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By GRACE HAMMERSTROM As in years past, an open cadaver in the anatomy lab welcomed 86 new students to the School of Medicine Monday. Who are these 86 individuals chosen from more than 5,200 applicants? This year’s class, like many previous ones, has more women than men, a number of Stanford graduates and individuals from around the world. Although medical school enrollment is down nationwide, more women are applying than in the past, and Stanford is no exception. The number of incoming women students outnumbers men, 46 to 40 — a trend that’s continued for the past eight or nine years, said Albert Chevez, associate director of medical school admissions.
Amy Chow is a new School of Medicine student and an Olympic gold medallist in gymnastics. PHOTO: ERIC WEISSMAN The age of this year’s incoming class ranges from 19 to 31, and 15 percent already hold either PhD or master’s degrees. The diversity doesn’t end there. Nineteen students were born outside the United States, and 21 percent are from underrepresented minority groups. Only 16 students hail from California, with more students coming from east of the Mississippi than from the West. Seventeen students received their undergraduate degrees from Stanford, which is typical of an average incoming class, Chevez pointed out. Following Stanford, nine Harvard graduates are attending the School of Medicine this fall, as well as five graduates from UC-Davis and four each from Princeton and Yale. Brown, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Rice and UC-Berkeley each contributed three students to the mix. Stanford has a number of programs designed to introduce high school and college students to careers in medicine. This year’s medical school class includes three participants from two such programs. Incoming students Adia George and Daniel Sanchez spent six weeks at Stanford as part of the Health Careers Opportunity Program, a summer residential program that prepares 25 minority or disadvantaged college sophomores for medical school. Lance Okeke, who attended Stanford’s Summer Research Program in Biosciences in 2001 as a college undergraduate, is also a member of this year’s incoming class. In addition, the class welcomes local sports celebrity Amy Chow, a member of the Magnificent Seven, the women’s gymnastics team that took home a team gold in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Chow also won an individual silver medal on the bars at those Games. After her Olympics’ win, Chow attended Stanford as an undergraduate but took a year off to train for the 2000 Olympics, where her team placed fourth overall. She graduated from Stanford last June with a degree in biology. Chow chose Stanford because of its proximity to her home in San Jose and because she liked her undergraduate experience here. "I also like the curriculum here better than Harvard," she said. Chow has had no doubts about her career choice from an early age. "I decided to be a doctor when I was a kid," she recalled. "Being in the gym, seeing people get hurt and getting hurt myself made me want to learn how to help them." With the goal of becoming a pediatrician, this Olympic athlete who is conditioned to spend six to seven hours a day in the gym, has traded in her leotard for a lab coat and is focusing her attention and energy on medical school.
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Stanford Report, September 25, 2002
