Monday, September 22, 1997 Medical school keeps its diversity
ADMISSIONS: Numbers of minority applicants and admits stay
robust
By Kathryn Combs
Daily Bruin Contributor
While the decision to stop using race as an admissions factor
has created waves throughout California’s public universities,
there are some who seem to have been left untouched.
Recent statistics compiled by the UCLA Medical School’s Office
of Admissions revealed no "significant change" in the number of
underrepresented minorities applying to the school, while there was
a slight decrease in the overall applications.
"The numbers of the underrepresented minorities did not change,
and we are very pleased of that," said Provost Gerald Levey, the
school’s dean.
Overall, applicant numbers in each of the self-described ethnic
categories decreased, while numbers in the Pakistan/Indian and
Pacific Islander categories showed a slight increase.
"From what I know of the national trend … I suspect that there
has been a significant erosion of underrepresented minorities
applying to medical school nationally," Levey said. However, "we
have a history of having a very diverse class, and I think that
diversity attracts diversity."
This change in policy did not, officials say, affect the quality
of the applicants.
"The pool of applicants was still outstanding," said Dr. Neil
Parker, the senior associate dean for student affairs. "The total
numbers were down and the grade-point averages increased. That
means that there was not any diminishing in the quality of the
applicants."
Parker added it was not surprising to him that these numbers
changed because there is always fluctuation in these statistics
each year.
"If you look at our student body, which has always been
outstanding and diverse … students see a campus, a city and a
medical school where they can feel comfortable," he said. "I think
that they (prospective medical students) find that UCLA has a very
heterogeneous group that does very well."
To attract all prospective students this year, the School of
Medicine used a new supplemental application designed to include
economic factors into the admission process.
"We do get the information as to self description. But we did
not use that in any way to determine admissions," said Parker.
"(However), we did look at anybody that said they were
disadvantaged in relation to economy, locality or education. …
Some of the economically disadvantaged students may still come from
different ethnicities."
"UCLA is lucky enough that they have a wealth of applicants,"
said Cherie Parungo, the school’s senior-class president, "and from
that we can always get a diverse and overqualified group of medical
students.
"We didn’t expect any change at all."
Amal Trivedi, a third-year medical student, said that a slight
decrease in the admission numbers was not a surprise to him,
because these numbers have been increasing so much over the last
few years.
"I think that they hit a new record high a couple of years ago,"
Trivedi said.
"The general realization is that recruiting the highest quality
class and recruiting the most diverse class go hand in hand," he
added Trivedi. "Diversity is a strength of the medical school."
But officials are concerned with the effects from UCs’
undergraduate admissions. As the UCs grow more accustomed to the
new policies and the makeup of the undergraduate classes loses its
diversity, officials are worried about a secondary effect.
"The thing that concerns us is what will happen to the
demographics of the undergraduate schools," said Levey.
"Because we draw many of our applicants from California and the
UC system, there is going to be a change in the mix," added
Parker.
"Something like half of our matriculants come from the
University of California," Parker said, adding that the
post-affirmative-action admissions policies seem to be affecting
undergraduate admissions more.
Parungo said that the Medical School’s commitment to diversity
is seen in groups such as the Chicano Medical Students Association
and other programs using additional language training to make
students more able to care for their diverse patient
population.
"In medicine, it is especially important to get a breadth and
understanding of cultures. We don’t have a choice in who our
patients are and who we take care of," Parungo said.