Berry Maintains Medical Schools Still Competitive

Competition for entrance to "top" medical schools is still acute, Dr. George P. Berry, Dean of the Medical School, said yesterday. Berry spoke in reply to a statement made last week by the dean of the Columbia medical school that competition for admission is easier now than ten years ago.

The statement was made by William C. Rappleye, dean of the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia, who asserted that the competition has been eased through the reduction of the number of well-qualified applicants. This reduction, Rappleye added, is a result of a "general deterioration" of the quality of instruction at the high school and college level.

Berry replied that there has been no difference in applications to the Medical School, but felt that the drop in applications elsewhere is due more to the expiration of the G.I. Bill and the rising popularity of other professions than to lowering of preparatory school standards. "There are not enough good students to go around," he said.

The Medical School dean agreed with Rappleye that applications to nation-wide medical schools have fallen from 22,000 in 1949 to 13,000 this year. The number of available places has risen during this period from 6,500 to 8,000, he said, and acknowledged that some medical schools have had difficulty filling these places with the highest quality applicants.