Graduate, medical and law schools are under
siege. More students than ever are applying,
and competition to get in is fierce.

N

Northwestern University,
Evanston, Ill., who writes an
annual survey of employment
trends for college graduates.
"In a bad economy it is com-
mon for graduate enrollment
to increase."
But not all grad programs
are equal. Some are hot, hot-
ter, hottest. Others are strug-
gling to come in out of the
cold. Which is which?
Medical schools noticed a
warming trend two years ago,
after a steady decline in ap-
plications from 1974 until
1987. This year, the nation's
136 medical institutions have
been besieged.
Despite the fact that four
years of medical education
costs about $100,000 at pre-
sent, there were 33,600 ap-
plications for about 15,000
slots in American medical
schools in 1990.
"In times of recession,
medicine is a career that is
relatively secure," says David.
Trabilsy, director of admis-
sions of Johns Hopkins
School of Medicine, Balti-
more, which received 3,218
applications for 120 spots in
its freshman class.
The practice of medicine is
changing, given the populari-
ty of HMOs, issues of ethics
and frequency of malpractice
suits. These factors are offset
by work gratification and the
demographics of an aging
population, which will require
the services of more medical
specialists.
"Values are changing and
many of our applicants are in-
volved, not with protests and
marches but quietly, in hu-
manistic activities and global
issues. Besides, young people
have not experienced the
kinds of changes that are go-
ing on now, so they have no
comparisons to medicine as it
used to be practiced," Mr.
Trabilsy points out.
The numbers crunch drives
the typical Hopkins applicant
to apply to about nine medi-
cal schools, and Mr. Trabilsy
worries that the competitive
aspects of the situation,
which he labels "pre-med syn-
drome," can get over-
whelming.
"We're unusual because we
require one of four standard-
ized exams: SAT, GRE, ACT

Linda R. Benson is a writer
in Ann Arbor, Mich.

or MCATh. Most applicants
take the MCAT, but they can
choose not to report it," Mr.
Trabilsy says. Instead, the ad-
missions officers look at the
applicant's undergraduate
program, how well he/she con-
structed it, and how well he/
she fits into the Hopkins' en-
vironment.
This popularity surge has
spilled over into post-bac-
calaureate pre-med programs.
Goucher college, Baltimore,
easily filled its 26 spots for its
eight semester-long pre-med
program for those who would
like to apply to medical
school but do not have the
necessary science prere-
quisites. "We place 87 percent
of our students in medical
schools," says Goucher's pro-
gram director Barbara
Berkowitz.
Other schools have similar
programs. Bryn Mawr Col-
lege, Philadelphia, Pa., for ex-
ample, has a 55 spot-program
that experienced a notable in-
crease in applications this
year.
Another hot ticket in high-
er education are U.S. doctoral
programs of engineering sci-
ence and math — but not
necessarily for homegrown
American students.
Jacques Servan Schrieber,
chairman for the interna-
tional committee at Carnegie-
Mellon, Pittsburgh, Pa., was
recently quoted as saying
that "America is becoming
the university of the world."
Indeed, last year 55.4 percent
of all doctorates from Ameri-
can universities went to
candidates from overseas, es-
pecially Asians. Though there
are extreme imbalances in dif-
ferent subjects of study, this
trend has been going on for
the past three years.
"Bright young Americans
seem less interested in higher
technical education," says
Charles Vest, president of
MIT, in Boston, Mass. One big
reason is money. Stipends for
fellowships are very low
(averaging $10,000 to $12,000
per year); many Americans
opt for jobs in private indus-
try whereas foreign students
enrolled in a U.S. graduate
program tend to stick it out.
Michigan State University,
East Lansing, Mich., profes-
sor of communication Wil-
liam Donohue points out that
PhD programs in communica-

tions have similar problems.
"I've been here 15 years but
my students who go into bus-
iness with a master's degree

make more than I do."
John Vaughn, director of
federal relations of the
Association of American
Universities, notes that a
short-term effect of the open-
ing of Eastern Europe has
been to put a lot of Soviet
physicists and mathemati-
cians into competition with
American PhDs, making jobs
in these areas scarce right
now. However, Mr. Vaughn
believes, this is a temporary
blip, presaging a much more
optimistic trend for young
American undergraduates in
these fields.
Mr. Vaughn also predicts a
future demand for PhDs in
the humanities. "This genera-
tion of college faculty is ap-

proaching retirement. Many
graduated in the 1960s when
there was a three-fold increase
in the number of PhDs award-
ed. If current trends continue,
there will be eight faculty for
every ten openings between
1997 and 2000," he says.
The masters of business ad-
ministration (MBA) is anoth-
er degree that has been
affected by world-wide trends
over the past two years. Euro-
pean trade barriers are being
lifted, the Iron Curtain has
crumbled, and international
economic interdependence is
the buzzword of today.
Despite the recession and
corporate cutbacks, the
University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor, Mich., received 3,400
applicants for 420 spots in its
MBA program this year, a 5
percent increase over last
year.

"The MBA has not lost its
aura — at least not here," says
Judith Goodman, assistant
dean of admissions and stu-
dent services. She attributes
the program's appeal to its
broad-based focus in general
management and its ranking
among the rIbp 'Ibn business
schools in the nation.
This has its obligations,
however. About 15 percent of
Michigan's entering class are
foreign citizens, up from 27
percent one year ago.
"We are part of several in-
ternational exchange pro-
grams and our students have
gone abroad for work or
study in France, Spain, Italy,
The Netherlands, Germany
and Sweden. This helps
Michigan's programs become
internationally known. Na-
turally, these students come
here to study as well, but we
look for diversity in our stu-
dent body," Ms. Goodman
continues.
As for advice, Ms. Good-
man feels that a few years in
the marketplace before start-

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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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