The number of first-year students at the nation's 141 medical schools rose by 1.5 percent this fall, about half the size of the increase from fall 2010 to fall 2011, the Association of American Medical Colleges reported Tuesday. The number of applicants to allopathic medical schools grew by 3.1 percent, to 45,266, while the number of first-time applicants increased by 3.4 percent. Of the 19,517 new students enrolled this fall, 4 percent (771 students) are at the 11 new medical schools that admitted their inaugural class between 2007 and 2012. Medical educators have been pushing for increases in enrollments, citing projected physician shortages in the years ahead, especially in general medical fields.