The Effect of the Vietnam War on Numbers of Medical School Applicants

Among the little-noticed but far-reaching side effects of the Vietnam War was its impact on the higher education system. This often-unpopular war, coupled with the military draft and student deferment policies, led many young men to enter educational institutions of all types. Beginning around 1964, there was a surge of enrollments and degrees granted in higher education that began to abate only after the draft ended in 1973. The leading edge of the post-World War II "baby-boom" also became of college age in the mid-1960s and undoubtedly contributed to elevated levels of enrollments and degrees in higher education. But the Vietnam War had an impact over and above the purely demographic, as can be seen when population effects are factored out. This effect largely explains why the numbers of bachelor's degrees and doctorates (Ph.D. degrees and equivalent) granted to men suddenly stopped increasing in 1974 even though the relevant population groups continued to grow throughout the 1970s. The patterns of enrollments and degrees attained by women are quite different from the men's patterns, and they serve to reinforce the evidence of a draft effect. Students in health professions schools of all types were given special consideration under the deferment policies established by the Selective Service System, leading to rapid increases in applications to medical, dental, and other health professions schools during the period 1968-1974. Since then, the health professions schools have had quite similar experiences with applications--those from men have generally declined while those from women have generally increased. Also, career choices are shifting.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)