CCNY’s CUNY School of Medicine admits most diverse class in its 48-year history

This year, applications to the CUNY School of Medicine at The City College of New York’s 7-year B.S./M.D. program increased, which was the case at medical schools across the country. This is credited to high profile, pandemic spokesman Dr. Anthony Fauci, who had inspired increased interest in medicine among prospective students. 

The difference for the CUNY School of Medicine, which was established in 1973 as the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, is that applicants were not college seniors; they were 16 and 17-year-old high school students.  

Out of the 980 applicants, 341 students were interviewed by Zoom, as COVID protocols prohibited in-person meetings this past year.  

Of those, 102 received admission letters to fill the target class size of 75 first year students, a selectivity rate of 10.4% of the original applicant pool. Exceeding the expected offer of admission acceptances, 90 students agreed to attend, which created a yield of 88.2%.

Candidates for the B.S./M.D. program graduating Class of 2028 are from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine (URiM)—defined as students from African American, Hispanic/Latinx and mixed-race backgrounds—the highest ever for the program at 76%.

The CUNY School of Medicine prioritizes diversity of the medical profession, and currently, 57% of its students are URiM, 62% who self-identify as female and 38% as male.

By comparison, a recent study by JAMA, determined only about 16% of matriculated students in United States medical schools were from African American and Hispanic backgrounds. 

About the City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Emsi puts at $1.9 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 16,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.

Ashley Arocho
p: 212.650.6460
e: aarocho@ccny.cuny.edu   
View CCNY Media Kit.