A cross-sectional study of newly established medical schools in the United States: student body diversity remains an unmet challenge
Introduction The number of medical schools in the United States (US) has rapidly increased over the past two decades, but it is unclear if these newer schools better address the needs of a diversifying population. We hypothesized that newer medical schools might be less encumbered by historical proc...
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Medical Education Online |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10872981.2025.2487660 |
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| author | Leen Oyoun Alsoud Kelsey West Sara Sorrell Kathryn M. Andolsek Cynthia Al Hageh Halah Ibrahim |
| author_facet | Leen Oyoun Alsoud Kelsey West Sara Sorrell Kathryn M. Andolsek Cynthia Al Hageh Halah Ibrahim |
| author_sort | Leen Oyoun Alsoud |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction The number of medical schools in the United States (US) has rapidly increased over the past two decades, but it is unclear if these newer schools better address the needs of a diversifying population. We hypothesized that newer medical schools might be less encumbered by historical processes and power structures and, therefore, more successful in recruiting students more representative of the US population. This study assesses whether medical schools established since 2000 are advancing diversity compared to their predecessors.Methods Between October 1 and 14 December 2023, a cross-sectional study was conducted of all US allopathic and osteopathic medical schools that achieved accreditation and enrolled students by December 2023. School characteristics and matriculant demographics were collected from publicly available sources, including the 2022–2023 Medical School Admission Requirements website provided by the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine website. Descriptive statistics compared schools established before and after 2000.Results Sixty new medical schools were identified. Thirty-three (55%) are allopathic and 27 (45%) are osteopathic; 40 (66.7%) are private and 20 (33.3%) are public. Allopathic schools are primarily located in urban areas (21/33; 63.6%); osteopathic schools are in suburban areas (16/27; 59.3%). Mean annual tuition costs are $48,782.82 (standard error (SE) 2201.09) and $56,072.37 (SE: 2120.63) for in-state and out-of-state students, respectively. Out-of-state tuition, matriculant grade point average, and Medical College Admissions Test scores are significantly lower in newly established medical schools. More women entered medical school but the number of underrepresented students by race and ethnicity has not made substantial gains and continues to fail to represent the US population.Conclusions Geographic maldistribution, high tuition, and lack of student body diversity persist in newly accredited medical schools. Newly established medical schools are perpetuating many existing obstacles to diversifying the US physician workforce. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-abccef146bbd41588862faf9bc5de9c3 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1087-2981 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Medical Education Online |
| spelling | doaj-art-abccef146bbd41588862faf9bc5de9c32025-08-20T03:03:49ZengTaylor & Francis GroupMedical Education Online1087-29812025-12-0130110.1080/10872981.2025.2487660A cross-sectional study of newly established medical schools in the United States: student body diversity remains an unmet challengeLeen Oyoun Alsoud0Kelsey West1Sara Sorrell2Kathryn M. Andolsek3Cynthia Al Hageh4Halah Ibrahim5Department of Medical Sciences, Khalifa University College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesIndiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USADepartment of Emergency Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USADepartment of Family Medicine and Community Health, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USADepartment of Medical Sciences, Khalifa University College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesDepartment of Medical Sciences, Khalifa University College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesIntroduction The number of medical schools in the United States (US) has rapidly increased over the past two decades, but it is unclear if these newer schools better address the needs of a diversifying population. We hypothesized that newer medical schools might be less encumbered by historical processes and power structures and, therefore, more successful in recruiting students more representative of the US population. This study assesses whether medical schools established since 2000 are advancing diversity compared to their predecessors.Methods Between October 1 and 14 December 2023, a cross-sectional study was conducted of all US allopathic and osteopathic medical schools that achieved accreditation and enrolled students by December 2023. School characteristics and matriculant demographics were collected from publicly available sources, including the 2022–2023 Medical School Admission Requirements website provided by the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine website. Descriptive statistics compared schools established before and after 2000.Results Sixty new medical schools were identified. Thirty-three (55%) are allopathic and 27 (45%) are osteopathic; 40 (66.7%) are private and 20 (33.3%) are public. Allopathic schools are primarily located in urban areas (21/33; 63.6%); osteopathic schools are in suburban areas (16/27; 59.3%). Mean annual tuition costs are $48,782.82 (standard error (SE) 2201.09) and $56,072.37 (SE: 2120.63) for in-state and out-of-state students, respectively. Out-of-state tuition, matriculant grade point average, and Medical College Admissions Test scores are significantly lower in newly established medical schools. More women entered medical school but the number of underrepresented students by race and ethnicity has not made substantial gains and continues to fail to represent the US population.Conclusions Geographic maldistribution, high tuition, and lack of student body diversity persist in newly accredited medical schools. Newly established medical schools are perpetuating many existing obstacles to diversifying the US physician workforce.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10872981.2025.2487660Medical schooldiversitymedical educationmedical studentshealthcare disparitiestuition |
| spellingShingle | Leen Oyoun Alsoud Kelsey West Sara Sorrell Kathryn M. Andolsek Cynthia Al Hageh Halah Ibrahim A cross-sectional study of newly established medical schools in the United States: student body diversity remains an unmet challenge Medical Education Online Medical school diversity medical education medical students healthcare disparities tuition |
| title | A cross-sectional study of newly established medical schools in the United States: student body diversity remains an unmet challenge |
| title_full | A cross-sectional study of newly established medical schools in the United States: student body diversity remains an unmet challenge |
| title_fullStr | A cross-sectional study of newly established medical schools in the United States: student body diversity remains an unmet challenge |
| title_full_unstemmed | A cross-sectional study of newly established medical schools in the United States: student body diversity remains an unmet challenge |
| title_short | A cross-sectional study of newly established medical schools in the United States: student body diversity remains an unmet challenge |
| title_sort | cross sectional study of newly established medical schools in the united states student body diversity remains an unmet challenge |
| topic | Medical school diversity medical education medical students healthcare disparities tuition |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10872981.2025.2487660 |
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