"… Climate of bias: 30% of accepted applicants come from households with income levels in excess of $120,000/year, 69% of whom are Caucasian.
The fairness of admissions practices has come under question over the years with some arguing that admissions practices are skewed in favor of the wealthy while biased against those of visible minority groups and those from lower income levels.
The survey indicates that 54% of respondents are Caucasians followed by Asians at 18% and other visible minorities at 28%." …
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/medical-school-admissions-practices-in-the-us-more-likely-to-select-applicants-motivated-by-status-financial-gains-and-familial-pressure-to-pursue-medicine-and-may-result-in-bias-against-applicants-from-lower-income-levels-n-669556583.html
I thought that 69% or so of college age students were Caucasian. What is wrong with that?
52% of Americans aged 18-24 self-identified as non-Hispanic White on the 2015 American Community Survey.
If you read the study at the link, you’ll see it’s sloppily done and poorly designed. The study used a tiny sample of medical students (488 out of >80,000 US medical students) who responded to 5 questions. Familial pressure AND having family members who were physicians were conflated into a single question.
Also note the study was conducted by a for-profit HR company fishing for clients.
I won't deny that upper middle income applicants are advantaged in the admission process because they are better able to amass the necessary ECs expected by med schools, have better academic preparation (starting from elementary school onward so they tend to perform better in college), and are more able to afford the expensive admission process (including prep classes for the MCAT), but I doubt there is any conscious bias against lower income applicants.