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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]As a retired US academic physician who worked at a top medical school, I have a few reflections:

At UVa 50 years ago, 500 future premeds huddled into the chemistry lecture hall to hear about the process of becoming a doctor. Over the next four years we studied hard and played hard. But many were lost along the way.  At the time of my graduation in 1979,  there were only about 50 (10%) students who were directly accepted into an allopathic medical school, mostly UVa or MCV. At that time the national acceptance rate was about 45%. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK217679/table/ttt00015/?report=objectonly. 
At UVa, I don't know how many reapplied and subsequently accepted. The core requirement classes in biology, chemistry, physics, math, etc., were very challenging. It was very difficult to get an A, much less a B. Grade inflation, at least at UVa, was nonexistent, as it is today. Many had some type of clinical exposure or worked in labs, but it was difficult to find opportunities.  Very few had research publications. Gap years were unheard off.  For those who wern't directly accepted, some took additional courses or pursued a master's before reapplying. In the late 1970s there were only 3 offshore Caribbean medical schools. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offshore_medical_school  I don't know how many chose a DO route. Finally, relative to the present, with loans the financial burden of medical school was feasible for a middle class family.

Just a few comments on the current international medical graduate (IMG) situation. A few years ago I worked with foreign-trained medical students and doctors trying to get into a US residency. For those who had excellent grades, scores  and letters, pleasant personalities, and spoke English, they were successful in matching into a residency.  In the past couple of years, however, the IMG situation has dramatically changed due to politics. With the stringent VISA requirements, particularly with respect to the H1B, many residency programs are not accepting IMG applicants. This could make the physician shortage worse, particularly in primary care.  Just take a look at the posts on this Reddit site for FMGs: https://www.reddit.com/r/IMGreddit/.

2025 Match Data
93.5% of U.S. MD seniors matched
92.6% of U.S. DO seniors matched
67.8% of U.S. citizen international medical graduates (IMGs) matched
58% of non-U.S. citizen IMGs matched,a
https://www.nrmp.org/about/news/2025/05/nrmp-releases-2025-main-residency-match-results-and-data-report-providing-in-depth-insight-into-the-largest-residency-match-in-history/#:~:text=Among%20all%20active%20U.S.%20DO,the%20Match%20and%20SOAP%20overall.[/quote]

Your "reflections" on medical school admittance are about a half a century old. Not remotely applicable here. [/quote]

That poster is someone who would know vastly, vastly more about what med schools are looking for in incoming students to[b] than overbearing mom helicoptering their adult children’s professional school paths for bragging rights.[/b] [/quote]

There is a lot of excellent advice on this thread from people with very recent experience with med school admissions who know a lot more than someone who is just a mom. [/quote]

Yes, and one of them is the poster who has 50 years as an academic physician.  [/quote]

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