Penn State College of Medicine continued to attract the best and brightest medical students as it celebrated its fortieth anniversary.

Matching trends nationwide, more than 7,000 students applied here, marking a 4 percent increase over last year. With about 42,000 applicants to medical school, one out of six applies to Penn State College of Medicine.

Those applying to the College of Medicine continue to show high academic credentials. Our incoming class for 2008-09 had an average GPA of 3.67 and scored an average of 9.76 on their Medical College Admission Tests (MCAT). Demographically, 43 percent are from Pennsylvania, and the class is split equally between men and women.

The college’s graduate programs also attract high-quality applicants. The forty-three graduate students have increased average Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) scores. The twenty-three women and twenty men have a quantitative average of 692, up from 691 last year; and a verbal average of 529, up from 517.

This year, the 2006-07 United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step One test results confirmed the quality of our students. With a 98 percent pass rate, Penn State College of Medicine students far exceeded the national average of 94 percent.

At the annual Match Day, where medical students discover which residency program they have been matched to, 117 graduating students took the next step in their education. Of the 125 graduating students who accepted residency program offers, 28 percent will remain in Pennsylvania, and 14 percent will remain at Penn State Hershey Medical Center. In addition, 51 percent will enter primary care.

Residency programs here also had much success. All but one program filled allotted spaces. Our 94 percent fill rate was significantly higher than the national average of 90 percent.

At the College’s thirty-eighth commencement, 125 medical students and forty graduate students received degrees. This class is the second largest in the College’s history, and featured the awarding of our first three master of homeland security degrees. To date, the College of Medicine has presented 4,483 degrees, including 3,623 medical degrees and 860 graduate degrees.