A Surge in Medical School Applicants in Response to COVID-19

Wendy Jackson, MD, (pictured above, second from left), is associate dean for admissions at the College of Medicine. She has noticed an increase in medical school applications.

37%

increase in medical student applicants

The College of Medicine was among several academic medical institutions across the country that saw a surge in applicants amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Specifically, UK saw a 37 percent increase in its medical student applicants. Last year, 2,777 applied to the college. This year, nearly 3,800 applied for the college’s 201 available spots.

Wendy L. Jackson, MD, associate dean for admissions and associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, noted multiple possible reasons for the jump such as the pandemic, which may have had major influence – whether it was the seeking of a job with more security or the motivation to help patients in times of crisis. Either way, the surge in applicants is good for the College of Medicine, the state of Kentucky, and beyond.

“I think it’s exciting because we are trying to recruit the top-notch, most well-rounded applicants to come to the UK College of Medicine and hopefully keep them in this great Commonwealth to help us address some of the health disparities that occur here,” Dr. Jackson told LEX 18 News in March 2021.

The College of Medicine’s numbers follow a national trend, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). AAMC data from the fall of 2020 show more than 20 medical schools across the country have seen applications jump by at least 25 percent. n