Class is also first to be 50% women

The Medical College of Wisconsin’s enrollment of first year medical school (M1) students from underserved populations grew 55% this past year, from 18 in 2005 to 28 this year.

The current M1 class, which has 204 students, is also the first to be 50% women. Nationally, 48% of medical students are women.

"The college is committed to attracting and enrolling qualified medical students who contribute to the diversity of the student body," said Kenneth B. Simons, MD, senior associate dean of Academic Affairs.

"We would like our student body to be comprised of people with a variety of backgrounds. It is beneficial to the students, it is beneficial to their education and it is beneficial to the patients for whom they will one day be caring."

Students in the 2006 M1 class come from 94 schools and have 44 different undergraduate majors. The top three schools they come from are the University of Wisconsin-Madison (37 students), Brigham Young University (9 students) and Marquette University (7 students).

The top three majors they have are biology (76 students), bichemistry (18 students), and psychology (14 students).

The students come from 28 states, with 98 coming from Wisconsin, 20 coming from California, 18 coming from Utah and 16 coming from Michigan.