The application rate for the Georgetown University School of Medicine increased by 7 percent this year, reflective of a national increase in applications to medical and other graduate programs.

For 2010, the number of applicants to the medical school was 11,549, as compared to 10,797 in 2009, according to Brandon Schneider, assistant dean for admissions in the medical school’s office of admissions.

The figures include applicants to all M.D. programs, M.D. and Ph.D dual-degree programs and early assurance candidates, according to Schneider. The entering class size is currently 196 students, the admissions rate being 17 percent. There have been no changes in the requirements for admission, such as MCAT scores or GPAs of accepted students. Georgetown usually interviews about 1,100 to 1,200 applicants of the total application pool, according to Schneider.

Georgetown’s medical students come from 90 to 100 different undergraduate colleges and universities, 30 to 35 states and territories and one to three foreign countries, according to Schneider.

Georgetown is ranked 39th in terms of research-based medical programs, according to US News and World Report. In 2008, it was ranked 44th.

Applications for medical schools rose nationally and in the District in 2010. Howard University College of Medicine’s saw a 3 percent overall rise in applications. In 2009 the total number of applicants was 6,005 and in 2010 it rose to 6,172.

“The rise in application numbers reflects a rise in national application statistics,” Schneider said in an e-mail. “We attribute part of this to more individuals desiring to attend graduate [and] professional schools to improve their credentials in a tight job market.”

A 2008 report from the American Association of Medical Colleges projected a 20 percent increase in medical students in the United States between 2002 and 2013.