"In a readable style, Mary Ann Maguire describes how a group of undergraduates made their way through a premed curriculum and helps us understand why some reached their goal of medical school admission and others did not."

–From the Foreword by David Mechanic, Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research, Rutgers University

Why do some students complete premed programs while others drop out?

What began as an intriguing question about student behavior became a fascinating study when the author followed two groups of premed students through their college years. Blending survey data, excerpts from student interviews, and a review of current knowledge, Maguire observed these men and women as they changed their behaviors, priorities, opinions, and aspirations over time. The voices of individual students are heard throughout the book, providing valuable "insider" information on the premed experience. Presented as an ongoing process of choices, this book shows how early decisions impact on later options in students’ increasingly competitive bid for admission into medical school. In addition to the sociological analyses of educational processes, there is much in this book to help current and future premed students, their teachers, counselors, and parents.