Have you ever wondered about whether medical school admissions is
becoming more or less competitive, or whether certain genders have
different trends? There's a lot of interesting data here, let's dive in.
Dr. Jubbal, MedSchoolInsiders.com.
All the data presented in this video comes straight from the AAMC,
the official organization overseeing United States medical school admissions.
You can find the spreadsheets on their FACTS page.
Of the greater than 50,000 applicants that apply to medical school in the United States each year,
did you know that over 1/3 are reapplicants?
In the last 4 years, from 2017 to 2020, between 36% and 38% of applicants were repeat applicants,
meaning fewer than 2/3 of applicants were applying to medical school for the first time.
This shouldn't be that surprising, considering only 40%
of applicants each year get accepted, meaning 60%
must either choose to reapply in a future cycle or choose a different career path altogether.
Unfortunately, the AAMC doesn't publish the acceptance rate of reapplicants compared to
first-time applicants, although if you speak to experienced admissions committee members,
they'll tell you reapplicants have a lower chance of getting in compared to first time applicants.
It makes sense. After all, those applicants were not accepted by any school in a previous cycle,
and without substantial improvement and changes to their application the next time around, they're
likely to end with a similar outcome. Don't be the applicant that reuses the same personal statement
and application. That almost always ends poorly. Make sure you figure out why you didn't get
accepted, and work on addressing any deficits in your application before you reapply. Speaking with
former admissions committee members about your application and how to improve is your best bet.
Not all majors are created equal, at least in terms of MCAT scores and admissions statistics.
Math and statistics majors tend to have the highest MCAT score,
with applicants at 510.5 and matriculants at 514.8.
Specialized health sciences, such as nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy,
and public health trended lowest, with applicants at 502.8 and matriculants at 510.1.
The trends are similar with acceptance rates.
Amongst those majoring in math and statistics who applied to medical school,
47.4% were accepted, compared to only 36.7% of those majoring in specialized health sciences.
Is this a chicken or the egg phenomenon? There's a great deal of nuance here, and a few reasons why
we see these patterns. If you want to see my full breakdown of the best major to get into medical
school, including explanations of the data, we made a video addressing that exact question.
While medicine in the United States has historically been dominated by men,
more and more women are entering the profession.
The majority of applicants in 2004, 2005, 2019, and 2020 were women,
most recently with 52.1% of applicants female.
In terms of matriculants, over 50% of women made up entering classes to medical school in 2018,
2019, and 2020, most recently at 52.4%.
What I found interesting is that in 2004 and 2005, there were more women that applied than men,
yet more men matriculated. Whereas in 2018, more men applied than women,
yet more women matriculated. What do you make of that? Let us know down in the comments.
In terms of GPA and MCAT, male matriculants tend to have slightly higher MCAT scores.
However, women tend to have slightly higher non-science GPAs,
but men have slighter higher science GPAs. These differences do reach statistical significance.
Is medical school becoming more or less competitive? You're likely not surprised to
hear it's becoming more competitive in the United States. In 2010, 43.6% of applicants matriculated.
This is trending down, with 40.9% of applicants matriculating in 2020.
Similar trends are observed with average MCAT and GPA scores.
The average applicant's MCAT has gone up from 504.7 in 2018 to 506.1 in 2020,
and the average matriculant's MCAT has increased from 510.4 to 511.5.
With GPA, trends are similar. Applicants have gone from 3.45 to 3.48 over the last two years,
and matriculants' GPA have gone from 3.64 to 3.66.
The official data is a valuable resource for those trying to gauge their own competitiveness in
applying to medical school. But remember that your MCAT and GPA aren't everything — they're simply
easy to focus on because they're easy to measure and compare. Even amongst applicants with killer
numbers, an MCAT of 518 or higher and a 3.8 GPA or higher, it's still not a guarantee. In fact,
over 12% of those with such stellar scores did not get any acceptances.
Don't overlook the soft components of your application. If you're early on in
your premed career, that means focusing on the right experiences and extracurriculars. You can
learn all about navigating the premed path most effectively with our Premed Roadmap to Medical
School Acceptance Course. And if you're about to apply to medical school, we offer a suite of
services to help you strengthen your app, from personal statement and AMCAS editing to mock
interviews and polishing your secondaries. Visit MedSchoolInsiders.com to learn more.
If you enjoyed this video, check out my video going over the best premed majors
to get into medical school or my video covering common mistakes in MCAT studying.
Much love, and I'll see you guys in that next one.