Each school has a written mission statement that explains who they are and what they value. Be sure to read these to ensure that the school’s mission statement aligns with your personal values and goals. You will be spending years training in this environment and you will be affiliated with its mission and reputation for your entire career. You need to ensure that you have the experience that they value - if the mission statement is focused on cutting-edge research, you should have strong research experience in your background. 

Most public schools (often called state schools) have a strong preference for in-state applicants. If you are not a resident of that state, then you are applying for a much smaller number of seats. We recommend that you limit the number of public schools you apply to outside of your home state.

For many students, the location of the school is an important factor in selecting a school. This may be due to a desire to be close to family, a preference for a more urban setting, a desire to work with specific patient populations or many other reasons. While we understand that location is important, we also encourage you to be somewhat flexible so that you do not limit your school list to too few schools. 

Although medical schools all award the same degree and prepare students for the same board exams, there is a large difference in the structure of their curriculum. Some schools have a traditional lecture style format while others use problem-based learning. Some are pass/fail systems while others use grades and rank their students. In some schools, you start working with patients right away while in others you do not have clinical experiences until much later. You need to reflect on what you are looking for and find the schools whose curriculum aligns with your goals and strengths.

Medical school class sizes can range from 50-350 students and can also vary greatly in the demographic composition of their class. It is important that you consider your optimal environment when researching a school. 

Many applicants are also interested in pursuing dual degrees and many schools offer various types of these. There are MD/MPH, MD/MBA, MD/PhD, and MD/JD, just to name a few. You can use the Medical School Admissions Report (MSAR) to find MD Schools with dual degree programs. For similar programs in other career fields, you will need to research each school individually.

Medical schools also vary in the amount of support they offer to their students. Review individual schools' websites to determine how much advising, learning support, mentoring, tutoring, student groups and other types of support they provide.

While many applicants start looking at their schools based on their average MCAT and GPA scores, we suggest you do this as the last step instead of the first. We recommend that you start by deciding which characteristics you want in your medical school to create your list and then examining if the metrics of their accepted students are similar to yours. Remember that they report their averages and percentile ranges for both MCAT and GPA so you can see if you fit into these ranges.  

Medical school is expensive and cost is a factor for most students. Remember that this cost is more than just the tuition number that is published. There are differences in cost of living, scholarships available, loan repayment programs, etc. We have more information about costs at the link below.

Financial Planning

Your general impression of the school and its culture can be one of the most difficult factors to define and yet is quite important. Can you imagine yourself beginning your career here? Do you know other students there and are they happy? Often this is difficult to determine without visiting the school or interviewing there, but if you have this information, it can be quite valuable. Just be sure that you are doing your own research and not relying on the perspectives of others who may not have the same interests.