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A STUDENT’S VIEW –
America isn't suffering from a medical school admissions crisis.
It is suffering from an education crisis that begins long before students ever apply to college.
If policymakers truly want more Black and Hispanic physicians, they are looking in the wrong place. The answer is not in the admissions office. It is in America's classrooms.
The U.S. Department of Justice's recent investigation into the University of California San Diego School of Medicine has reignited a national debate over race, merit, and equal opportunity. Following a four-month investigation, the DOJ alleges that UC San Diego violated federal law by using admissions practices that effectively considered race despite California voters banning racial preferences through Proposition 209 in 1996.
According to the Justice Department, Black applicants were admitted at significantly higher rates than white applicants despite lower median GPAs and MCAT scores. UC San Diego disputes those allegations and maintains that its admissions process complies with state and federal law. Ultimately, the courts not headlines will determine whether the university acted unlawfully.
Regardless of the legal outcome, however, the controversy exposes a much larger failure.
America keeps trying to fix educational inequality at the finish line instead of addressing it at the starting line.
Medical schools cannot undo twelve years of academic neglect. Admissions committees cannot compensate for students who were never taught to read proficiently, master mathematics or develop the scientific foundation necessary to compete in one of the world's most demanding professions.
By the time a student submits a medical school application, the race has already been run.
The real crisis is not at UC San Diego.
It is inside America's K-12 education system.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation's latest Kids Count Data Book paints a sobering picture. Roughly 70 percent of America's fourth graders are not proficient in reading. By eighth grade, nearly three-quarters of students are not proficient in mathematics, with achievement gaps remaining especially severe among Black and Hispanic students.
These are more than disappointing statistics.
They represent millions of children whose futures become more limited with every passing school year.
A child who cannot read proficiently is less likely to excel in biology. A student who struggles in mathematics faces greater obstacles in chemistry, physics and engineering. A teenager who graduates academically unprepared is far less likely to become a competitive applicant for medical school because the educational foundation needed for success was never fully built.
The pipeline to medical school begins in kindergarten not inside an admissions committee.
Yet too many policymakers continue debating admissions formulas while ignoring the academic decline taking place in elementary and middle schools.
That is backward.
If America genuinely wants more physicians from underserved communities, it must first ensure that more children from those communities receive an outstanding education.
That begins by restoring academic excellence as the primary mission of public education.
It means ensuring every child can read proficiently by third grade.
It means rebuilding rigorous instruction in reading, writing, mathematics, and science.
It means expanding tutoring, addressing learning loss, supporting outstanding teachers and holding chronically failing schools accountable for results.
It also means encouraging parents to become active partners in their children's education by reading with them, limiting excessive screen time, and reinforcing the values of discipline, curiosity and hard work.
Achievement gaps have many causes, including poverty, family circumstances, and unequal educational opportunities. Whatever those causes may be, waiting until medical school admissions to address them is simply too late.
America should strive for a medical profession that reflects the full talent of our nation.
The way to achieve that goal is not by trying to engineer outcomes at the end of the educational pipeline.
It is by ensuring that every child regardless of race, ethnicity or ZIP code receives the knowledge, skills, and opportunity to compete on merit from the very beginning.
Equal opportunity begins long before college.
It begins with a child opening a book.
It begins with mastering multiplication tables.
It begins with teachers who refuse to lower expectations.
It begins with schools that measure success by academic achievement and student learning.
If our leaders are serious about producing more Black doctors, more Hispanic doctors, and more physicians from every underserved community, they should stop searching for solutions at age twenty-two.
Start building excellence at age five.
Because the road to medical school does not begin with an admissions committee.
It begins in a kindergarten classroom.
America will never build more outstanding doctors by debating admissions policies alone.
It will build them by ensuring every child can read, write, think, and compete long before filling out a college application.
Excellence is not created in the admissions office. It is built one classroom, one teacher and one student at a time.
(Shoshannah Kalaydjian is a young Jewish student who writes about education, identity, and the challenges facing the next generation. Growing up in today’s climate, she has witnessed firsthand how rising antisemitism affects young people in classrooms and on college campuses.)
She is committed to sharing the perspectives of Jewish youth, amplifying student voices, and encouraging leaders to create safer, more inclusive environments for all students.
