Rural medical school applicants: do their academic credentials and admission decisions differ from those of nonrural applicants?

Medical schools located in states with sizable rural areas are concerned about preparing physicians for practice in these areas; this is of particular concern for medical schools that are part of a state-owned university with a responsibility to educate physicians for rural areas. Because individuals from rural areas are most likely to return to practice medicine in rural areas at the conclusion of their training, it is important to recruit these individuals to medical schools to educate them for rural practice. This study examines 7 years of admission data for students who applied and were accepted to the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine, which has as a specific mandate to prepare physicians for rural practice. The study indicates that rural applicants are more likely to be admitted to the medical school, and based on admissions criteria they are at least as academically qualified as nonrural applicants. The study demonstrates that a medical school can maintain competitive admission criteria while at the same time accepting those students more likely to enter rural practice. This is valuable information that medical schools with a similar mission to prepare physicians for rural practice might consider in their admissions decision-making process.