At the end of this school year, I hope to be starting my journey towards a degree in medicine at any accredited medical school that will accept me. Commonly, professors, peers, and family members are curious to know which medical school I applied to and why. When I reveal Meharry Medical College is on my list of schools, I usually receive strange looks and immediate opposition to this decision. For anyone reading this blog who does not already know about Meharry Medical College, this school is a historically black medical school located in Nashville, Tennessee—which is only three hours away from my hometown. As a white male, I realize my chances of getting accepted here are very low, since an average entering class only contains only one or two Caucasian students. However, being close to home and possessing a commitment to serve underprivileged communities, this school has peaked my interest recently as a school I hope receive an interview from, especially since I hope to practice primary care medicine in an area that may not have adequate medical representation. Upon further research of this school, I discovered this school has some of the lowest admissions standards and board scores of any medical school in the country, and I decided to further research why this may be the case.
Black medical schools have always struggled to even offer a medical education at all. In 1910, one of the most devastating reports for black medical schools of the time was published by Abraham Flexner. The Flexner Report discussed how all but two of the ten operating historically black medical schools contained inadequate facilities and were not properly educating the students that attended them. He called for the immediate closure of these schools, and by 1923, only the schools he declared deserved to exist, Meharry Medical College and Howard University School of Medicine, were still in operation. Together, these schools only graduated annually 100 doctors to serve the entire African American community in the United States. Hence, the majority of black communities in the United States were and still are underrepresented medically. Since this time, a few other black medical schools have opened their doors such as Morehouse College of Medicine, but the number of these schools remains significantly low.
With so few black medical schools, one would assume competition for spots in these institutions would be very high. Why then are test scores and admission standards at these schools today consistently lower than others, especially since in the early and mid-1900s black medical colleges consistently produced test scores and doctors that rivaled similar institutions? The problem may lie with affirmative action policies by medical schools that only accepted white students in the past. Affirmative action policies which seek to counter past racial discrimination are typically adhered to by many top tier medical schools. This means black students are encouraged to apply to these institutions and may be held to somewhat lower standards of admission. Since blacks are given these opportunities, most top black medical school applicants choose to attend schools with the top reputations and the best opportunities and connections in the medical field such as Johns Hopkins, Baylor, and Vanderbilt. This has spelled disaster for historically black medical schools that struggle to keep facilities operating and may be technologically behind due to funding. How do these schools compete for black applicants now? The schools have responded by lowering admissions standards. For instance, a typical medical school averages a 3.65 GPA and over a 30 MCAT score for matriculants, while Meharry Medical College averages a 3.10 GPA and a 21 MCAT score. This has translated to lower board scores and may eventually result in these schools losing their accreditation. Meharry, in particular, has also recently received negative publicity for graduating Conrad Murray, the now infamous doctor accused of Michael Jackson’s death.
In the end, affirmative action may result in the complete disappearance of historically black medical schools. However, are these types of medical schools really necessary in American society today? In my opinion, they are essential, because they ensure black communities will have adequate medical representation in the future. Certain medical schools are also committed to accepting students striving to practice medicine in rural communities, and I believe black medical schools are simply trying to do the same for black communities. I would be proud to attend Meharry Medical College, if offered the opportunity, and I neurotically check my email multiple times each day waiting on their Admissions Committee to make the decision regarding this.
I'm from Nashville, and I have not heard of Meharry Medical College. Fisk University is a rather well-known African American school in Nashville, but I think it is easier for smaller African American undergraduate universities to survive than graduate schools. I think that is true in general for undergrad schools. Undergraduate schools do not give the same specialized training as a medical school would. Especially being in the same city as Vanderbilt, I understand the tough competition Meharry deals with. Meharry wants to keep up a good name, but, like Ryan said, it is hard to keep top-rate students when they are applying to schools with better reputations. This ties into an inverse relation of predominantly white institutions letting in students of color over white students. One of my friends from high school and I both applied to Vanderbilt. She is half Filipino and half black; I am white. I had a better ACT score and higher class rank, but she got in and I was wait listed. We would always joke that she got in over me because I am white. African American institutions want to retain their status as predominantly African American, but they are in a bind: either lower standards or lower the number of students. It is unfortunate that affirmative action has to be associated with a degradation of a medical college. There is so much concern with demographic, and higher ranked schools need a certain demographic to lure students of color in and convince them that they will not be too much of a minority.
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