As the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20.
It’s easy to look behind and see where you went wrong. It’s much harder to look ahead and know what you need to do to accomplish your goals.
If you’re reading this blog post, you could be a high school student thinking about what you need to accomplish with a pre-med degree and eventually go to medical school. Or, you could be a second-year pre-med major trying to figure out if you are on track to getting accepted into your dream med school.
No matter where you are in your education, there’s some information you need to know about what it takes to receive a letter saying “Congratulations! We welcome you to your dream school.”
It’s simple to say that it’s hard to get into med school. But how hard is it actually?
Exactly how many applications get sent every school year and what percent of applicants get acceptance letters? Here are a ton of statistics about admissions to medical school.
Table of Contents
General Admission Statistics
University Specific Statistics
MCAT Matters
GPA Across The Board
Conclusion
General Admission Statistics
When it comes to the medical side of higher education, there are some general things you need to know about admissions to medical schools.
The two most important things that medical schools look at when considering an admission are the average GPA and average MCAT scores of the student who’s applying.
The average medical school acceptance rates are 6.3% for the top 100 U.S. News ranked schools. In contrast, the average medical school acceptance rates, in general, are 7%. When you’re talking about several thousand applicants, the 0.7% difference can mean dozens of students going to school vs finding another school or another career.
For the entering medical school class of 2020-2021, only 42% of medical school applicants enrolled at a college or university. This is an improvement compared to 2 school years ago. You see, in the 2019-2020 school year, only about 41% of applicants to U.S. medical schools who sought admission matriculated.
If you have a 3.9 GPA and a 40 MCAT...you have a 10% chance of getting DENIED according to the AAMC.
So even if you’re doing well compared to your peers, there is still a chance of getting a letter from the school of your dreams saying you didn’t make the cut.
Don’t worry though. There’s still hope! If you have a 3.4 GPA and an 18 MCAT you have a 10% chance of being ACCEPTED according to the AAMC.
University Specific Statistics
Different medical schools have different acceptance rates. Some have higher acceptance rates. Others will only accept high GPAs and MCAT scores.
Harvard is often considered to have the top medical school in the United States. In 2019, there were 6,815 applicants to Harvard University. A total of 227 students received admittance letters, making the acceptance rate to be 3.3%.
Johns Hopkins ranks second for the top medical schools in research. It has an admissions rate of 5%. It’s a little bit better than Harvard. If Johns Hopkins had the same number of applicants compared to Harvard, it would accept 110+ more students compared to Harvard.
The University of Arizona in Tucson has the lowest acceptance rate of all medical schools in the United States at only 1.9%.
In contrast, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, according to medical school acceptance statistics, has the highest rate of acceptance of all medical schools in the United States at 15.6%. Following that Tennessee Health Science Center is Texas A&M Health Science Center at 13.6%, the Medical University of South Carolina at 13.1%, and East Carolina University (Brody) at 12.8%.
MCAT Matters
Anyone who doesn’t have a medical degree might be very intimidated by the MCAT. Even medical students might find the MCAT scary since it’s a major component to determine how their future plays out.
The most recent data shows that the average MCAT score of accepted students is 511.5. Since the MCAT has four sections, the average breakdown of accepted students is as follows:
127.8 CPBS
127 CARS
128.1 BBLS
128.6 PSBB
This might not mean much if you have no idea what the MCAT looks like. The highest possible MCAT score is 528. Each of the four sections can earn you at most 132 points.
So what do universities look for with the MCAT?
On the high end of the spectrum are New York University (Langone), Vanderbilt, Washington University in St. Louis, and Yale University. They all accept an average score of 521.
On the low end of the spectrum is The University of Mississippi with an average MCAT score of 503. The second-lowest accepted MCAT score is Louisiana State at 504.
What if you don’t know what University you want to go to for medicine? What scores should you aim to get in general?
You should know that MCAT scores of 507 or below are typically considered low. Therefore they aren’t competitive if you want to learn conventional medical treatments.
The number of attempts you take is also considered. Earning the highest MCAT score possible with the lowest number of exam attempts is ideal for getting into medical school.
GPA Across The Board
GPA is the other half of the admissions puzzle for medical school.
On the bright side, you don’t need a perfect 4.0 with straight As to get into your dream school, although that would certainly help. On the downside, you need to have way more A’s than B’s.
A medical school applicant’s GPA gets broken up into three categories on AMCAS:
Overall GPA
BCPM (biology, chemistry, physics, and math) GPA
Non-Science GPA
You might be thinking “did I read that right?” Does my non-science GPA matter too?”
Yes. Yes, it does.
Medical schools want to see that you know your science like biology, chemistry, and psychology. But they also want to see how well you do in areas that are not your comfort zone. Can you push yourself to do well in English? Public speaking? Or statistics?
The average GPA for all medical school students that continued their education in the 2020-2021 school year was 3.73 overall. For MD-granting schools, the average GPA of admitted students was 3.66 in the same school year.
Let’s say, hypothetically, you have a GPA lower than 4.0 but higher than 4.5. What universities could be in your future? What schools are out of reach because your GPA is too low?
Let's start on the lower end of the spectrum. Rosalind Franklin Medical School has the lowest average accepted GPA of 3.62. The second two schools with the lowest accepted GPA on the list are New York Medical College and the University of Texas Rio Grande, both accepting a minimum of 3.63.
On the upper end of the spectrum, Johns Hopkins Medical School is the strictest on the list. It has the highest average accepted GPA at 3.94. Next on the list are Baylor Medical School, Harvard Medical School, and NYU having an average accepted GPA of 3.92 for all three.
Conclusion
Different Universities have different expectations. Some have stricter application requirements. They have different GPA requirements, MCAT scores, and the number of open slots available.
GPA matters. The science side of your GPA matters but so do all of the non-science courses like English and Public Speaking. A medical school wants to see you do well in courses related to your field. That makes sense. But they also want to see you do well in areas that are not your strong suit. They want to see you do well under pressure and push yourself to accomplish your goals.
The scary MCAT exam is the second variable that will determine whether you get admitted or denied from medical school. Obviously, your score matters. A score of 507 out of 528 is generally considered a low score and won’t get you many admissions if any. The number of times you take the test is also considered. You want to get the highest score in the fewest tries.
Getting into medical school is hard. But, it isn’t impossible. The average medical school acceptance rate is 7%. It doesn’t sound like a lot but that can mean you are one of 300-500 students in your class at that school.
42% of medical school students enrolled for the fall 2020 semester. Yes, that is less than half, but you, your determination, and your skills can get you admitted. You’re your greatest obstacle and asset to obtain your ideal career.
