The present research examined relationships among medical school applicants' preferred approaches to learning, methods of instruction, and specialty areas (n=912). Based on confidential responses to a progressive series of paired comparisons, applicants' preferences for lecture (L), self-study (SS), group discussion (GD), and computers (C) were assessed across three dimensions: (1) comfort; (2) effectiveness; and (3) interest. Using cluster analysis to generate four instructional ''profiles,'' participants' comparative preferences for self-study/lecture versus group discussion/computers (+SS, L/-GD, C) were positively associated with interests in surgery and neurology, whereas opposing preferences (+GD, C/-L, SS) corresponded with the practice of family medicine. Using a matriculant subset (N=160), analyses indicated that these relationships remained after controlling for sex and psychological type.