SUMMARYA study assessing the differences between institutional and matriculants' expectations of students' attitudes and behaviour was undertaken in 1992 at the Drew/UCLA Medical Education Program (DUMEP) in Los Angeles, California. Responding to a 33‐item questionnaire utilizing 5‐point Likert scales were 113/122 students in the classes of 1992 through to 1996.Factor analysis yielded two factors accounting for 61% of the total variance. Two subscales (Personal Trait Subscale and Drew Mission Subscale) containing a total of nine items comprise the Medical Student Expectation Scale (MSES). The alphas and standardized item alphas of these two subscales were 0.7531 and 0.8287 (Personal Trait Subscale) and 0.7304 and 0.7406 (Drew Mission Subscale), indicating good reliability. Correlation coefficients for continuous variables were calculated in order to determine subgroup responses to the subscales and their component items.While the students' overall responses indicated commitment to the values of the Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science, subgroup responses varied. The strongest supporters of the University's values were older students, blacks, and those having better undergraduate performance in non‐science areas. Least likely to agree with University values were students having better performances in the sciences (grade‐point average and MCAT scores) and those of Mexican–American ethnicity. The scores of participating classes documented a secular trend away from endorsement of the values of the Drew University.Following further study, the MSES may be useful in student selection and curricul