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The Shocking Numbers Behind a Medical Career: A Look into the Journey

  • Writer: HealthPath Horizons
    HealthPath Horizons
  • Aug 2, 2024
  • 4 min read



Everyone knows that becoming a doctor is hard. But how hard is it exactly? Here, we’ll take a look at the statistics and numbers behind the journey to becoming a physician.

 

First, going to college is a necessity. The percentage of people who graduate from high school is 87% [1]. The proportion of those who go to college straight after high school is about 62% [2]. Approximately 9% of all those students, aggregated across all kinds of different schools, identify primarily as pre-med [3]. Of those students, only 16.5% graduate with the necessary coursework required by the majority of medical schools [4]. However, just because they’ve completed their college course requirements, that doesn’t mean they can all get in; only about 44% of those who apply to medical school are accepted each year [5]. Beyond that, those who graduate medical school are only about 85% of those who began [6]. Of those who graduate, about 93% find a residency program in the match process after graduation [7]. 


What all these numbers mean is that, if you started off with 10,000 freshmen in high school, only 28 would end up entering a residency program.

The chance of a pre-med freshman becoming a doctor is therefore about 6%. And even after that, it takes, on average, 11-15 years for high school graduates to go through the entire process (college through residency). And depending on whether the college and medical school are in-state vs. out-of-state, the average tuition and fees can amount to anywhere from $200k to $500k [8]. Only then can someone call themselves a fully independent, attending physician.


Now, that should have already illuminated the arduous path one must take to become a doctor. However, those numbers are aggregates—they average across all kinds of people, from those who were fed with a silver spoon to those who had to fight for day-to-day survival. It’s no surprise, then, that the socioeconomic background of most doctors in the U.S. is higher than average. Indeed, of those who graduated medical school in 2023, 41.4% had parents with a combined income of $200k or more [9], when only 12% of households have that income in the U.S. [10]. Indeed, about a quarter of medical students come from families in the top 5% of household incomes [11].


The benefits of being in a higher socioeconomic class throughout the entire process could not be overstated. For one, as mentioned above, there are numerous financial barriers to becoming a doctor. Outside of the tuition and fees associated with attending a school, there are also fees associated with submitting each application, taking exams, travel, and living expenses while in school. Almost half of medical students spent at least $2000 on their secondary applications, and almost half of all medical students enrolled in an MCAT preparation course in college, the vast majority of which are not free [12]. These can pose barriers to the ability of students to apply to medical schools and diminish the strength of their submitted applications. Those with money are able to hire tutors, academic counselors, interview-preppers, essay editors, and more. Those living in lower-income areas would also be forced to go through school systems poor in resources with less rigorous academic programs.


Additionally, whereas the sheer enormity of the cost of medical school can pose a massive barrier to most people, 19% of medical students plan to have their parents finance their several-hundred-thousand-dollar education [13]. These financial advantages that some students enjoy are enormous components to their choice and ability to pursue a medical education. Those who labor to make a living on a daily basis often cannot afford to justify being in tens to hundreds of thousands in debt just for a chance of getting a certain job. 


Not only are there large disparities in terms of finances, but there are also disparities in educational background. Many medical students grew up in the presence of educated mentors. In 2022, 42% of American children lived in households where neither parent had attained a college degree [14], compared with 11% of medical school matriculants [15]. Roughly half of all medical students have a father with a graduate degree or higher, compared to the 12% of men in the U.S. overall [16]. The benefit of having an educated parent, particularly one who is knowledgeable about the medical field, is immense. Having a physician as a parent can greatly kindle and accelerate aspirations of becoming a doctor within the child. As many childrens’ first role models are their parents, the exposure to a role model in medicine can greatly improve confidence in pursuing a career in the same field. Conversely, those who are underrepresented in medicine or who come from backgrounds with limited exposure to medical careers may feel a sense of impostor syndrome. Additionally, an educated parent can provide guidance on the school application process, help write essays, use their connections for identifying internships, research programs, shadowing opportunities, and more. 


Everything considered, becoming a doctor is immensely difficult, especially for those who come from less advantaged backgrounds. Without the necessary resources to help nurture young ambitions, accelerate early learning, and enable higher education, many aspirational adolescents find there is simply no room for them in the medical field of the United States.





References

  1. National Center for Education Statistics. (2021b, May). Public high school graduation rates. Nces.ed.gov. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/coi/high-school-graduation-rates

  2.  Welding, L. (2022, July 6). College enrollment statistics in the U.S. | bestcolleges. www.bestcolleges.com. https://www.bestcolleges.com/research/college-enrollment-statistics/

  3. Zhang, C., Kuncel, N. R., & Sackett, P. R. (2020). The process of attrition in pre-medical studies: A large-scale analysis across 102 schools. PLOS ONE, 15(12), e0243546. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0243546

  4. ibid.

  5. Association of American Medical Colleges. (2023a). 2023 FACTS: Applicants and matriculants data. In AAMC. https://www.aamc.org/data-reports/students-residents/data/2023-facts-applicants-and-matriculants-data

  6. Association of American Medical Colleges. (2023b). Graduation rates and attrition rates of U.S. medical students. In AAMC. https://www.aamc.org/data-reports/students-residents/report/graduation-rates-and-attrition-rates-us-medical-students

  7. The Match. (2024). Residency data & reports. NRMP. https://www.nrmp.org/match-data-analytics/residency-data-reports/

  8. National Center for Education Statistics. (2021). Tuition costs of colleges and universities. NCES.ed.gov; National Center for Education Statistics. https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=76, Hanson, M. (2021, October 11). Average cost of medical school. EducationData. https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-medical-school

  9. Association of American Medical Colleges. (2024). Matriculating student questionnaire (MSQ). In AAMC. https://www.aamc.org/data-reports/students-residents/report/matriculating-student-questionnaire-msq

  10. Sarah Flood, Miriam King, Renae Rodgers, Steven Ruggles, J. Robert Warren, and Michael Westberry (2022). Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, Current Population Survey: Version 10.0 [dataset]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS. https://doi.org/10.18128/D030.V10.0

  11. Association of American Medical Colleges. (2018). An updated look at the economic diversity of U.S. medical students. In AAMC. https://www.aamc.org/data-reports/analysis-brief/report/updated-look-economic-diversity-us-medical-students

  12.  Association of American Medical Colleges. (2024). Matriculating student questionnaire (MSQ). In AAMC. https://www.aamc.org/data-reports/students-residents/report/matriculating-student-questionnaire-msq

  13. ibid.

  14. National Center For Education Statistics. (2023). COE - characteristics of children’s families. Nces.ed.gov. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cce/family-characteristics

  15. Association of American Medical Colleges. (2023a). 2023 FACTS: Applicants and matriculants data. In AAMC.

  16. Association of American Medical Colleges. (2010). Diversity of U.S. medical school students by parental education. In AAMC. https://www.aamc.org/data-reports/analysis-brief/report/diversity-us-medical-school-students-parental-education


 
 
 

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