Med School Eyeing Lack of Students From Lower Class

The faculty of the Medical School is currently considering increasing the size of its incoming classes to raise the number of socio-economically disadvantaged students in the school.

F. Sargent Cheever '32, director of admissions, said yesterday there was a discussion of the "inordinately high" percentage of medical students from middle and upper classes at a faculty meeting on Friday.

The issue of enlarging the class size--perhaps by 15 places--and raising money to support scholarships and loans for the additional students will be taken to the council of the Faculty of Medicine and discussed in depth, Cheever said.

Dr. Warner V. Slack, associate professor of Medicine, said yesterday he thinks there was a consensus at the Friday meeting that the school should try to increase the size of its classes to accommodate more socio-economically disadvantaged students, but that "nobody seemed to know where the money would come from."

A study obtained by The Crimson last spring reported a sharp decrease in the percentage of middle class students admitted to the Med School, and also indicated that nearly 50 per cent of classes in recent years have been composed of students from upper class families.

Cheever said he believes the Med School "cannot make much of a dent" without enlarging the size of the class in the same way it did when pressured to admit more minority group students in the late 60s.

At that time, the Med School created 15 extra places in its incoming classes and raised the necessary funds--$80,000 to $90,000 per year--in order to have each class composed ot 20 per cent ethnic minority members.

20 Per Cent Minority

Of the 140 students admitted to the school last year, 28, or 20 per cent, are ethnic minority members.

The Med School defines socio-economically disadvantaged students, or "poor whites," by standards based on figures prepared by the U.S. Department of Labor.