UCLA Medical School is renowned for its rigorous and competitive admissions process, with an acceptance rate of just 2.2 percent. The school receives over 14,000 applications for its 175 spots in each class, making it one of the most selective medical schools in the nation. Despite being a prestigious institution, UCLA does not give preference to applicants who have completed their undergraduate studies at UCLA.
In order to be considered for admission to UCLA Medical School, applicants must meet certain GPA and MCAT score requirements. The average GPA for accepted students ranges from 3.62 to 3.92, with the 25th percentile sitting at 3.62 and the 75th percentile at 3.92. Additionally, the median MCAT score for matriculants is 514, with a median GPA of 3.85. While these scores are not strict requirements, they give applicants a sense of the caliber of students accepted into the program.
The admission process at UCLA Medical School is highly competitive and holistic, taking into account a variety of factors beyond GPA and MCAT scores. Applicants are required to submit letters of recommendation, a personal statement, and participate in interviews as part of the selection process. The admissions committee looks for well-rounded individuals who demonstrate academic excellence, clinical experience, leadership potential, and a commitment to service. Each application is carefully reviewed to ensure that admitted students will contribute positively to the school’s learning environment and the medical profession as a whole.
| Acceptance Rate | 2.2% |
|---|---|
| Does UCLA Medical School accept UCLA undergrads? | No spots allocated specifically for UCLA undergrads |
| Required GPA | 25th percentile: 3.62, 75th percentile: 3.92 |
| Required MCAT Score | Median MCAT score: 514, Median GPA: 3.85 |
UCLA Undergraduate Medical School
Studying medicine can prepare scholars for a wide range of careers, but most people choose to pursue their education before entering the workforce. Depending on the education and work history of graduates, graduates may become general practitioners, registered nurses, health educators, medical researchers, allied health managers, forensic science technicians and clinical laboratory technologists.
The UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine is a leading institution in the fields of internal medicine, women’s health, and pediatrics. Founded in 1951, it currently has a M.D. student population of over 600 students. There are also over 2,500 faculty members.
UCLA Medical School has a traditional MD degree, which is separated into three sections: Human Biology and Disease, Core Clinical Clerkship, and 4th Year Colleges. Some of the most popular areas of study include emergency medicine, psychiatry, diagnostic radiology, and internal medicine. There are also joint degrees, including a MD/PhD through the Medical Scientist Training Program, a MD/MBA with the UCLA Anderson School of Management, and a MD-Oral Surgery Residency. The school also has a program for students interested in working with disadvantaged populations through the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and the UCLA Medical Education Program. Students can perform clinics at affiliated hospitals in the area, like the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, the Los Angeles Country Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, and the Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center.
Outside of the classroom and hospital settings, students have opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities like talent shows, banquets for second and fourth years, and a special senior show. After graduation, students can take part in a UCLA Medical Alumni Association project, Books Without Borders, which helps US military doctors and nurses receive medical textbooks and journals while they’re stationed overseas. Students interested in a broad curriculum and a chance to study at a top medical school should look into the program at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine.
What is the UCLA Undergraduate Medical School Acceptance Rate?
University of California, Los Angeles medical school offers over 400 undergraduate degree programs to both citizens and international students.
And before you can get you as an undergraduate student, you must meet the admission requirements which doesn’t really grantee your admission.
Although UCLA Undergraduate Medical School Acceptance Rate is highly competitive, you hance a chance of being admitted if you exhibit a high level of excellence.
According to MSAR, the data below gives more insight into the range of UCLA students’ undergraduate GPAs and MCAT scores:
- Total GPA: 3.56 (10th %ile) to 3.96 (90th %ile)
- Science GPA: 3.42 (10th %ile) to 4.00 (90th %ile)
- MCAT: 508 (10th %ile) to 524 (90th %ile)
Above all, the UCLA Undergraduate Medical School Acceptance Rate 2.1% which is extremely competitive.
Over the years, some of the greatest medical minds have taught at UCLA Med. Faculty members include Selma Calmes, co-founder of the Anesthesia History Association, and Robert Peter Gale, an expert in leukemia therapy and bone marrow transplants.
The school enjoys partnerships with several hospitals around the Los Angeles area, including the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, and St. Mary’s Medical Center.
But the most important partnership is with the UCLA Medical Center. Ranked by U.S. News and World Report as the 3rd best hospital in the U.S. A level I trauma center for children and adults, the UCLA Medical Center has 520 beds and features cutting-edge technology.
UCLA Medical School Acceptance Rate
The Geffen School of Medicine is one of the best in the country. So it should come as no surprise that it’s hard to get admitted into the school.
For its 2020 incoming class, UCLA Medical School only admitted 2.8% of its applicants. To put that into perspective, that means that out of 100 students, only three will be accepted in most cases, and sometimes only two will make it in.
That might sound like the standard for elite schools, but you must put it into contrast with the toughest schools in the world. In 2021, Harvard accepted 3.4% of its applicants while Princeton accepted 4.3%.
Those are nearly impossible odds.
But take notice of the word “nearly.”
Geffen actually admits approximately 175 students each year, but it gets 11,778 applications every fall.
That number should be quite encouraging to you. It isn’t that nobody gets into Geffen – in fact, hundreds of people have been admitted into the school. It’s just that the best of the best are the only people who get accepted into Geffen.
To be one of those 175 students, you need a robust application. Of course, this means that you’ll need to have excellent grades (more on that later).
But you’ll also need to have strong extracurriculars, excellent references, and an application essay that will make the admissions committee pay attention.
UCLA Medical School Tuition
Everybody knows that it isn’t cheap to go to medical school. Part of the reason it costs so much to visit a doctor is that the physicians and nurses tending to patients need to pay a lot to develop their expertise.
Geffen Med is no exception to this rule. For the first year of medical school, students living in an off-campus apartment should plan to pay $83,182 in total expenses. That’s $25,274 for room and board, nearly $5,000 each for transportation and books and supplies, $2,625 for miscellaneous expenses, and $45,306 for tuition.
Without question, that’s a lot of money. But there are a few modifiers that can change things. No matter what, you’ll pay $45,306 each year for tuition. Nothing will change that.
However, the cost of books and supplies will drop over the next few years, to the point where you’ll only need to pay $570 for year four.
Moreover, living with a friend or finding alternative transportation options, such as biking or carpooling, can change your expenses by a great deal.
Also, it’s essential to look at these costs in relation to charges from other schools of equal quality. For example, at Stanford Med, students can plan on paying over $62,000 each year for tuition, books, and additional costs.
There are, of course, modifiers that can bring that total down, but it’s clear that great schools are costly.
UCLA Medical School Requirements
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As we’ve already discussed, the large majority of those who apply for admission at Geffen will be denied. Only a small fraction of the applicants get to be among the 175 who make it in.
So what can you do to have the best chance of joining that rarified number?
The first thing you can do to put yourself in a good position is, of course, to have good grades. On average, students entering med school have a 3.8 GPA. To earn such a grade, students must earn A’s in the large majority of their courses, especially those in science fields.
In particular, admissions counselors expect to see strong grades in classes covering core competencies. A strong applicant will have a mastery of cellular and molecular biology, inorganic and organic chemistry, biochemistry, and other science fundamentals.
But they must also have a strong understanding of mathematics, including biomathematics and matrix algebra, as well as the humanities, especially writing.
Additionally, applicants accepted into Geffen Med have strong scores on their standardized tests. All students need to take the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT), which measures the medical knowledge that students developed as an undergrad.
Among students entering Geffen Med, the average MCAT score is 517. That’s a 129 in the chemical and physical sciences, a 128 in critical analysis, a 130 in biological and biochemical sciences, and a 130 in psychological and social sciences.
UCLA Medical School Notable Alumni
As one of the most important medical schools in the nation, UCLA’s Geffen School of Medicine has been associated with a cavalcade of impressive figures.
That list of figures starts with the great faculty members who taught at Geffen. Students at Geffen have learned from a Nobel laureate, innovative researchers, and leaders in the medical world.
Current faculty members include Alcino J. Silva, the neuroscientist who received the Order of Prince Henry in 2008 for his work on the molecular cellular cognition of memory.
In addition to teaching and working at Geffen Med, Dr. Joshua Prager has served as the president of the North American Neuromodulation Society and the director at large of the International Neuromodulation Society.
But the real draw is the outstanding alumni produced by UCLA’s medical school.
1991 graduate Eun-Sil Shelley Hwang has gone on to become the first female Chief of Breast Surgery at Duke Cancer Institute, where she also serves as the Mary and Deryl Hart Professor of Surgery.
Her research on the disparities in breast cancer treatments between white and African American women has earned her recognition as one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in 2016.
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