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Choosing a medical school doesn’t have to be difficult. There are a lot of options, but not every school is a good fit for you. You can narrow down your list of schools to apply to based on your competitiveness, school culture, tuition, location, and other considerations we’ll cover below.
You should apply to 15-30 medical schools. Only apply where you would be willing to attend, and don’t apply to more than 1-2 reach schools where your application probably isn’t competitive enough. Here’s a list of our top-rated US medical schools, for reference.
Factors to consider when creating your school list include your MCAT, GPA, Casper (if applicable), location, a school’s focus on research vs. primary care, and how many out-of-state students the school accepts. Pick med schools whose mission aligns with your experience and interests.
Browse our free Med School Explorer tool to view key stats for each medical school, including GPA/MCAT, tuition, class size, secondary essays, interview format, and more. Filter and compare schools to build a personalized school list in minutes.
1. Your Competitiveness as an Applicant
Choose where to apply based on your unique competitiveness as a med school applicant. It’s fine to have one or two “longshot” schools, but you should focus your time and money on med schools that you like, where your chances of getting accepted are high.
Sure, Harvard is great, but is your application competitive enough to be considered? If not, don’t waste time and money by adding them to your list.
How well does your school list match up with your GPA and MCAT scores? If required, did you perform well on your Casper or PREview exams? How impressive are your extracurriculars? Find out your Med School Competitiveness Score here.
At the end of the day, even the easiest schools to get into are accredited and offer a great medical education. School prestige plays a minor role in your future as a physician.
Should you apply to DO schools? Statistically speaking, it is easier to get into DO schools than MD programs. A DO (doctorate of osteopathic medicine) is just as much a medical degree as an MD, and a DO offers similar residency opportunities. Consider whether DO is a better fit for you.
2. Location (In-State vs. Out-of-State)
Use your current or future location preferences to narrow down where to apply to medical school. For instance, the cost of living around a school can be make-or-break. Or maybe you just really like the culture in a certain city.
A key location factor is in-state versus out-of-state. Check tuition differences and the acceptance rates of out-of-state students compared to in-state students, as some programs (especially Texas med schools) only accept a very small number of out-of-state students.
Caribbean medical schools are also an option, depending on your situation. If you pursue this route, only go to the MD-granting programs we recommend for a good shot at residency placement down the line.
In most cases, premed students must apply to multiple schools to successfully gain admission into med school. But decide what your personal preferences actually are as far as location is concerned, in order to tighten up your school list.
3. Cost
Medical education is always expensive, though many applicants are eligible for scholarships. Use the cost of tuition as a way to narrow down your school list only to places you feel you can afford or where you’re willing to go into debt to attend.
Figure out what financial aid you’re eligible for and what loans you’re willing to take out. Subtract that number from the cost of attendance at each school, and try to limit your applications to schools that fit your comfort range.
Free tuition schools? There are certain medical schools that offer so much financial assistance that tuition is effectively $0. Look into how competitive you’d be applying there.
Free tuition through the military? If cost is a major barrier for you, it might be worth looking into how you can attend medical school for free by joining the U.S. military.
Related: How Much Does Applying to Medical School Cost?
4. Cultural Fit
Culture fit is a big deal for many students on the healthcare career path. As you’re paring down your school list, research campus culture through the school website, subreddits, and reliable forums.
Some applicants may seek out a religiously affiliated school, while others may avoid it. We’ve seen students love the commitment to nature throughout campus, and others love the urban feel of the campus. Dedication to social justice is a must for many medical students.
For students of color, historically Black medical schools (HBMSs) may be a good cultural fit. Studies show that HBMSs are characterized as “more supportive for Black students,” leading to better student outcomes.
There are other schools with extensive and purposeful support for underserved populations, such as differently abled individuals, people from underprivileged economic backgrounds, or LGBTQ+ individuals.
Because this process is highly competitive, we recommend applying to a broad array of medical schools initially. Then consider school culture when deciding which interview invites to accept. Cultural fit is important, but you don’t want to pigeonhole yourself early on.
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5. Research vs. Primary Care
Medical schools typically emphasize either a research or a primary care approach in their education. This is one of the more important factors to think about when creating your initial list of where to apply.
If you’re an applicant with little or no research experience, you won’t get into a research-oriented institution like Harvard, Johns Hopkins, or Washington University in St Louis.
Alternatively, if your application makes it clear you value and practice research, you may not want to attend primary care-oriented schools (which are often state schools).
Dr. Aneja is a former Yale School of Medicine admissions officer and MedSchoolCoach advisor. He says that applicants should be “able to discern whether they feel like their career will be more academically focused; whether they’re more interested in research and teaching; or more interested in being clinicians, either in community practice or private practice.”
6. Student Support & Satisfaction
If you’re still trying to narrow down your school list of where to apply, consider student support services and reported satisfaction.
Depending on your unique needs, you may want to prioritize programs that offer mental health support, extensive career counseling, lenient attendance policies, generous grading practices, accessible tutoring, or other services that make student life less stressful.
You may be someone who needs individualized support and is looking for a low student-to-faculty ratio. Student support is a broad term, but you should research what different med schools are offering.
Hop on Instagram or Reddit, connect with current students, and find out what it’s actually like on campus. Get a feel for the quality of student life at a given med school, as well as the student satisfaction during and after going there.
Like the cultural fit we discussed above, our Physician Advisors generally urge students to consider these factors after getting multiple acceptances. Rather than using this to pare your list down to around 30 programs, use this if you need to decide between more than one acceptance offer.
7. Competitiveness & Learning Environment
Do you want your med school years to feel like a competition, or do you prefer a more laid-back environment? Choose where to apply to medical school partially based on how the school’s learning environment works with your learning style.
The atmosphere at many top medical schools is quite intense, with students competing academically and for research/extracurricular opportunities. Johns Hopkins, for example, is highly competitive among its medical students and has earned a reputation for a cutthroat environment.
Other medical schools (especially those with a primary care or community health focus) often advertise a more relaxed atmosphere. Many Caribbean medical schools emphasize this relaxed environment as part of a more approachable medical education.
Yale’s MD program doesn’t use class rankings or grades during the pre-clerkship period to help students avoid too much focus on this type of data. Do a little research on Pass/Fail grading systems and other teaching styles, and make some appropriate edits to your school list.
Build your application alongside a physician with AdCom experience.
8. USMLE & Residency Prep
The USMLE is a vital part of applying to residencies. Certain schools provide special support for residency match assistance and USMLE prep. Adjust your school list to prioritize schools that will set you up for USMLE success.
Below are partners that work with MedSchoolCoach to provide their students with complementary tutoring and coaching for the USMLE and residency program applications:
- Meharry Medical College
- Charles R. Drew University
- Wayne State University
During the interview process, don’t be afraid to ask questions about the USMLE support a school may provide to learn more about how they support students through this process.
9. Long-Term Goals & Opportunities
Look into the success rate of a given medical school’s alumni, particularly in the areas that you hope to succeed in. This can help you choose where to apply, where to accept interview invites, and where to ultimately attend if it’s between 2-3 quality institutions.
You could look into residency placement by field, average post-graduation salaries, how many graduates went into research, and more.
If you have your eyes set on a competitive career specialty, make sure the schools you apply to have high residency placement rates for those specialties.
Research different schools’ access to clinical rotations and how much the faculty helps students gain access to clinical opportunities.
Some programs offer discounted or free tuition for those willing to work in primary care in the school’s state. Others have extensive career placement options in inner-city or rural areas. Ask yourself whether these future opportunities align with your medical career goals.
Dr. Aneja adds, “When we think about students in the admissions committee, it’s very easy if we see that the student has a plan and he needs to come to this school to achieve that plan, and our school can provide the resources for him.”
“It’s a lot more difficult to project students who are unsure of what their future is and have not really thought about it, so they just know that they would like to become a doctor or something in that context.”
Read Next: Applying to Med School as a Non-Traditional Applicant
Helpful Application Resources
When applying to medical school, you can increase your chances by doing your research, preparing well in advance, investing in application resources, and asking for help.
Below are some powerful, free resources for med school applications and a better understanding of med school admissions requirements:
- Ultimate Guide to Completing the AMCAS Application (MD Students)
- Ultimate Guide to Completing the AACOMAS Application (DO Students)
- Medical School Secondary Applications Tips
- Using the MSAR to Choose Where to Apply to Medical School
- 7 Med School Personal Statement Examples from Successful Applicants
- How to Answer “Why This Medical School?”
- The Squid Game of Medical School Admissions: A High-Stakes Journey
- The Best Medical Schools for Non-Traditional Applicants (2025)
- AAMC Premed Competencies for Entering Med Students
- What Are MD-PhD Programs? Overview & Program List
- MD vs. DO: What’s The Difference + How To Choose
FAQs
U.S. News & World Report currently categorizes medical schools into Tier 1 (highest-scoring schools), Tier 2, Tier 3, and Tier 4 (lowest-scoring schools). Within a tier, schools are listed alphabetically — not ranked individually.
Many schools no longer send data to the U.S. News & World Report, so they are often not placed in tiers. They’re listed as Unranked.
As more schools refuse to participate due to their disagreement with U.S. News & World Report’s methodology, the website has become less relevant for determining your school list.
Here are a few ways you can get into medical school with a low GPA (lower than 3.5):
- Score high on the MCAT (511+)
- Write an outstanding personal statement
- Submit strong letters of recommendation
- Participate in relevant extracurriculars
- Limit your school list to places where you are reasonably competitive
Consider improving your GPA with a post-baccalaureate program
A letter of intent lets you declare that you will accept an admissions offer if one is made to you. This letter of intent is how you communicate to a medical school that they are your top choice.
It is highly inappropriate to send a letter of intent and then reject an admission offer, so only send one.
NOTE: This is really for when you’re on a waitlist or have multiple acceptances. You can write a letter later in the application process; this isn’t something you would communicate on your primary or secondary application.
Most top-tier and Ivy League medical programs are looking for the following metrics in their ideal applicants:
- Excellent GPA (3.75 or higher)
- High MCAT scores (513 or higher)
- Research experience
- Clinical experience
- Electives exhibiting leadership
- Volunteering activities that benefit underserved communities
- Physician shadowing
You can determine if a medical school is right for you by figuring out your own competitiveness (GPA, MCAT scores, extracurriculars), researching campus culture and school mission, determining your location and cost preferences, looking up what student support services are offered, and aligning your long-term goals with a school’s record of success.
Build a Standout Application Alongside a Physician
A lot of people apply to medical school every year. Less than half make it in every year, so you have to find ways to stand out.
Narrow your school list of where to apply by determining your own competitiveness, your location preferences, how much you can afford, and other critical factors discussed above.
Build your application alongside a doctor with admissions experience, and join the 95% of clients who get into medical school.
Sahil Mehta MD
Dr. Mehta is the founder of MedSchoolCoach and has guided thousands of successful medical school applicants. He is also a practicing physician in Boston where he specializes in vascular and interventional radiology.
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