Over the past decade, our team at College Transitions has helped to guide hundreds of aspiring physicians toward undergraduate colleges and universities that will serve as ideal springboards into medical school. How you spend those four years will play a significant role in whether you are ultimately able to earn a spot in a school of medicine. Acceptance rates at medical schools are universally low—even outside of the country's top programs. While institutional selectivity does play a role in the medical school admission process, more important will be your grades and standardized test scores. Therefore, choose an undergraduate school that is sufficiently selectiveand one that enables you to achieve a high GPA during your undergraduate career as well as successfully prepare for the MCAT. The average MCAT score for admitted applicants at Johns Hopkins was in the 99th percentile.
Some of those individuals attended Ivy League colleges while others graduated from less selective institutions. According to the Ivy League medical schools' profiles, recommendation letters play a vital role in their decision-making process. That is, if the school you're applying to has a minimum of 3 letters and a maximum of 6, aim to have more than 3 letters. Though most schools require letters from science and non-science faculty, letters from other writers are highly encouraged. If you have substantial research experience, one of your letters must be written by the head of your research project or your principal investigator .
If you have been involved in clinical practice or shadowing, make sure your supervisor writes you a glowing reference. Other writers may include non-medical work and volunteer supervisors, employers, colleagues, athletics coaches, and so on. Your experiences and commitments will often determine who you choose to write your letters. Most Ivy League schools request individual letters but if your school provides its premed students with a committee letter, you should definitely get a letter from your premed committee.
Your medical school recommendation letters can really boost your candidacy by providing an objective, external evaluation of your character, abilities, and accomplishments. As I stated previously, shadowing is not required, but highly recommended by all Ivy League medical schools. Shadowing a physician can really help you grow as a future physician, since you'll be exposed to the everyday work and responsibilities of a practicing professional.
An occasional shadow session will not add anything to your Ivy League applications. Be sure to review our blog to learn how many shadowing hours are required for medical school you need. Remember, the amount of time you spend shadowing is important, but it's more important to focus on the quality of your experience. Although shadowing is a passive activity, use this opportunity to ask questions, take note of curious and memorable moments you witness and reflect on what you've learned from your experiences. These observations can become a part of your AMCAS most meaningful experiences.
A rewarding shadowing experience can help boost your application. Furthermore, it can lead to further opportunities with the physician you shadowed! Now, it can be difficult to know how to approach a physician with the request to shadow them so make sure to review our blog to learn how to ask to shadow a doctor the right way. Your extracurriculars for medical schoolmust include activities that would highlight your individuality and show your dedication and passion for a career in medicine. Your AMCAS Work and Activitiessection must demonstrate your versatility and dedication. Demonstrate a variety of extracurriculars with a substantial time commitment; having only one extracurricular could hurt your chances of acceptance as it limits your experiences.
According to the latest data, students who get accepted into Ivy League medical schools have incredibly impressive premedical experience. More than 90% of these schools' matriculants had in-depth research and lab experience. Over 50% of Dartmouth's medical school matriculants had medical or clinical paid employment experience! And even though shadowing is not required but recommended, over 80% of the students who were accepted by these schools had shadowing experience. A high percentile of matriculants also had other community engagement and volunteering experiences.
For those students needing counseling on course requirements and majors, IvySelect's medical advisor will provide expert guidance. Ivy league college counseling on clinical, teaching and research experiences that will enhance your profile is also available. At BestColleges, we believe a college education is one of the most important investments you can make. We want to help you navigate the college selection process by offering school rankings that are transparent, inclusive, and relevant for students.
For this ranking, we compiled a list of medical schools that are historically less competitive and used college acceptance rates to create a ranked list of the easiest medical schools to get into. We hope our approach helps you find the school that's best for you. In addition to the most commonly required GRE, students may need to take the GMAT, LSAT, or MCAT if they plan to study business, law, or medicine, respectively. Some schools do not specify score requirements, but applicants can review average scores from past admissions to get a sense of expectations. Depending on the competitiveness of the program, some schools may also want to review ACT or SAT scores that were taken for undergraduate education. Low acceptance rates make getting into medical school extremely difficult.
Even the easiest medical schools to get into only admit highly qualified applicants. Getting into medical school is much more challenging than gaining admission to most other undergraduate and graduate programs. With the average applicant applying to sixteen medical schools — we recommend that most students apply to schools — this can add up to a great deal of work. A sizable 76-89% of medical students emerge from school with debt to their name. As of 2020, the average debt-load is a whopping $215,900; more than one-third of graduates carry debts in excess of $200,000. The good news is that, unlike with law school, just about everyone who makes it through med school will end up with a six-figure career, yet doctors' salaries vary greatly by specialty area.
While primary care physicians bring home an average of $237,000, cardiologists and orthopedic surgeons make more than twice that amount, earning an average of $430,000 and $482,000 respectively. My college career was a great success, and I was a strong medical school applicant, interviewing and getting acceptance offers at multiple top 5 medical schools. In short, we've found that when medical schools look at your application, the reputation of your undergraduate institution is not high on the list in terms of importance. If a student's GPA, MCAT, extracurriculars, personal statement, secondary essays, and letters of recommendation are all strong, then this is simply a strong applicant, regardless of the school they attended. Applying to medical school is a competitive, grueling process, especially for those hoping to enter the top tier. Earning excellent MCAT scores and superb grades, particularly from a first-rate institution like Harvard, will do the work of placing you in the realm of qualified applicants.
Work hard to distinguish yourself from your competition and you'll be on your way to acceptances at the most selective and prestigious medical schools in the country. At the most prestigious medical schools, the odds are even more daunting. The vast majority of top-tier medical schools have acceptance rates under five percent, and the average GPA and MCAT score of accepted students tends to be high (around 3.8 and 518, respectively). Here we list 25 great premed schools that are not in the Ivy League. A strong pre-med school prepares you for the process of applying to medical school and boosts your chance of acceptance.
It delineates a clear path to medical school that sets students up for success from the beginning. Prospective doctors do not need to major in biological science in order to gain acceptance to medical school. Medical school admissions committees recommend students choose an undergraduate major they genuinely enjoy and can do well in. No matter what major you choose, the American Academy of Family Physicians recommends you enroll in biology, math, chemistry, and English courses.
Applying to pre-med school takes more than simply having top grades and competitive test scores. Extracurriculars can help distinguish pre-med applicants during the admissions process and show they are passionate about the medical field. The pre-health track is incredibly competitive no matter the school you apply to, and these activities demonstrate a commitment to medical studies beyond the classroom. To go with their prestige, the Ivy League colleges are highly competitive and very expensive. They have some of the lowest acceptance rates but year in year out, they get a large number of students applying for their programs.
So, you see getting admission into any of these schools could be an achievement on its own. Although each of the seven schools listed fall under the "Ivy League medical school" category, there is some variability with respect to average GPA and MCAT scores. For example, students whose stats approach the Dartmouth Medical School averages will not enjoy the same admissions odds at Harvard Medical School. Therefore, instead of taking a blanket approach and applying to as many Ivy League medical schools as possible, make sure to carefully evaluate the stats for each school as you develop your medical school list. If you don't get in initially, it's important to have a back up plan. "What will you do if you don't get admitted on your first try?
If you want to re-apply to one of these eight schools, you'll need to update your application to show how you've grown and/or accomplished impressive feats in the interim. TranscriptsIn order to verify whether an applicant earned the grades required for admissions consideration, Ivy League graduate programs require transcripts from all colleges or universities applicants attended. Some may also require high school transcripts if admission is highly competitive. Each school maintains a unique process for reviewing transcripts.
At Yale University, for instance, prospective degree seekers can upload unofficial transcripts during the application process but must provide official transcripts if they receive a letter of admittance. No other medical school admissions advisors consistently get students full-tuition acceptances to top medical schools and prestigious post-graduate scholarships. If, at 18 years old, you are 100% committed to becoming a medical doctor you might want to consider applying to a joint BA/MD or BS/MD program. Presently, roughly 60 institutions in the United States offer such courses of study, which not only expedite one's academic path but also allow students to forgo the stress traditional med school admissions process. To be considered for the REMS program, students must complete the University of Rochester's Common Application by November 15 and indicate interest REMS on the application.
Students selected as finalists will be notified in January and interviewed by the School of Medicine and Dentistry in March, with notification of admission in April. Though no minimum SAT or ACT score is specified, admitted students typically perform exceptionally well on these tests. Additionally, most applicants earn an unweighted high school GPA of 3.95 and rank in the top 3 percent of their graduating class. Yale School of Medicine is located in New Haven, CT, founded in 1810 and it has total 557 medical school students. The 2021 medical school tuition & fees at Yale School of Medicine is $64,024.
The average GPA of the enrolled students is 3.84 and the average MCAT score is 521. The acceptance rate of Yale School of Medicine is 5.72% where 269 were admitted out of 4,700 applicants. Weill Cornell Medical College is located in New York, NY, founded in 1898 and it has total 535 medical school students. The 2021 medical school tuition & fees at Weill Cornell Medical College is $62,792. The average GPA of the enrolled students is 3.84 and the average MCAT score is 517. The acceptance rate of Weill Cornell Medical College is 5.36% where 335 were admitted out of 6,245 applicants.
How To Get Into A Prestigious Medical School Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania is located in Philadelphia, PA, founded in 1765 and it has total 778 medical school students. The 2021 medical school tuition & fees at Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania is $65,288. The average GPA of the enrolled students is 3.9 and the average MCAT score is 520. The acceptance rate of Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania is 4.36% where 235 were admitted out of 5,390 applicants. Harvard Medical School is located in Boston, MA, founded in 1782 and it has total 843 medical school students. The 2021 medical school tuition & fees at Harvard Medical School is $65,203.
The average GPA of the enrolled students is 3.93 and the average MCAT score is 517. The acceptance rate of Harvard Medical School is 3.48% where 235 were admitted out of 6,749 applicants. Dartmouth College Geisel School of Medicine is located in Hanover, NH, founded in 1797 and it has total 413 medical school students. The 2021 medical school tuition & fees at Dartmouth College Geisel School of Medicine is $68,493.
The average GPA of the enrolled students is 3.72 and the average MCAT score is 512. The acceptance rate of Dartmouth College Geisel School of Medicine is 4.22% where 286 were admitted out of 6,774 applicants. Columbia University Roy and Diana Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons is located in New York, NY, founded in 1767 and it has total 675 medical school students. The 2021 medical school tuition & fees at Columbia University Roy and Diana Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons is $65,320. The average GPA of the enrolled students is 3.87 and the average MCAT score is 520.
The acceptance rate of Columbia University Roy and Diana Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons is 3.45% where 285 were admitted out of 8,258 applicants. Alpert Medical School at Brown University is located in Providence, RI, founded in 1811 and it has total 618 medical school students. The 2021 medical school tuition & fees at Alpert Medical School at Brown University is $64,148.
The average GPA of the enrolled students is 3.77 and the average MCAT score is 514. The acceptance rate of Alpert Medical School at Brown University is 3.25% where 322 were admitted out of 9,922 applicants. The admissions committee carefully reviews the entire application with attention to personal, academic, scientific, and community engagement considerations.
We seek to select a group of students each year who are reflective of our nation and who will contribute positively to, and benefit from, our institutional mission. At two universities, Dartmouth College and the University of Pennsylvania, medical instruction takes place on a contiguous campus shared with undergraduate students. Cornell University's school of medicine is located in New York City, at a distance from the university's main campus in Ithaca. The personal statement and secondary essays for your Ivy League medical school applications must be outstanding.
While it's true that many premed students have similar journeys, your personal statement delivery and content must stand out. It can be difficult to organize all your hard work and accomplishments into a coherent story in the space provided by the AMCAS application. Personal statements are limited to 5300 characters, including spaces. So, it's important to prioritize and choose three to four talking points for your personal statement. Remember, your essay should have a captivating first sentence, as well as a memorable conclusion.
If you're having trouble prioritizing what to include in your statement, you might want to seek help of a medical school advisor. Review our medical school personal statement examplesand Harvard Medical School personal statement examples blogs to help you create a stand out statement. As world leaders in scientific research and progress, Ivy Leagues certainly value their applicants' research experience. Even if you have no interest in MD-PhD programs, research is a great way to boost your medical school application. Not only does it show your dedication to the development of the medical field, it also demonstrates your curiosity, high levels of responsibility, and ability to work in a team.
All these qualities are extremely valuable in a potential medical student. To gain some research experience, start by searching for research assistant positions on campus. You can always ask your instructors and TAs if they are involved in research projects and whether they need any help. You can also find research positions and jobs on Google, LinkedIn, and websites like Indeed. Before you apply to research positions, be sure to read our blog to learn how to craft an excellent research assistant cover letter.
If your GPA does not meet the average of the Ivy League school to which you want to apply, you have to improve your grades. If you're still a student, take the opportunity to re-take the classes in which you did poorly. This strategy will also demonstrate your dedication to improvement. You can also organize your coursework by taking classes in disciplines you know you're going to ace. If you are no longer a student, you might want to enroll in a post-baccalaureate program or work to complete more undergraduate courses.
Do not forget that all these schools have general prerequisites. Check out our blog if you need more information about medical school prerequisites. It's important to remember that the majority of these schools have "expiration dates" for your prerequisite courses, i.e. your prerequisites must have been completed within a certain time period. For example, Cornell asks that your courses are no older than 10 years old, while your biology prerequisites are no older than five years. Each school has different time limits, so be sure to check with the school of your choice. The fierce competition at Ivy League medical schools has prospective students questioning how to get accepted.
