Students apply to an average of 14 medical schools. Applying to more than 20 schools does not necessarily increase the chances for a successful application. Once you decide where you are applying, you will need to indicate which schools you are applying to on your primary application.

AAMC: Medical School Admissions Requirements (MSAR)

Provides detailed information about the allopathic medical school application process. For each medical school there is information about the range and median scores for the MCAT and GPA for accepted applicants from the prior application year.

AACOM: Osteopathic Medical College Information Booklet

Provides detailed information about admissions criteria at osteopathic medical schools.

Factors to consider when deciding which medical schools to apply to:

• State residency requirements
  • If you are a permanent resident of a state, you should strongly consider applying to your state medical school(s) because they often try to accept more than 50% state residents in each class; in fact some state medical schools accept close to 100% of the class from the state resident applicant pool. You should review the medical school admissions websites to learn how they determine state residency.
  • Think carefully before applying to other state schools if you are not a resident of that state.
• Curricular and educational approaches
• Special medical school programs
• Post-graduate residency placements
• Financial issues
  • Explore the American Association of Medical College’s (AAMC) FIRST (Financial Information, Resources, Services, and Tools) Program which provides free resources about financial factors to consider as you apply to medical school. Refer to the Financial Aid Section for more information.

For more information, refer back to the MSAR or read the AAMC article “Thirty-Five Questions I Wish I Had Asked.”