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Duke University Medical School Acceptance Rate
Duke University School of Medicine has an extremely low acceptance rate of just 3.2%. Of the 129 students in the matriculating class of 2019, 49.5% were minority students, 19.2% were underrepresented minority students, and 54.7% were female.
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Duke University Medical School Overview
We’re covering everything you need to know as you consider applying to the Duke University School of Medicine. You’ll learn about acceptance rates, application deadlines, average MCAT scores, tuition, curriculum, and more.
Duke University School of Medicine is located in Durham, North Carolina– a city aptly referred to as the “City of Medicine.” Established in 1930, Duke University School of Medicine was the first to establish a brain tumor program (1937), a unique Center for Aging (1955), and a Physician’s Assistant Program (1965), and was one of the first two hospitals to conduct human trials of AZT, a drug that improves the quality of life of those with AIDS.
Over 2,500 full-time faculty, including two chemistry Nobel Laureates, are employed at Duke University School of Medicine across 40 departments. Thanks to its relatively small MD student body of approximately 500 students, Duke has a remarkable faculty-to-student ratio of 3:1. Duke received $384.6 million dollars in research funding from NIH in 2019.
Medical students have opportunities to train at many different sites, both on and off Duke’s medical campus. Duke’s training sites include Duke University Hospital, Duke Training Hospital, Duke Raleigh Hospital, Durham VA Medical Center, and Duke Outpatient Clinic.
Duke School of Medicine offers an MD program, a Doctor of Physical Therapy program, 5 master’s degrees, and 16 PhD programs, in addition to programs for physicians’ assistants and pathologists’ assistants. Of the ~500 Duke MD students, about 17% enroll in the Medical Science Training Program (MSTP), which leads to a combined MD and PhD, and about 40% total graduate with a second degree of some kind.
Duke University School of Medicine Rankings and Admissions
The Duke University School of Medicine is currently ranked #3 in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report’s rankings for best research medical schools in 2022. Several Duke programs are ranked as some of the highest in the country. Top-ten nationally ranked programs for 2022 include surgery (ranked #2), anesthesia (ranked #4), internal medicine (ranked #5), radiology (ranked #6), pediatrics (ranked #7), obstetrics/gynecology (ranked #8), and psychiatry (ranked #10). Historically, the Duke University School of Medicine consistently ranks in the top ten medical schools in the United States.
Admission to the school’s medical degree program is highly competitive, with more than 7,500 applicants for approximately 115 openings each year. The school ranks very highly among its peers in the diversity of its medical students. Among the draws of the program is its unique curriculum, which gives students contact with patients a year earlier than at most other medical schools and includes an entire year devoted to independent research.
Many students use the year to begin studies toward a second degree; nearly one-quarter earn a PhD, Master of Science in Global Health (MScGH), MBA, JD, or master’s degree in addition to an MD. About 19.5 percent are enrolled in Duke’s Medical Scientist Training Program, which leads to both an MD and a PhD in health-related basic biomedical or social science research. Created to train highly qualified students as physician-scientists, the Duke program is the fourth oldest in the country, has been continuously funded by the NIH for almost 50 years, and is highly regarded nationally.
Duke University School of Medicine also includes PhD programs in the basic sciences and education and training programs in other health professions, including the top-ranked Physician Assistant and Doctor of Physical Therapy programs, a Primary Care Leadership Track, Master of Biomedical Sciences, MS and PhD in Biostatistics, and Master of Management in Clinical Informatics.
The Curriculum At The Duke University School of Medicine
In an effort to give students time to pursue their own research interests and/or complete a second degree, the Duke University School of Medicine condenses the core curriculum into three years instead of the traditional four. Students spend the remaining year pursuing their research interests and completing additional degrees.
Students spend one year, not two, studying the core sciences. There are two main first-year courses that cover all the necessary science: Human Structure and Function & Body and Disease. In addition to the core science courses, students participate in the Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) program, which trains students to be patient-focused, critical-thinking leaders in healthcare through coursework, team learning activities, clinical skills foundations, and workshops.
Students take two longitudinal LEAD courses: Cultural Determinants of Health and Healthcare Disparities (CDHD) & Clinical Skills Foundations (CSF). CDHD focuses on sociocultural influences on healthcare and health disparities. CSF provides clinical experiences, first through simulated patient-doctor interactions with standardized patients—people trained to simulate the patient role—in the Clinical Skills Lab, which contains ten simulated clinic rooms and two simulated hospital rooms. CSF1 meets 4 hours/week and focuses on doctor-patient interactions, with a special focus on performing physicals.
The second year is made up of clinical rotations. Students begin their second year with a three-week Clinical Skills Intensive that provides a foundation for the upcoming clerkships. Once they begin their clerkships, students continue to meet with their Clinical Skills Course group twice every month for more applied practice.
Below are the required clerkships for each Duke medical student:
- Medicine (8 weeks)
- Surgery (8 weeks)
- Obstetrics and Gynecology (6 weeks)
- Pediatrics (6 weeks)
- Family Medicine (4 weeks)
- Psychiatry (4 weeks)
- Neurology (4 weeks)
In addition to clerkships, students take CSF2 with the same groups as in CSF1. In CSF2 they reflect on their clinical experiences as they relate to ethics, spirituality, delivering bad news, and other topics surrounding doctor-patient relationships. Students also take CDHD2, which dives deeper into health disparities based on students’ clinical experiences.
In their second year, students also take two 2-week selectives, which are experiences in subspecialties not covered by clerkships.
Duke’s year 3 medical school curriculum is particularly unique. Because of the condensed scientific core in year 1, students have the opportunity to spend 10-12 months in their third year completing a scholarly research project that aligns with their interests or completing a dual degree—even one at another university.
Students complete their clinical electives in Year 4. These electives are tailored to each student’s goals and interests. In addition to clinical electives, students complete the following three Year 4 requirements:
- SUB-INTERNSHIPStudents can choose from 20 of these 4-week experiences. Their experience will be similar to that of residents or interns, and they’ll be given more responsibility than they’ve had before in medical school.
- ACUTE CARE REQUIREMENTStudents must take one of the ~10 available critical care courses as one of their electives. Regardless of which elective students choose, they’ll also need to complete an acute care curriculum component, which meets 5 times per semester.
- CAPSTONE COURSEThis course coincides with Match Day and prepares students for residency by covering topics such as legal issues in medicine, professionalism, and patient safety.
Students interested in Primary Care can opt at the start of medical school to follow the Primary Care Leadership Track, a 4-year community-based curriculum aimed at helping students develop leadership skills and understand the reasons for health disparities. Students participate in a 7-month longitudinal clerkship during their second year in which they learn all the clinical basics of primary care. Students who follow this track and match for residencies in primary care are eligible for loan repayment up to $40,000.
is Duke university a good medical school
Duke is part of the Partnership for a Healthy Durham coalition, whose goal it is to improve the mental, social, and physical health of Durham residents. It focuses on topics such as HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, access to healthcare, substance abuse, etc.
Duke School of Medicine also has partnerships with two universities abroad: the National University of Singapore Medical School and Wuhan University in China. Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School (Duke-NUS) is the only graduate-level medical school in Singapore, and Duke Kunshan University, the partnership with China’s Wuhan University, offers undergraduate and master’s degrees in global health, medical physics, and other, non-medical fields.
The Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI) has partnerships with 30 different countries in order to perform research about various aspects of global health. 49% of DGHI faculty are from the School of Medicine, and through this program, students can complete an undergraduate or graduate degree in global health.
By way of medical accomplishments, Duke has made an impact in many ways. Just three of Duke’s major contributions to the medical field, as mentioned above, are as follows:
- 1937Duke founded the nation’s first brain tumor program.
- 1955Duke founded the Center for Aging — the first of its kind in the United States.
- 1985Duke was one of two hospitals to first conduct human trials of AZT, a drug to improve the quality of life for those with AIDS.
Duke University School Of Medicine Notable Programs
- Surgery
- Cardiothoracic Surgery
- Oncology
- Anesthesiology
- Psychiatry
- Radiology
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Research
- Family Medicine
- Pediatrics
Duke University medical School Acceptance Rate
Duke University School of Medicine has an extremely low acceptance rate of just 3.2%. Of the 129 students in the matriculating class of 2019, 49.5% were minority students, 19.2% were underrepresented minority students, and 54.7% were female. 29 states and 60 undergraduate schools were represented, and 40% of matriculated students received undergraduate degrees in the biological sciences.
Duke University Medical School Tuition
Annual tuition is $61,170, not including various expenses depending on the year.
In total, attendance for one year of medical school at Duke costs an average of $81,425, including $61,170 for full-time tuition, $4,030 for required fees, and $16,225 for room and board. However, 87 percent of students receive some type of financial aid.
For the class of 2019, medical school debt was $132,164 on average.
Duke University School Of Medicine Application Deadline
Here is the application cycle for Duke University School of Medicine:
- June 1: AMCAS releases primary applications
- 2nd Week of July: Duke begins sending out secondary applications and then interview invitations to those who have already submitted their primary applications
- October 15: Primary applications due
- November 15: Secondary applications due
- Early September through the end of July: Interviews are conducted
You’ll be required to submit four letters of recommendation with your application, and at least two need to be from science faculty members. Duke’s application fee is $85.
The interview format is MMI, or Multiple Mini Interviews. You’ll have 8-10 nine-minute interviews centered on different scenarios. You won’t need to display any hard scientific or medical knowledge; the purpose of these scenarios is to see how you approach problems.
duke medical school average mCAT
Average MCAT Scores For The Duke University School of Medicine
Unfortunately, Duke does not publish the average MCAT scores of its accepted students. With a very low acceptance rate, you’ll likely have to have incredibly strong MCAT scores to remain competitive.
Duke University School Of Medicine Graduate Program
TOP DUKE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE RESIDENCY PROGRAM MATCH RATES AND LOCATIONS
Based on 2019 numbers, the most popular matches to residency and specialty programs for graduates of the Duke University School of Medicine are:
- Internal Medicine (21.4%)
- Surgery (8.5%)
- Pediatrics (6.8%)
- Dermatology (6%)
- Orthopedics (6%)
- Anesthesiology (5.1%)
- Ophthalmology (5.1%)
- Plastic Surgery (5.1%)
duke medical school requirements gPA
MCAT, GPA, and Medical School Acceptance Rates: The Med School Selectivity Index
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Accepted has created the Selectivity Index so that you can find medicals schools by sorting median GPA and MCAT scores as well as overall acceptance rates for the U.S. medical schools listed in U.S. News medical school rankings.
duke university medical school ranking
2021 USN Ranking: Research 2021 USN Ranking: Primary Total Enrollment Median MCAT Score Median Undergrad GPA Acceptance Rate Selectivity Score Selectivity Index
2021 USN Ranking: Research | 2021 USN Ranking: Primary | Medical School | Median MCAT Score | Median Undergrad GPA | Acceptance Rate | Selectivity Index |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 | 35 | New York University (Grossman) >> | 522 | 3.96 | 2.5% | 100.0 |
6 | 38 | Mayo Clinic School of Medicine (Alix) >> | 520 | 3.92 | 2.4% | 98.7 |
1 | 10 | Harvard University >> | 519 | 3.93 | 3.3% | 97.9 |
4 | 30 | Stanford University >> | 519 | 3.89 | 2.3% | 97.9 |
6 | 31 | Columbia University >> | 521 | 3.90 | 3.5% | 97.3 |
17 | 24 | University of Chicago (Pritzker) Medical >> | 521 | 3.91 | 4.3% | 96.7 |
3 | 14 | University of Pennsylvania (Perelman) >> | 522 | 3.90 | 4.4% | 96.6 |
22 | 4 | Baylor College of Medicine Medical School Overview >> | 518 | 3.93 | 4.9% | 96.1 |
6 | 11 | University of California—Los Angeles (Geffen) | 517 | 3.83 | 2.4% | 95.9 |
2 | 20 | Johns Hopkins University >> | 521 | 3.94 | 6.0% | 95.7 |
12 | 26 | Duke University >> | 519 | 3.86 | 4.0% | 95.4 |
6 | 2 | University of California—San Francisco >> | 518 | 3.84 | 3.8% | 94.9 |
84 | 58 | West Virginia University | 508 | 3.86 | 2.8% | 94.6 |
11 | 38 | Cornell University (Weill) >> | 518 | 3.88 | 5.1% | 94.6 |
23 | 1 | University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill | 512 | 3.87 | 4.0% | 94.4 |
18 | 35 | Northwestern University (Feinberg) | 520 | 3.91 | 6.4% | 94.4 |
40 | 47 | University of Florida | 515 | 3.89 | 5.1% | 94.3 |
18 | 31 | Vanderbilt University | 520 | 3.84 | 5.3% | 93.8 |
21 | 26 | University of California—San Diego >> | 516 | 3.80 | 3.8% | 93.6 |
38 | 35 | Brown University (Alpert) >> | 515 | 3.77 | 2.8% | 93.6 |
31 | 9 | University of Colorado | 512 | 3.82 | 3.7% | 93.5 |
40 | 43 | Albert Einstein College of Medicine >> | 515 | 3.81 | 4.3% | 93.2 |
14 | 17 | University of Pittsburgh >> | 517 | 3.80 | 4.5% | 93.1 |
94+ | 94+ | Florida State University | 506 | 3.78 | 2.2% | 92.8 |
15 | 5 | University of Michigan—Ann Arbor >> | 516 | 3.81 | 5.0% | 92.7 |
20 | 58 | Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai >> | 518 | 3.82 | 5.7% | 92.6 |
6 | 31 | Washington University in St. Louis | 521 | 3.90 | 8.2% | 92.5 |
44 | 81 | University of California—Irvine | 516 | 3.76 | 4.0% | 92.4 |
34 | 16 | University of Rochester | 516 | 3.82 | 5.7% | 92.2 |
26 | 26 | University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center >> | 516 | 3.86 | 7.0% | 91.9 |
62 | 63 | University of Arizona—Tucson | 509 | 3.72 | 2.3% | 91.8 |
34 | 12 | University of Maryland | 515 | 3.83 | 6.6% | 91.4 |
58 | 68 | George Washington University >> | 512 | 3.70 | 2.9% | 91.3 |
31 | 34 | University of Alabama—Birmingham | 509 | 3.84 | 6.0% | 91.2 |
70 | 81 | Wayne State University | 511 | 3.81 | 5.6% | 91.2 |
34 | 10 | University of Iowa (Carver) | 514 | 3.85 | 7.1% | 91.2 |
24 | 56 | Case Western Reserve University | 518 | 3.81 | 7.0% | 91.1 |
34 | 38 | Ohio State University >> | 514 | 3.79 | 5.7% | 91.1 |
38 | 20 | University of Utah >> | 512 | 3.75 | 4.7% | 90.8 |
62 | 56 | University of Hawaii—Manoa (Burns) | 511 | 3.76 | 4.9% | 90.7 |
94+ | 94+ | Cooper Medical School of Rowan University | 510 | 3.71 | 3.4% | 90.7 |
40 | 15 | University of Minnesota | 510 | 3.77 | 4.9% | 90.7 |
94+ | 94+ | Florida Atlantic University (Schmidt) | 511 | 3.74 | 4.3% | 90.7 |
24 | 25 | Emory University | 514 | 3.70 | 4.0% | 90.6 |
57 | 52 | Thomas Jefferson University (Kimmel) | 515 | 3.72 | 4.7% | 90.6 |
52 | 68 | Wake Forest University | 513 | 3.67 | 3.0% | 90.6 |
74 | 58 | Saint Louis University | 514 | 3.85 | 7.7% | 90.6 |
31 | 47 | University of Southern California (Keck) >> | 517 | 3.70 | 4.6% | 90.5 |
50 | 75 | University of Miami (Miller) | 513 | 3.71 | 4.3% | 90.4 |
47 | 20 | Indiana University—Indianapolis | 511 | 3.90 | 8.6% | 90.4 |
79 | 73 | University of Missouri | 509 | 3.75 | 4.7% | 90.3 |
55 | 67 | University of Texas Health Science Center—San Antonio | 515 | 3.80 | 7.1% | 90.2 |
29 | 7 | Oregon Health and Science University | 512 | 3.70 | 4.0% | 90.2 |
94+ | 75 | East Tennessee State University (Quillen) | 508 | 3.81 | 6.3% | 90.0 |
29 | 43 | Boston University >> | 517 | 3.75 | 6.5% | 89.9 |
27 | 18 | University of Wisconsin—Madison | 512 | 3.74 | 5.5% | 89.8 |
68 | 49 | Virginia Commonwealth University | 511 | 3.72 | 4.8% | 89.8 |
50 | 19 | Dartmouth College (Geisel) | 514 | 3.66 | 3.9% | 89.7 |
70 | 63 | University of Oklahoma | 509 | 3.85 | 7.7% | 89.7 |
70 | 84 | Hofstra University | 516 | 3.80 | 7.9% | 89.6 |
62 | 38 | University of Kansas Medical Center | 510 | 3.85 | 8.0% | 89.6 |
58 | 68 | Rush University | 512 | 3.69 | 4.5% | 89.5 |
44 | 87 | Georgetown University | 512 | 3.63 | 2.9% | 89.5 |
13 | 2 | University of Washington | 510 | 3.68 | 4.1% | 89.3 |
66 | 90 | Temple University (Katz) | 511 | 3.70 | 4.9% | 89.2 |
53 | 38 | University of Connecticut | 512 | 3.76 | 6.6% | 89.2 |
58 | 84 | Stony Brook University—SUNY | 514 | 3.80 | 8.2% | 89.0 |
40 | 7 | University of California—Davis >> | 510 | 3.63 | 3.1% | 89.0 |
53 | 52 | Tufts University | 514 | 3.66 | 4.6% | 89.0 |
74 | 75 | Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School—New Brunswick | 512 | 3.70 | 5.4% | 88.9 |
29 | 6 | University of Virginia | 518 | 3.89 | 11.7% | 88.3 |
47 | 26 | University of Massachusetts—Worcester | 514 | 3.77 | 8.6% | 87.9 |
94+ | 88 | Wright State University (Boonshoft) | 505 | 3.66 | 4.1% | 87.9 |
66 | 43 | University of Vermont | 511 | 3.70 | 6.4% | 87.8 |
81 | 52 | University of New Mexico | 506 | 3.74 | 6.6% | 87.7 |
44 | 43 | University of Cincinnati | 515 | 3.75 | 8.9% | 87.3 |
94+ | 94+ | Florida International University (Wertheim) | 508 | 3.71 | 6.8% | 87.2 |
91 | 92 | University of California—Riverside | 508 | 3.66 | 5.5% | 87.2 |
91 | 90 | University of South Carolina | 507 | 3.68 | 6.6% | 86.5 |
84 | 68 | Augusta University | 511 | 3.80 | 10.6% | 86.1 |
62 | 12 | University of Nebraska Medical Center | 511 | 3.77 | 10.1% | 85.9 |
91 | 94+ | Drexel University | 510 | 3.64 | 6.9% | 85.8 |
94+ | 94+ | Howard University | 504 | 3.52 | 2.5% | 85.8 |
55 | 58 | University of Illinois | 513 | 3.75 | 10.3% | 85.6 |
90 | 73 | Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center | 508 | 3.81 | 11.6% | 84.9 |
94+ | 94+ | Marshall University (Edwards) | 502 | 3.6 | 5.3% | 84.9 |
74 | 63 | University of Tennessee Health Science Center | 511 | 3.80 | 12.1% | 84.7 |
94+ | 49 | Eastern Virginia Medical School | 512 | 3.54 | 6.4% | 84.2 |
94+ | 92 | Oklahoma State University | 503 | 3.72 | 9.3% | 84.2 |
94+ | 84 | Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine | 503 | 3.62 | 6.9% | 84.1 |
68 | 81 | University of Kentucky | 505 | 3.78 | 11.3% | 84.0 |
94+ | 72 | University of North Texas Health Science Center | 507 | 3.76 | 11.7% | 83.5 |
88 | 75 | University of Missouri—Kansas City | 508 | 3.81 | 13.5% | 83.1 |
94+ | 62 | East Carolina University (Brody) | 506 | 3.76 | 12.4% | 82.7 |
58 | 88 | Medical University of South Carolina | 510 | 3.75 | 15.5% | 80.2 |
81 | 63 | University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences | 508 | 3.73 | 16.5% | 78.5 |
94+ | 94+ | Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine | 501 | 3.60 | 12.4% | 78.4 |
94+ | 94+ | Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center—Shreveport | 504 | 3.70 | 27.1% | 67.5 |
94+ | 75 | Lincoln Memorial University (DeBusk) | 500 | 3.55 | 25.3% | 65.8 |
88 | 75 | Loyola University Chicago (Stritch) | 0 – n/a | 3.60 | 2.9% | 0 – n/a |
does duke medical school Stats matter
While there are many subjective and qualitative factors that contribute to an effective medical school application, the objective, quantitative factors play a significant role both in your acceptance and in how you should choose where you apply.
You can’t underestimate the importance of these medical school admission rates and stats. They frequently constitute numerical screen tools and determine who gets secondary applications. And they should influence you when you choose the programs to apply to.
The most important medical school applicant stats are:
- Your MCAT
- Your undergraduate GPA
The most important medical school admissions stats are:
- The median MCAT for matriculants
- The median GPA for matriculants
- The overall, in-state, and out-of-state acceptance rates
How To Use Your Stats To Choose Which Med Schools To Apply To
Medical school acceptance rates for the class that entered in 2018 at schools ranked by US News ranged from a low of 1.9% at the University of Arizona (Tucson) to a high of 15.6% at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. However, since most med school applicants apply to multiple medical schools, if you look at the applicant pool as a whole the picture is not quite as bleak. Per AAMC for the class that matriculated in 2018, 52,777 applicants submitted 849,678 applications and in the end 21,622 matriculated at an allopathic medical school. Bottom line: 50.5% of applicants who applied to allopathic medical schools matriculated.
That 50.5% is certainly a lot more encouraging than the 1.9 – 15.6% acceptance rates at individual programs, and it doesn’t include applicants who opted to go to osteopathic medical schools. At the same time, that 50.5% still means it’s roughly 50-50, and you want to maximize your chances.
Ideally you want to apply mostly to programs that you want to attend and that are somewhat likely to accept you. “Somewhat likely to accept you” means that your stats are close to or above the median. You don’t want to apply solely to the easiest medical schools to get into without considering if you actually want to attend that school. Yes, you can apply to a couple of dream schools where you are less competitive, and you should apply to a few schools where your stats are above average and where you would also be happy to attend.
Keep in mind as you apply that medians are medians because applicants are accepted with GPAs and MCATs that are below the median. However, the further away your scores are below the median, the less likely you are to be accepted, especially if both your GPA and MCAT are weak.
Keep also in mind the impact of in-state (IS) vs. out-of-state (OOS) acceptance rates as you choose your target schools. Many medical schools associated with public universities have significant preferences for in-state residents. They frequently also charge lower tuition to in-state residents. Those two facts, if applicable in your state, suggest that you should apply to your IS school(s) in addition to any OOS schools that appeal to you.
Duke Medical School Average MCAT and GPA
The GPA
Your undergraduate GPA reflects your academic performance in college and over time. Since a foundational element of admissions is that past behavior predicts future behavior, that number is really important.
Schools want to know that you know how to perform in a demanding academic environment, particularly in the sciences. Your GPA tells them how you’ve performed in the past and also reflects how you’ve performed relative to your peers.
The median GPA in the table above is a median. People were accepted with GPAs below the median as well above the median. To gain a fuller understanding of the GPA range at a given school you can check:
- Each school’s website
- AAMC’s Medical School Admissions Requirements (a good investment)
- U.S. News Medical School Rankings
While the median GPA provided here is a good initial check when assessing the competitiveness of your GPAs, make sure that you don’t stop there; look into the larger range of GPAs as you assess your competitiveness at particular schools.
Also consider the trend in your GPA, your science GPA, your postbac grades (if relevant), and extenuating circumstances that may make your GPA look shinier than it is at first glance.
Where does your GPA fall relative to the median GPA at your target medical schools?
If your GPA is at or above the median GPAs for your target schools, great!
The MCAT
The MCAT allows medical schools to compare students on a common measure. Grading standards vary among schools, among professors, and among TAs. There is an element of subjectivity to the grading system.
The MCAT is something all medical school applicants – whether applying to allopathic or osteopathic schools – have in common. And it’s scoring is consistent.
MCAT scores also correlate somewhat to performance on the USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK exams (see here for details). Medical schools want to know that if they admit you, you will not only be likely to handle the workload at medical school, but also likely to pass these critical exams.
Other factors to consider when evaluating your MCAT:
- The breakdown of the MCAT scores. A really low score on one part of the exam can hurt even if the overall score is competitive.
- Taking the MCAT multiple times. Some schools will use your highest score. Some will take the average. Some will take the most recent score. Most will consider trend if you take the MCAT multiple times.
Where does your MCAT score fall relative to the median score at your target medical schools?
Medical Schools with the Highest Median MCAT Scores
School | Median MCAT Score |
NYU Langone | 522 |
Penn (Perelman) | 521 |
Chicago (Pritzker) | 521 |
Yale | 521 |
University of Washington St. Louis | 521 |
Medical Schools with the Lowest Median MCAT Scores
School | Median MCAT Score |
Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine | 500 |
Howard University | 503 |
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine | 503 |
Florida State University | 505 |
University of South Carolina | 506 |
Clearly there’s a significant range in median MCAT scores at different schools. Not only that, but some applicants are admitted with MCAT scores below the median.