information flying around then.

Anyway, why do you think this is so gizmo?

[Hughman]

It's had about 3% drops every year for 3 years i think. Reached a peak of 21K and I'm guessing it's going to be somewhere near 18K now.

[latestarter]

Can't get those figures myself as UCAS only gives figures for medicine/dentistry combined and 2008 isn't available yet - but the sBMA News also states that they fell by 1% last year too.

On UCAS for the combined group you get
2006 - 85641 appl 9146 accepts
2007 - 84794 appl 9057 accepts
I suppose that gives the 1% drop?

you can tell I'm bored with waiting though can't you

for my uni of interest, Soton
2007 4589/268
2006 5053/276
2005 4584/253
2004 3647/310
not sure if I can draw any conclusion to those figures...

[latestarter]

2004 78599/8944
2005 87710/9008 up 11.5%
2006 85641/9146 down 2.4%

[latestarter]

remember these are totals, so actual applicants would be a quarter or so of these applicants figures based on applying to 4 unis... not sure how the accepts would work though

[Hughman]

They'd probably go down by about 30-40% as that's the number of people roughly that get more than 1 offer.

[Gizmo says -]

False information flying around then.

Anyway, why do you think this is so gizmo?

oh rite, fank you macca, nice one. 'why do you fink'. another generation of applicants who fink they are the furst to ever apply.

this will be burbley...


over the last two decades at least competition has fallen per place.
the figures for competition 'ave gone down.
the number of applicants and number of places 'ave both increased.

more specifically... the switch to loans 'asnt started putting peeple off overnight, you know, or even over just the last few years. free grants were being fazed out over the previous decade, wif a correspnding fall in application competition.

if you want competition, get your time machine out and try applying in 1995. that'll fcuk you over for life, maccas.

ere we go again....