- 12 section of their pages in MSAR attempt to provide as much information as possible to applicants so that they may judge their competitive opportunities. The Association believes that the weight of evidence indicates that older applicants fare less well in the admissions process because they are less able to demonstrate to medical school faculties that they have the necessary qualifications to embark upon a long and strenuous educational program which requires a high level of personal commitment. Given the intense competition for the limited positions and the societal expectations that medical schools will select and educate physicians who will serve society's needs for personal health services, it is not unreasonable that older applicants fare less well when seeking to enter medical school. Finally a conventional reason for discouraging applications from much older candidates is that medical education generally requires seven to ten years of expensive and arduous education, and that the investment by society in educating physicians is so great that the proportional reduction in practicing years makes older candidates a less worthwhile societal investment. This argument can be challenged in individual cases, but the overall consequences of a significant increase in the mean age of entering medical students in the United States would result in a decrease in available physician manpower. For example, if the size of the entering class and the age of retirement from medical practice remained constant, increasing the average age of matriculation by one year would eventually mean a reduction in the total number of practicing physicians by a number approximating the size of the entering class. The Association does not believe that this conventional argument is necessary to a justification of medical school admissions practices, but concedes that it is often discussed (see Legislative History of the Act, as cited on pages 2 and 6 of the ACE statement) and may peripherally affect admissions practices. - 13 Conclusions 1) There is little evidence that chronological age is used as a discriminating factor in admission to medical' school. Although older applicants are admitted at a lesser rate than immediate college graduates, the difference in rate of acceptance can be accounted for by factors other than chronological age, such as lesser academic qualifications, lower or questionable motivation, less recent scientific preparation, and fewer applications filed per candidate. 2) No medical school, to the best knowledge of the AAMC, refuses to give individual consideration to an applicant solely because of age. 3) Regulations should not be promulgated which would interfere with the educational mission and societal goals of medical schools by inhibiting them in their efforts to select those individuals with competitive credentials who also can commit to medicine a high level of effort on a full-time basis over a long training period, with the ultimate intent of providing high quality medical services to our citizens. Exhibit No. 50 The American College Testing Program, Assessing Students on the Way to College Philip R. Rever, Director of the Washington, D. C. office of the American College Testing Program submitted this publication for the record. It is on file at the U. S. Commission on Civil Rights. |