Students at the University of Minnesota celebrate their induction into medical school. The U.S. has disproportionately few Black and Hispanic doctors. Some of the barriers to entering the profession start before even getting into medical school, recent research finds, including financial pressures and racism. Anthony Souffle/Star Tribune via Getty Images hide caption
Sam Smith, a University of Colorado Boulder grad who is applying to medical schools, says he has been inspired by the example of health care workers during the pandemic. He plans to specialize in infectious diseases. "I want to be on the front lines of the next one," he says. Meredith Nierman hide caption
Travis Driscoll, a medical school applicant from Berkeley, Calif., studies for the revamped MCAT. April Dembosky/KQED hide caption
