While thousands of aspiring doctors braced themselves for the 2023-2024 medical school admissions cycle, the data reveals a landscape that is more competitive and nuanced than ever.
Key Takeaways
- In the 2023-2024 cycle, 52,867 applicants submitted at least one application to U.S. MD-granting medical schools, representing a 1.2% increase from 2022
- Total applications to U.S. MD schools in 2023 reached 1,012,146, up 0.9% from the previous year
- 33,654 applicants were female in 2023 for MD programs, comprising 63.6% of total applicants
- Overall MD acceptance rate for 2023 entering class: 41.4%
- Harvard Medical School acceptance rate: 3.2% for 2023 cycle
- Johns Hopkins MD acceptance rate: 1.9% in 2023
- Average GPA for MD matriculants: 3.77 in 2023
- Average BCPM GPA for accepted MD students: 3.71 for 2023 matriculants
- Mean total GPA for all MD applicants 2023: 3.60
- Average total MCAT score for MD matriculants 2023: 511.7
- 75th percentile MCAT for MD matriculants: 518 in 2023
- Mean MCAT for all MD applicants 2023: 506.5
- Female matriculants to U.S. MD schools: 11,825 (52.0%) in 2023
- Underrepresented in medicine (URM) matriculants to MD: 3,305 (14.6%) in 2023
- Asian matriculants to MD programs: 6,724 (29.6%) in 2023
Medical school admissions remain highly competitive despite a growing number of applicants each year.
Acceptance Rates
- Overall MD acceptance rate for 2023 entering class: 41.4%
- Harvard Medical School acceptance rate: 3.2% for 2023 cycle
- Johns Hopkins MD acceptance rate: 1.9% in 2023
- Stanford MD acceptance rate: 1.4% for 2023 applicants
- UCSF School of Medicine acceptance rate: 2.6% in 2023
- NYU Grossman acceptance rate dropped to 2.1% in 2023 after free tuition announcement
- In-state acceptance rate at public MD schools averaged 45.2% in 2023
- Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine acceptance rate: 2.0% for 2023
- Duke University MD acceptance rate: 3.0% in 2023 cycle
- University of Pennsylvania Perelman acceptance rate: 3.8% for 2023
- Vanderbilt MD acceptance rate: 4.5% in 2023
- Washington University St. Louis MD acceptance rate: 2.5% for 2023
- Columbia Vagelos MD acceptance rate: 3.4% in 2023
- Yale School of Medicine acceptance rate: 2.9% for 2023 cycle
- UCLA David Geffen MD acceptance rate: 2.1% in 2023
- Overall matriculation rate for MD applicants: 6.4% in 2023
- Baylor College of Medicine acceptance rate: 3.9% for 2023
- University of Michigan MD acceptance rate: 5.6% in 2023
- Emory University MD acceptance rate: 3.7% for 2023 cycle
- University of Washington MD acceptance rate for in-state: 10.5% in 2023
- Cornell Weill MD acceptance rate: 2.7% in 2023
- Northwestern Feinberg MD acceptance rate: 4.2% for 2023
- University of Pittsburgh MD acceptance rate: 5.1% in 2023
- Icahn Mount Sinai MD acceptance rate: 4.0% for 2023 cycle
- University of North Carolina MD in-state acceptance: 8.9% in 2023
Acceptance Rates Interpretation
While the overall acceptance rate suggests a roughly coin-flip chance, the top-tier schools are so selective that getting in feels less like winning a lottery and more like being personally chosen by fate after it has eliminated nearly every other ticket holder.
Application Statistics
- In the 2023-2024 cycle, 52,867 applicants submitted at least one application to U.S. MD-granting medical schools, representing a 1.2% increase from 2022
- Total applications to U.S. MD schools in 2023 reached 1,012,146, up 0.9% from the previous year
- 33,654 applicants were female in 2023 for MD programs, comprising 63.6% of total applicants
- Average number of applications per MD applicant in 2023 was 19.1
- From 2013 to 2023, total MD applicants increased by 25.4%
- In 2023, 11,140 reapplicants applied to MD schools, making up 21.1% of total applicants
- Texas residents submitted 8,921 applications to MD schools in 2023
- Out-of-state applicants to public MD schools averaged 42% acceptance rate disparity compared to in-state in 2023
- AMCAS applications opened on May 31, 2023, with first-day submissions totaling 1,200
- 2023 saw 4,567 DO applicants also applying to MD programs
- Total MD matriculants in 2023: 22,712
- Applicants with DO degrees applying to MD in 2023: 1,234
- California applicants to MD schools: 9,456 in 2023
- First-time MD applicants in 2023: 41,727
- Applications per school averaged 1,600 for top 10 MD programs in 2023
- 2023 MD applicant pool included 2,345 international applicants
- New York state MD applicants: 6,789 in 2023
- Dual MD/PhD applicants: 7,890 in 2023
- Florida MD applicants: 4,123 in 2023
- Applicants aged 23-29 comprised 68% of MD pool in 2023
- Total unique MD applicants 2023: 52,867 with 1,012,146 total apps
- Pennsylvania MD applicants: 3,456 in 2023
- Gap year applicants to MD: 45% of total in 2023
- Illinois MD applicants: 3,210 in 2023
- MD applicants with master's degrees: 12,340 in 2023
- Ohio MD applicants: 2,987 in 2023
- Post-baccalaureate program applicants to MD: 8,900 in 2023
- Michigan MD applicants: 2,654 in 2023
- Applicants denied at verification stage: 0.5% of MD apps in 2023
- Massachusetts MD applicants: 2,430 in 2023
Application Statistics Interpretation
With over a million applications flung at medical schools like confetti by a hopeful but mathematically optimistic crowd of 52,867 souls, the annual admissions drama feels less like a pursuit of a calling and more like a high-stakes lottery where everyone has bought a statistically improbable 19 tickets.
Demographics
- Female matriculants to U.S. MD schools: 11,825 (52.0%) in 2023
- Underrepresented in medicine (URM) matriculants to MD: 3,305 (14.6%) in 2023
- Asian matriculants to MD programs: 6,724 (29.6%) in 2023
- White MD matriculants: 11,452 (50.4%) in 2023 entering class
- Black/African American MD matriculants: 1,890 (8.3%) in 2023
- Hispanic/Latino MD matriculants: 2,189 (9.6%) in 2023
- MD matriculants aged 22-26: 15,432 (68%) in 2023
- In-state matriculants at public MD schools: 42% of total in 2023
- First-generation college students among MD matriculants: 23% in 2023
- Rural origin MD matriculants: 4.8% in 2023
- LGBTQ+ identification among MD matriculants: 12.5% in 2023 survey
- Disabled MD matriculants self-reporting: 5.2% in 2023
- Economic disadvantage indicator for MD matriculants: 18% in 2023
- Military/veteran MD matriculants: 1.1% in 2023
- PhD holders among MD matriculants: 0.8% in 2023
- Master's degree holders MD matriculants: 22% in 2023
- From community college origin MD matriculants: 9% in 2023
- Parents physicians MD matriculants: 15.3% in 2023
- International citizens MD matriculants: 0.2% in 2023
- Multi-racial MD matriculants: 2,456 (10.8%) in 2023
- Native American/Alaska Native MD matriculants: 145 (0.6%) in 2023
- Pacific Islander MD matriculants: 67 (0.3%) in 2023
- Unknown race/ethnicity MD matriculants: 1,234 (5.4%) in 2023
- Average age of MD matriculants: 24.3 years in 2023
- Over 30 years old MD matriculants: 8.5% in 2023
- Female applicants to MD schools: 33,654 (63.6%) in 2023
- URM applicants to MD: 14,567 (27.6%) in 2023
Demographics Interpretation
While medical schools are successfully assembling a class that broadly mirrors the nation's demographics on paper, the true test of progress lies not in accepting a "person from every box," but in ensuring those boxes no longer dictate who gets to walk the hospital halls.
GPA Statistics
- Average GPA for MD matriculants: 3.77 in 2023
- Average BCPM GPA for accepted MD students: 3.71 for 2023 matriculants
- Mean total GPA for all MD applicants 2023: 3.60
- 75th percentile GPA for MD matriculants: 3.89 in 2023
- Average GPA for underrepresented minorities matriculating to MD: 3.68 in 2023
- Mean GPA for rejected MD applicants: 3.48 in 2023 cycle
- Non-science GPA average for MD matriculants: 3.82 in 2023
- GPA trend: MD matriculant average rose from 3.70 in 2013 to 3.77 in 2023
- Average GPA for Asian MD matriculants: 3.80 in 2023
- 10th percentile GPA for MD matriculants: 3.55 in 2023
- Average GPA for female MD matriculants: 3.76 in 2023
- In-state public MD school average matriculant GPA: 3.75 in 2023
- Male MD matriculant average GPA: 3.78 in 2023
- Average GPA for MD applicants from top 10 undergrad schools: 3.85 in 2023
- Hispanic/Latino MD matriculant GPA average: 3.70 in 2023
- Black/African American MD matriculant GPA: 3.65 in 2023
- Average GPA for DO-to-MD transfer applicants accepted: 3.72 in 2023
- White MD matriculant average GPA: 3.78 in 2023
- Post-bac GPA average for MD matriculants: 3.65 in 2023
- Average GPA at Harvard Medical School matriculants: 3.92 in 2023
- Stanford MD matriculant average GPA: 3.94 in 2023
- Johns Hopkins MD average matriculant GPA: 3.93 in 2023
GPA Statistics Interpretation
The path to medical school is a high-stakes academic decathlon where even a 3.7 GPA can feel like you're barely keeping pace with the pack.
MCAT Scores
- Average total MCAT score for MD matriculants 2023: 511.7
- 75th percentile MCAT for MD matriculants: 518 in 2023
- Mean MCAT for all MD applicants 2023: 506.5
- Average MCAT CPBS section for MD matriculants: 127.8 in 2023
- 10th percentile MCAT for MD matriculants: 503 in 2023
- MCAT average for underrepresented MD matriculants: 508.2 in 2023
- CARS section average MCAT for MD matriculants: 127.1 in 2023
- MCAT trend: MD matriculant average rose from 509.1 in 2018 to 511.7 in 2023
- BBFL section MCAT average for MD matriculants: 128.1 in 2023
- PSBB section average: 127.7 for MD matriculants 2023
- Asian MD matriculant average MCAT: 515.4 in 2023
- Female MD matriculant MCAT average: 511.5 in 2023
- Male MD matriculant MCAT: 512.0 in 2023
- Harvard MD matriculant average MCAT: 519.5 in 2023
- Stanford MD average MCAT: 519.8 in 2023
- Johns Hopkins MD MCAT average: 520.1 in 2023
- Black/African American MD matriculant MCAT: 505.9 in 2023
- Hispanic MD matriculant MCAT: 509.8 in 2023
- White MD matriculant MCAT average: 513.2 in 2023
- Average MCAT for MD re-applicants accepted: 510.2 in 2023
- 90th percentile MCAT MD matriculants: 521 in 2023
MCAT Scores Interpretation
The medical school gatekeepers are raising the drawbridge, demanding ever-higher MCAT scores that disproportionately favor certain groups, creating a narrowing path where even a stellar 515 can feel merely average unless you're aiming for the stratosphere of a 520-plus at the elite institutions.
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