1 / 37

Background to the Session

Addressing the Socioeconomic Status of Medical Applicants “The TMDSAS Socioeconomic Score” David J. Jones, Ph.D. Professor and Associate Dean for Admissions University of Texas School of Medicine at San Antonio. Background to the Session. Diversity of U.S. Medical Students by Parental Income

lore
Download Presentation

Background to the Session

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Addressing the Socioeconomic Status of Medical Applicants“The TMDSAS Socioeconomic Score”David J. Jones, Ph.D.Professor and Associate Dean for AdmissionsUniversity of Texas School of Medicine at San Antonio

  2. Background to the Session Diversity of U.S. Medical Students by Parental Income Jolly, Paul, Analysis in Brief (AAMC, January 2008) Diversity defined: race and ethnicity socioeconomic status family income parental education parental occupation

  3. Socioeconomic status – family income Entering medical students: median family income* 1987 - $50,000 2006 - $100,000 * Matriculating Student Questionnaire

  4. Socioeconomic status – family income* Question: What percent of total entering medical students come from each quintile of parent income? 48-57% 5-6% * Matriculating Student Questionnaire(parent income = family income)

  5. Socioeconomic status – family income* Answer: More than 3/4 of medical students come from the top two quintiles of family income. 75% < 10% * Matriculating Student Questionnaire(parent income = family income)

  6. Socioeconomic status – family income* Question: If a goal is to diversify medical classes by admitting students from all socioeconomic backgrounds, what mechanisms exits to accomplish this? * Matriculating Student Questionnaire(parent income = family income)

  7. Strategies to Accomplish Economic Diversity in Medical School Classes • identify applicants from lower socioeconomic backgrounds • provide consideration of lowest groups in the admissions process • provide programs of support and facilitated entry to medical school

  8. Strategies to Accomplish Economic Diversity in Medical School Classes • identify applicants from lower socioeconomic backgrounds Steven T. Case, Ph.D. • “The Mississippi Report Card” • provide consideration of lowest groups in the admissions process • David J. Jones, Ph.D.“The TMDSAS Socioeconomic Score” • provide programs of support and facilitated entry to medical school • Budge Mabry, B.A.“The Joint Admissions Medical Program”

  9. State of Texas – Hopwood Decision 1997: Race/ethnicity could not be used in admissions decisions (5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals) 2001: House Bill 1641: • authorizes professional programs to consider factors relating to an applicant’s background in making admissions decisions • applicant’s test scores must be compared with those of other applicants from similar socioeconomic backgrounds to the extent that those backgrounds can be determined

  10. State of Texas – House Bill 1641 Applicant’s test scores must be compared with those of other applicants from similar socioeconomic backgrounds……. Inference: Underrepresented minority students, in general, come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds that include educational disadvantages and therefore will not score as well on standardized tests. Requiring this comparison will assist to increase underrepresented minority admissions to medical school.

  11. State of Texas – House Bill 1641 Applicant’s test scores must be compared with those of other applicants from similar socioeconomic backgrounds to the extent that those backgrounds can be determined. Question: Are there questions in the TMDSAS application, the answers to which, can provide a quantifiable index of socioeconomic status?

  12. The Socioeconomic Status as Defined by the Socioeconomic Score (SES) QUESTIONS IN PARENTAL, FAMILY AND HOMETOWN INFORMATION SECTIONS OF THE TMDSAS APPLICATION • PARENT’S EDUCATIONAL LEVEL • HOUSEHOLD • HOMETOWN

  13. The Socioeconomic Score (SES) PARENT’S EDUCATIONAL LEVEL* • Father’s/Mothers Information: Education Points Assigned Choices 15 Non-H.S. Graduate 10 High School Graduate/GED 5 Some College 0 Bachelor Degree or beyond Did someone other than your biological father/mother play a significant male parental role in your life? Yes / No Did you live with this person for at least three years while attending High School? Yes / No If yes, please answer above education level • Are you a member of the first generation in your family to apply to, attend or graduate from an undergraduate university? Yes 10 points * Only one set of points (15 maximum) will be included in the SES calculation for parent’s educational level.The program will check educational level of father, mother and each eligible significant parental person and assign only one set of SES points based on the lowest level of educational attainment.

  14. The Socioeconomic Score (SES) HOUSEHOLD • The following questions relate to the household in which the applicant was raised or spent the majority of his/her life from birth to age 18. Size of Household: 0 - 4 or Less 10 – 5 15 – 6 20 - 7 or More • Estimated Value of Residential Property: (Owned or Rented) 15 - 0-$50,000 10 - $50,001 –$75,000 5 - $75,001-$100,000 0 - Over $100,000

  15. The Socioeconomic Score (SES) HOUSEHOLD • Were you required to contribute to the overall family income (as opposed to working primarily for your own discretionary spending money) while attending elementary and/or high school? Yes= 15 Pts. No= 0 Pts. HOMETOWN • How would you describe the area where you lived? Points Assigned Choices 10 – Rural 0 – Urban 10 - Inner City 0 - Suburban 0 - Military or Government Installation

  16. The Socioeconomic Score (SES) GROUP DESIGNATIONS WITH RANGE OF SCORES Maximum points available to be assigned = 85 SES Group A = 45-85 total points assigned SES Group B = 30-40 total points assigned SES Group C = 15-25 total points assigned SES Group D = 0-15 total points assigned

  17. Number of Applicants in Each SES Group by Entry Year

  18. The Socioeconomic Score (SES) GROUP DESIGNATIONS WITH RANGE OF SCORES (2005-2008) MSQ Data: More than 75% of the students accepted to medical schools come from the two highest family income quintiles. Less than 6% comes from the lowest family income quintile. TMDSAS Data: More than 75% of applicants to Texas medical schools come from the two highest SES groups (C,D). Less than 10% comes from the lowest (A) SES group.

  19. State of Texas – House Bill 1641 Applicant’s test scores must be compared with those of other applicants from similar socioeconomic backgrounds to the extent that those backgrounds can be determined. Question: Using the SES, what are the academic characteristics of each group and do these characteristics affirm HB 1641 in that lower socioeconomic background reflects lower standardized test scores?

  20. House Bill 1641 – Does it Work? Cumulative MCAT averages (± SD) 2002-2008 23.4 25.3 26.9 28.3 ± 0.28 ± 0.50 ± 0.48 ± 0.28 all group comparisons p<0.001 from each other

  21. Other Factors Which Demonstrate Correlation with MCAT Score • Suburban vs. rural housing • Federally subsidized lunch • Household income • Property value • Size of household • Subsidized housing • Contribution to family income in high school • First generation student

  22. Individual Factors Which Demonstrate Correlation with MCAT Score Household Income Father’s Education Property Value Mother’s Education Contribution to Family Income in High School

  23. SES vs GPA (all Applicants)* * All group comparisons p > 0.001

  24. State of Texas – House Bill 1641 Applicant’s test scores must be compared with those of other applicants from similar socioeconomic backgrounds to the extent that those backgrounds can be determined. Question: Using the SES, what is the admissions outcome of applicants in each of the groups?

  25. Percent Interviewed in Each Group Compared to Total Number of Applicants % Conclusion: Your chance of being interviewed from Group A is 2-3% compared to 15% from Group D.

  26. Percent Interviewed in Each Group Compared to TotalNumber ofInterviewed % Conclusion: Less than 10% of those interviewed come from Group A; 50% from Group D interview

  27. Percent Interviewed in Each Group Compared to Total Applicants in Each Group % Conclusion: Whereas 15-20% of applicants within Group A interview, 30 % of Group D interview

  28. Percent Enrolled Compared to Applicants Interviewed from Each Group % Conclusion: Once interviewed, the chances of being enrolled are pretty much the same when compared to other groups.

  29. Percent Enrolled Compared to Total Applicants Enrolled % Conclusion: As defined by the SES, over 75 % of enrolled applicants come from the two highest socioeconomic groups, and approximately 10% from the two lowest

  30. Percent Enrolled Compared to Total Applicants Enrolled Percent Interviewed in Each Group Compared to Total Number of Applicants %

  31. State of Texas – House Bill 1641 Applicant’s test scores must be compared with those of other applicants from similar socioeconomic backgrounds to the extent that those backgrounds can be determined. Question: Given the Hopwood decision that race/ethnicity cannot be used in admissions decisions, do the requirements of HB 1641 improve underrepresented minority admissions?

  32. Percent of White/Caucasian Applicants in Each SES Group Compared to Percent in Total Applicant Pool

  33. Percent of African American Applicants in Each SES Group Compared to Percent in Total Applicant Pool

  34. Percent of Hispanic* Applicants in Each SES Group Compared to Percent in Total Applicant Pool * Mexican American, mainland Puerto Rican, other Hispanic

  35. Percent African American Applicants in Total Applicants Pool vs. Percent of Total Applicants Matriculated 232 251 286 301 294 184 261 * 189 174 76 65 69 59 59 53 37 44 48 *Numbers above bar are totals for each percent

  36. Percent Hispanic Applicants in Total Applicant Pool vs. Percent of Total Applicants Matriculated 431 429 *402 390 468 494 525 500 364 167 180 182 147 149 179 116 140 146 *Numbers above bar are totals for each percent

  37. Conclusions • Answers to questions on parental education, household and hometown, can generate a socioeconomic score (SES) • Less than 10% of applicants are from the lowest SES level (A) compared to 75% from the top two levels (C, D) • Applicants who are most socioeconomically disadvantaged (SES A) have a significantly lower average MCAT score (23.4) than those with the least disadvantage (SES D, 28.3) • As defined by the SES, over 75 % of enrolled applicants come from the two highest socioeconomic groups, and approximately 10% from the two lowest • There is a greater representation of Hispanic and African-American applicants in the lowest SES group (A) • Despite the original intent of House Bill 1641 to indirectly increase underrepresented minority matriculation, this has not happened • Not clear how each medical school uses the SES in assessment of applicants

More Related