10 U. THE NATIONAL COLLEGE NEWSPAPER
Debt big headache for med students

FEBRUARY 1988

By Mary Neil Westbrook
Daily Nebraskan
U. of Nebraska-Lincoln
The number of applicants to medical
schools in Nebraska and the number of
pre-medicine majors at the U. of Neb-
raska-Lincoln (UN) are declining, poss-
ibly because students have become dis-
illusioned and because of the high
amount of debt many students accumu-
late, officials say.
"Medicine is not as fulfilling or re-
warding as it used to be," said Robert
Waldman, dean of the College of Medi-
cine at the University of Nebraska
Medical Center in Omaha.
Health maintenance organizations,
government intervention and malprac-
tice suits are invading what had been an
independent profession, he said. This
makes doctors think that people don't
appreciate them anymore, he said.
The number of pre-med majors at UN
dropped from 360 in 1984 to 284 in 1987
and the number of pre-dental majors
dropped from 88 in 1984 to 47 in 1987.
Students are looking for alternative

careers which "pay off' earlier, Wald-
man said. "If you graduate with an
MBA, the perception is that you can go
to Wall Street and make a million," he
said.
Nationally, medical students owe
$35,000 upon graduation. An average
UNMC student's debt is about $24,000,
he said.
Year Apply Accepts Grads
1984-85 35,944 17,194 16,318

The time commitment and debt prob-
ably deter students who would study
medicine or dentistry, but he said he's
willing to sacrifice these things to "help
meet the health care needs of the com-
munity."
Waldman said the scenario of hang-
ing up a shingle, being self-employed
and living happily ever after is gone,
partly because of government interven-
tion and a lack of confidence in the pro-
fession.
"People don't have the same respect
for the health profession," he said. Pa-
tients are getting second opinions and
suing more often, he said.
As for applicants, Waldman said, "If
it weren't for women, the number of ap-
plications would be down even farther.
The number of male applicants (to the
College of Medicine) has declined
markedly while women's are going up."
Even though the number of applica-
tions to medical schools has declined in
the past years, Waldman said, a student
graduating from a medical or dental
school shouldn't have any problems
finding a job.


1985-86
1986-87
1987-88

32,893
31,323
28,123

17,288 16,117
17,092 15,830
17,027

Kathy Luken, rare choice for AFROTC.
Abition takes
cadet sky-high

I

Jim Eudy, a freshman in the College
of Dentistry, said students must mea-
sure their desire to become ahealth pro-
fessional against the sacrifices they will
have to make, especially in social life.


Students looking for bucks,
go after jobs in finance

Bsy SherypKan
The Daily Orange
Syracuse U., NY
Students graduating from Syracuse
U. are pursuing careers that involve
financial wheeling and dealing, said
Charles Reutilinger, assistant director
of the Placement Center.
"High finance has captured the im-
agination," Reutilinger said.
The once popular computer science
field is also taking a back seat to fi-
nance, he added. "Computers are the
future, but too many students rushed
into the field. Supply outweighed' de-
mand."
Even journalism and health science
students are incorporating finance into
their job goals, Reutilinger said.
"Medical students want jobs as hos-
pital administrators," he said. "Journal-
ism majors want to manage publica-
tions and broadcasting stations. The
80s student wants a piece of the pie."
But high-paying jobs are scarce and
students may find themselves unem-
ployed if they have unrealistic ambi-
tions, he added. Students should re-
search their chosen field and assess
their ability to get a job based on experi-
ence, scholarship and talent, he added.
"The 80s is an extremely competitive
decade. No matter how good you think
you are, there are a number of other
students who are just as good, if not
better."

Colleges are encouraging students to
make themselves more desirable to em-
ployers by training early in paid and
unpaid internships, volunteer work and
campus groups, Reutilinger said. "Stu-
dents should build up their resume as
much as possible. Employers like to see
a student who's involved and works
above and beyond the call of duty."
Public communications majors
should focus on getting media-related
experience. "Sure a 4.0 GPA doesn't
hurt, but newspapers and TV stations
like to see clips. You can learn a great
deal in the classroom, but you have to
practice what you've learned in the real
world."
However, accounting, architecture
and fine arts students are judged on
their academic records, he said. "In
these fields, the grade point average is a
reflectionoftheir work and experience."
Education is the most rewarding
career of the 80s with immediate job
openings, he added. "There is a crying
need for teachers in all subjects and the
pay is wonderful, with top salaries
reaching $50,000 a year."
However, most students entering the
job market list glamour, money and ex-
citement as important factors in a
career. Reutilinger said, "You can face
the facts or the fantasy. There aren't too
many overnight sensations in this
world. Just hard workers and plan-
ners."

Business: Grass is
greener for golfers
By Michael Faehner
and Matt Crowley
The Observer
Case Western Reserve U., OH
Who ever said businessmen play
golf for fun?
Contrary to what many non-
golfers think, a great deal of work
can be accomplished by "beating
the little white ball."
The rationalizations for taking a
business client out for the day take
many turns.
The peaceful environment tends
to relax both the client and the host.
The lack of a sterile business office
with its air of bureaucracy allows
the two associates to see things in a
more agreeable light. And the
client is more likely to see the host
as being up to par with him.
Some companies recognize the
importance of golf in a business re-
lationship. They have gone as far as
to sponsor annual golf tourna-
ments where the stakes are very
high. They will go to such extremes
as to offer a new Camaro, as one
brokerage firm did, or even a new
home for clients who get a hole-in-
one.
The thrill of competition can help
inspire a cooperative nature in the
client, allowing some serious work
to be accomplished. The desire to
get a birdie or even an eagle usually
is transferred to the deal at hand.
It is not uncommon for a sharp
player to help his client's game out
with a few pointers on his swing or
putting in order to seal a deal. Some
hosts even "throw" their games,
concentrating instead on teeing off
on the deal.
In essence, golf is necessary for
all up and coming executives. What
seems like a pointless pursuit in
chasing balls around several
thousand yards of water, sand and
rough actually is the best method of
closing the "Big Deal."

By C.D. Giddens
The Shorthorn
U. of Texas, Arlington
Getting into pilot training is tough for
anybody. Cadet 1st Lt. Kathy Luken
overcame a myriad of obstacles to earn
her place.
Her ambition has led to the 25-year-{
old junior's selection for the Air Force
Pilot Training Program. Luken was
chosen for one of 60 slots from approx-
imately 1,600 female candidates, and
she will begin training following gra-
duation.
"It was a dream that was always in
the back of my mind," she said. "I didn't
really expect it to happen.
"My only regret is that my dad can't
see all this happening for me now," sheA
said. He died recently of a heart attack.
"He was my best friend. He was the
one who encouraged me through school,
and when I'd say, 'I'm dreaming, there's
no way I can do this,' he'd say, 'Sure you
can.
"First I changed my major (from
aerospace engineering to exercise phy-
siology), which they really don't like.
But you cannot go through an engineer
ing degree and work, or you won'
graduate until you're 40. To qualify for
pilot training, a candidate must gradu-
ate by age 26 and a half."
The age requirement also pushed her
to cram two years of Air Force ROTC
training into one.
"But they don't put you up for pilot
training until they see how well you do
in camp. And you really have to be the
cream of the female crop to get in. I4
fact, you have to be better than most of
the males."
"Camp"is AFROTC's version of basic
training, an intensive four-week crash
course in management, leadership and
stress skills. Luken prepared extensive-
ly, working out with friends in a Marine
ROTC unit.
Luken stuck with it, and earned the
Vice Commandant's Award, the second
highest honor given in a training clas4
"It was the Vice Commandant's Award
that got me the pilot allocation," she
said.
She also topped her class on the
physical fitness test, scoring a495 out of
a possible 500. Her closest competition
was a male cadet who scored 492. "We
had a lot of jocks," she said, "and this
guy comes and puts his arm around me
and says, 'Hey, if we had kids they'd
supermen.' I told him, 'Dream on, bu
dy.'"

Gatoropoly hits U. of Florida... U. of Florida
graduate Ken Brickman's Gatoropoly triggers col-
Market Drop Depresses Alumni Donations at lege memories forall Gator fans, studentsand alum-
CU. .. Columbia U. lost approximately $1 million ni. The board game is patterned after the well-known
in donations from individuals as a result of last Parker Brothers' game Monopoly. Brickman sold the
October's stock market drop. According to figures board's spaces to area merchants. Parking lots and
Deputy Vice President for University Development garages are used instead of houses and hotels to
and Alumni Relations Norman Fink received, giving remind UF of its parking problem. Gatoropoly is
was down approximately $1 million from the same licensed by the University Athletic Association's
time period in 1986. While Fink said no donors had licensing department which gets 6 percent of the
renegedon pledges, about a dozen had contacted the wholesale price. "I went to UF and I got a great
U., by mid-November to rework giving plans. education. It's time to give back to the university,"
WJoshua C. Gillette, Columbia Daily says Brickman. Laura Brigham, The Alli-
Spectator, Columbia U., NY gator, U. of Florida