SSOM Ranked Among Most Desired Schools
U.S News &World Report rated SSOM sixth nationally in the percentage of an institution’s accepted students who actually enroll at the institution. Nearly 80 percent of the students accepted into the SSOM enroll at the medical school. The national average was 53 percent. The nation’s top program had an 85 percent enrollment rate. There are more than 150 medical schools in the nation, and 112 responded to the survey conducted by U.S. News &World Report.
“This analysis shows that students are eager to attend the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine,” said Mary Nettleman, M.D., dean of the school of medicine. “This news is also a reflection of our institution’s exceptional education and reputation, and our impressive faculty, facilities and opportunities.”
In 2013, there were more than 450 applicants for 56 firstyear slots in the SSOM. Among those accepted were students representing 25 high schools in South Dakota, including 15 students from small-town high schools. Class size for the medical school will expand to 67 first-year students beginning in 2015.
Since expanding to a degree-granting, four-year program in 1974, the medical school has graduated 1,823 physicians, and 40 percent of those physicians have remained in South Dakota.
This story originally appeared in the Fall/Winter 2014 issue of South Dakotan M.D. magazine. Read the full issue.