Medical School Acceptance Rate Trends 2021-2025

0.29%

Acceptance Rate

-4.78%

Applicants

Medical school admissions trends (2021-2025): Total applicants changed from 1,099,071 to 1,046,556 (-4.78%). Matriculants moved from 38,603 to 40,300 (4.40%). Overall acceptance rate evolved from 3.52% to 3.80%.

At a glance: Medical School Admissions 2021-2025

  • Applicants: 1,099,071 → 1,046,556 (-4.78%)
  • Matriculants: 38,603 → 40,300 (4.40%)
  • Acceptance rate: 3.52% → 3.80% (0.29)
  • Breakdowns
  • Applicants Men: 493,334 → 456,721 (-7.42%)
  • Applicants Women: 604,799 → 583,280 (-3.56%)
  • Matriculants Men: 10,097 → 10,334 (2.35%)
  • Matriculants Women: 12,555 → 12,762 (1.65%)
  • Applicants (In-state): 249,412 → 231,671 (-7.11%)
  • Applicants (Out-of-state): 849,659 → 814,885 (-4.09%)
  • Matriculants (In-state): 13,666 → 13,849 (1.34%)
  • Matriculants (Out-of-state): 9,006 → 9,379 (4.14%)

Analysis of Medical School Admissions by Gender

  • Higher Volume of Female Applicants: Throughout the period, the number of female applicants consistently exceeded male applicants. In 2025, there were 583,280 female applicants compared to 456,721 male applicants.
  • Decrease in Applicants: The total number of applicants decreased for both genders between 2021 and 2025. However, the decrease was significantly sharper for males (-7.42%) than for females (-3.56%).
  • Overall Increase in Enrollment: Both genders saw a slight increase in the number of matriculants over the period. The increase in male matriculants (2.35%) was slightly higher than the increase for female matriculants (1.65%).
  • Low Acceptance Rates Steadily: Medical school acceptance rates for both genders remained extremely low and stable throughout the period.

Analysis of Medical School Admissions by Residency Status

The key takeaway is that in-state applicants maintain a vastly higher acceptance rate compared to out-of-state applicants, a pattern that strengthened slightly over the period.

  • Substantial Gap: The acceptance rate for in-state applicants is approximately five times higher than for out-of-state applicants, reflecting the strong preference public medical schools give to residents.
  • Rate Improvement: The acceptance rate increased for both groups between 2021 and 2025, primarily due to a drop in the total number of applicants. The in-state rate saw a larger absolute improvement of 0.49 percentage points.
  • Applicants: The in-state applicant pool shrank more significantly (-7.11%) than the out-of-state pool (-4.09%).
  • Matriculants: While both groups saw an increase in the number of accepted students, the out-of-state matriculant group experienced a much greater percentage growth in enrollment (4.14%) compared to the in-state group (1.34%). This suggests schools are slightly increasing their enrollment of out-of-state residents, despite the highly competitive acceptance rate.

Acceptance Rate Changes For All Medical Schools (2021-2025)

This table presents the acceptance rate changes by institution for each year from 2021-2025. It shows year-over-year acceptance rate values, inline percent changes when available, You can check the actual number of applicants and matriculants by gender and residency status at each school's page.

Medical School Acceptance Rate Changes by School (2021-2025)
School20212022202320242025
University of Alabama School of Medicine3.22%3.96% 4.18% 4.39% 4.66%
University of South Alabama College of Medicine4.04%4.33% 4.92% 5.49% 4.14%
Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine1.99%2.05% 1.96% 1.90% 1.84%
University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson1.37%1.62% 1.68% 1.80% 1.61%
The University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix1.79%1.89% 2.04% 2.34% 2.23%
University of Arkansas College of Medicine5.60%6.76% 7.18% 6.23% 5.21%
California Northstate University College of Medicine1.85%2.51% 3.23% 3.17% 3.46%
California University of Science and Medicine2.05%2.43% 2.68% 2.88% 2.81%
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science6.26%1.41% 0.90%
Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine0.43%0.61% 0.65% 0.67% 0.74%
Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California1.95%2.09% 2.15% 1.39% 1.25%
Loma Linda University School of Medicine2.56%2.82% 3.43% 3.13% 3.12%
Stanford University School of Medicine0.79%1.07% 1.01% 1.00% 0.92%
University of California, Davis School of Medicine1.36%1.69% 1.67% 1.78% 1.68%
University of California, Irvine School of Medicine1.39%1.70% 1.62% 1.65% 1.53%
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA1.22%1.32% 1.34% 1.56% 1.40%
University of California, Riverside School of Medicine1.27%1.29% 1.42% 1.35% 1.38%
University of California, San Diego School of Medicine1.48%1.71% 1.61% 1.64% 1.35%
University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine1.79%2.00% 1.96% 1.82% 1.71%
University of Colorado School of Medicine1.29%1.65% 1.84% 1.82% 1.74%
Frank H. Netter M.D. School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University1.02%1.27% 1.26% 1.29% 1.01%
University of Connecticut School of Medicine2.33%2.73% 2.58% 2.42% 1.99%
Yale School of Medicine1.43%1.64% 1.64% 1.58% 1.41%
George Washington University Medical School1.09%1.19% 1.11% 1.13% 0.76%
Georgetown University School of Medicine1.14%1.27% 1.25% 1.40% 1.40%
Howard University College of Medicine1.09%1.37% 1.50% 1.50% 1.44%
Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University1.09%1.41% 1.65% 1.86% 1.87%
Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine at Florida International University1.82%1.78% 1.94% 1.98% 2.01%
Florida State University College of Medicine1.47%1.69% 1.79% 1.86% 1.78%
Nova Southeastern University Dr Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine0.82%0.82% 0.95% 1.14% 1.12%
University of Central Florida College of Medicine2.02%2.17% 2.42% 2.41% 2.22%
University of Florida College of Medicine3.03%2.50% 2.54% 2.52% 2.42%
University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine1.80%1.85% 1.99% 2.61% 2.04%
University of South Florida College of Medicine2.77%3.14% 3.30% 2.33% 2.31%
Emory University School of Medicine0.94%1.18% 1.08% 1.16% 1.07%
Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University7.64%7.41% 7.92% 9.37% 9.03%
Mercer University School of Medicine9.97%11.35% 12.58% 14.37% 14.13%
Morehouse School of Medicine1.31%1.76% 1.57% 1.53% 1.60%
University of Hawaii at Manoa John A. Burns School of Medicine2.66%2.76% 3.24% 3.47% 3.25%
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Carle Illinois College of Medicine1.90%2.02% 2.25% 2.55% 2.22%
Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine1.06%1.27% 1.42% 1.41% 1.32%
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine1.95%1.86% 1.85% 1.72% 1.63%
Chicago Medical School of Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science1.32%1.70% 2.03% 1.83% 1.70%
Rush Medical College at Rush University1.31%1.13% 1.18% 1.10% 1.09%
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine6.07%6.62% 7.11% 7.30% 6.57%
University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine1.22%1.39% 1.34% 1.42% 1.18%
University of Illinois College of Medicine4.16%3.73% 3.18% 3.09% 2.68%
Indiana University School of Medicine - Evansville
Indiana University School of Medicine5.06%5.39% 5.96% 5.74% 4.68%
University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine3.63%4.02% 4.48% 3.99% 3.38%
University of Kansas School of Medicine6.44%8.26% 6.56% 4.45% 4.24%
University of Kentucky College of Medicine5.30%5.14% 4.85% 4.73% 3.61%
University of Louisville School of Medicine3.15%3.19% 2.92% 3.24% 3.16%
Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans4.09%4.56% 5.01% 5.84% 5.05%
Louisiana State University School of Medicine in Shreveport2.65%3.38% 3.69% 4.15% 4.69%
Tulane University School of Medicine1.10%1.19% 1.21% 1.41% 1.38%
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine1.70%1.86% 2.01% 2.07% 1.46%
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine5.28%6.26% 6.99% 8.08% 7.91%
University of Maryland School of Medicine2.24%2.38% 2.59% 2.50% 2.38%
Boston University School of Medicine1.26%1.40% 1.38% 1.31% 1.21%
Harvard Medical School1.78%2.10% 2.07% 2.09% 1.99%
Tufts University School of Medicine1.26%1.42% 1.45% 1.42% 1.32%
University of Massachusetts Medical School3.14%3.25% 3.80% 4.79% 4.14%
Central Michigan University College of Medicine1.40%1.29% 1.27% 1.38% 1.22%
Michigan State University College of Human Medicine1.67%2.06% 2.61% 2.49% 2.33%
University of Michigan Medical School1.60%1.79% 1.84% 1.83% 1.63%
Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine1.53%1.62% 1.66% 1.83% 1.66%
Wayne State University School of Medicine2.93%3.74% 3.79% 3.47% 2.86%
Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine1.93%2.00% 2.05% 1.99% 1.46%
University of Minnesota Medical School3.43%4.56% 4.03% 4.13% 3.86%
University of Mississippi School of Medicine37.00%38.95% 44.47% 46.29% 52.15%
Saint Louis University School of Medicine2.19%2.48% 2.93% 3.03% 2.61%
University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine4.06%4.00% 4.74% 5.10% 3.70%
University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine7.18%6.29% 7.18% 6.70% 8.43%
Washington University School of Medicine2.17%2.02% 2.18% 2.27% 2.00%
Creighton University School of Medicine3.25%3.60% 4.05% 4.34% 4.06%
University of Nebraska College of Medicine6.97%6.91% 6.37% 5.47% 6.14%
University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Medicine3.00%3.99% 4.23% 3.81% 2.78%
University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine4.28%4.50% 4.21% 4.10% 3.02%
Dartmouth College Geisel School of Medicine0.87%0.97% 1.08% 1.13% 0.93%
Cooper Medical School of Rowan University1.82%2.19% 2.46% 2.42% 2.55%
Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine 2.59%2.73% 2.62% 3.28% 2.91%
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School2.65%2.98% 2.97% 2.60% 2.69%
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School2.65%2.98% 2.97% 2.60% 2.69%
University of New Mexico School of Medicine5.83%6.95% 5.38% 5.93% 5.99%
Albany Medical College1.04%1.11% 1.08% 1.08% 1.00%
Albert Einstein College of Medicine1.87%1.87% 2.03% 1.85% 1.05%
Columbia University Roy and Diana Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons1.71%1.97% 1.92% 1.89% 1.80%
CUNY School of Medicine100.00%100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%
Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell1.63%1.81% 1.97% 2.07% 1.94%
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai1.36%1.45% 1.41% 1.34% 1.34%
New York Medical College1.40%1.75% 2.08% 2.41% 2.45%
New York University School of Medicine1.12%1.26% 1.24% 1.26% 1.18%
New York University Long Island School of Medicine0.55%0.60% 0.59% 0.55% 0.51%
Stony Brook University School of Medicine2.31%2.40% 2.49% 2.56% 2.48%
SUNY Upstate Medical University2.99%3.21% 3.11% 2.59% 2.94%
SUNY Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine2.98%3.24% 2.97% 3.05% 2.63%
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo3.01%3.56% 3.03% 3.11% 2.97%
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry1.59%1.73% 1.68% 1.72% 1.75%
Weill Cornell Medical College1.34%1.34% 1.47% 1.44% 1.23%
The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University7.11%7.35% 8.22% 7.51% 4.01%
Duke University School of Medicine1.36%1.39% 1.40% 1.44% 1.33%
University of North Carolina School of Medicine2.93%3.02% 3.51% 3.42% 3.66%
Wake Forest School of Medicine1.33%1.31% 1.20% 1.19% 1.52%
University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences3.54%3.75% 4.48% 4.64% 4.02%
Boonshoft School of Medicine at Wright State University1.43%1.72% 2.01% 2.06% 2.14%
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine2.45%2.66% 2.51% 2.55% 2.28%
Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine
Northeast Ohio Medical University College of Medicine3.38%3.38% 3.73% 3.46% 4.03%
The Ohio State University College of Medicine2.47%2.87% 2.74% 2.84% 2.43%
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine2.93%2.99% 2.86% 2.95% 2.64%
University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences2.62%2.67% 3.14% 2.84% 2.64%
University of Oklahoma College of Medicine5.91%6.70% 7.92% 8.78% 7.80%
University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine
Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine1.87%2.31% 2.38% 2.65% 2.11%
Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine1.62%1.85% 2.19% 2.03% 1.78%
Drexel University College of Medicine1.82%1.90% 1.92% 1.94% 1.84%
Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine1.17%1.32% 1.31%
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania2.13%2.35% 2.61% 2.45% 2.16%
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University2.34%2.45% 2.49% 2.61% 2.38%
Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University1.50%1.71% 1.66% 1.71% 1.59%
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine1.84%1.82% 1.69% 1.79% 1.27%
Universidad Central del Caribe School of Medicine6.74%7.79% 9.45% 8.11% 6.23%
Ponce School of Medicine8.52%11.17% 9.70% 8.98% 8.60%
San Juan Bautista School of Medicine4.28%4.83% 5.52% 5.71% 4.44%
University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine10.21%13.99% 13.90% 16.06% 13.11%
Alpert Medical School at Brown University1.52%1.70% 1.62% 1.73% 1.57%
Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine4.44%4.32% 4.67% 4.74% 5.24%
University of South Carolina School of Medicine3.20%3.07% 3.50% 3.31% 3.29%
University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville3.20%3.07% 3.50% 3.31% 3.29%
Sanford School of Medicine of the University of South Dakota6.77%8.18% 6.36% 6.49% 6.60%
East Tennessee State University James H. Quillen College of Medicine2.55%2.05% 1.94% 2.59% 1.95%
Meharry Medical College School of Medicine1.19%1.42% 1.54% 1.47% 1.45%
University of Tennessee College of Medicine5.77%6.38% 6.65% 6.66% 6.34%
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine1.28%1.31% 1.45% 1.50% 1.24%
Baylor College of Medicine2.40%3.15% 4.06% 4.02% 3.69%
Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine3.40%3.44% 3.56% 3.55% 3.29%
Burnett School of Medicine at Texas Christian University0.73%0.95% 0.94% 0.91%
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine2.13%2.58% 2.72% 2.74% 2.70%
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine3.01%3.43% 3.64% 3.68% 3.40%
University of Houston College of Medicine0.50%1.12% 1.23% 1.25% 1.14%
The University of Texas Medical Branch3.68%4.17% 4.47% 4.51% 4.22%
UTHealth John P. and Katherine G. McGovern Medical School3.61%4.00% 4.25% 4.21% 3.93%
UT Health San Antonio Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine3.29%3.91% 4.31% 4.22% 4.02%
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine1.04%1.16% 1.18% 1.22% 1.15%
University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas3.54%4.12% 4.20% 3.96% 3.80%
Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin0.81%0.90% 0.95% 0.95% 0.88%
University of Utah School of Medicine3.29%3.19% 4.12% 5.01% 4.05%
University of Vermont College of Medicine1.41%1.33% 1.42% 1.33% 1.18%
Eastern Virginia Medical School1.70%1.98% 2.11% 1.97% 1.98%
University of Virginia School of Medicine2.40%2.54% 2.78% 2.64% 2.18%
VCU School of Medicine, Medical College of Virginia Health Sciences Division2.28%2.50% 2.61% 2.80% 2.22%
Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute0.77%0.72% 0.81% 0.89% 0.86%
University of Washington School of Medicine2.82%3.54% 3.89% 5.42% 5.31%
Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine4.56%5.54% 4.96% 5.11% 5.08%
Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University3.45%4.18% 3.91% 3.87% 2.71%
West Virginia University School of Medicine2.21%2.36% 2.14% 2.18% 1.82%
Medical College of Wisconsin2.38%2.64% 2.75% 2.86% 2.56%
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health2.67%3.07% 2.68% 2.43% 2.21%
The University of Texas at Tyler School of Medicine1.06%0.86% 0.80%
Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine at Belmont University3.66%1.91%
Alice L. Walton School of Medicine2.38%
Roseman University College of Medicine8.08%