As part of a prospective survey of medical students' conditions and of the different kinds of influence they are subjected to during their study periods, we looked into the question of from which social strata the students were recruited. Two hundred and fifty-four (79%) of 323 medical students matriculated during the summer of 1992 answered a structured questionnaire forwarded to them. One hundred and thirty-one (52%) medical students were recruited from the highest social class (I), whereas only 19 (7%) were recruited from the lowest social class (V). In comparison, the underlying population in the age groups relevant for the survey is made up as follows: 7% in social class I and 20% in social class V. A comparison with earlier surveys shows that only insignificant changes in the medical students' social class profiles have taken place in spite of the introduction of better possibilities of financing medical studies irrespective of social class affiliations.