The number of applications to U.S. medical schools has fallen for the second year in a row, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) announced last week.

Nationwide, the number of applications to medical schools fell to 41,003 this year from 43,020 in 1997--a decline of almost 5 percent. Last year, the AAMC reported a drop of roughly 8 percent from the record high of 46,968 set in 1996, an AAMC press release said.

According to the Office of Career Services (OCS), the number of students applying to medical school from Harvard is consistent with the national trend.

The number of Harvard-Radcliffe graduating seniors applying to medical school dropped 18 percent last year--falling from a high of 262 in 1996 to 214 in 1997. Alumni applicants also fell from 249 in 1996 to 215 in 1997--a decrease of 14 percent, according to an OCS report on medical school admissions.

While the AAMC has not yet released the figures from this year for individual schools, OCS expects a similar decline.

Officials with the AAMC are uncertain about the cause of the recent downturn, which follows eight consecutive years of increasing medical school applicants.

"We have no clue really--no scientific assessment as to why the drop is happening," said John E. Parker, manager of media relations for the AAMC.

However, Parker suggested the last two years might be part of a natural cycle following the record number of applicants from just a few years ago.

"There is always the natural ebb and flow of people interested in pursuing careers in medicine, and since we had been on such a high for several years, it was probably only a matter of time until there would be some kind of dip," he said.

Harvard pre-medical tutors agree that the current downtrend may be part of a natural cycle.

"The number of applicants relative to the number of spots skyrocketed from 1991 to 1996," said Jim A. Morrill '92, a resident pre-medical tutor in Leverett House.

"You could call [the decline] a correction," he said.

Medical school officials were quicker to place the blame on the strong economy, which they said is making careers in business more attractive.

"It seems that if we look back over the last 20 or 30 years, there seems to be a direct correlation between applications goingdown to professional schools when the economy isvery strong," said M. Lynne Wootton, director ofadmissions at the Yale School of Medicine.

"I think that business opportunities are moreappealing [than medicine right now] in terms offinancial rewards and quality of life," agreedBard J. Geesaman, chair of the Quincy Housepre-medical committee.

Increased economic rewards may also encouragesome students to temporarily put off medicalschool, suggested Parker.