Updated
Hardest Medical Schools to Get Into: Offer Rates as Low as 1.8%
By their own published numbers, the hardest US MD schools to get into offer admission to under 3% of applicants. Emory offered admission to 1.8% of applicants for fall 2026 (our math from its counts), and NYU Grossman reported 2.5% for its Class of 2027 (entered 2023). Quinnipiac Netter had the most applicants per seat, about 99.
We ranked schools three ways, each from numbers the school posts on its own site, with the year. Schools that do not post counts we could read are left out, not estimated. Read November 3, 2026.
For scale: 54,699 people applied to US MD schools in 2025 and 23,440 enrolled somewhere, per the AAMC, about 42.9% by our math. At the schools below, the offer rate for a single application is under 6%.
Which medical schools have the lowest acceptance rates?
These schools post an acceptance rate, or offer and applicant counts we divided. Rates the school states itself are marked as theirs.
| School | Year | Offer rate | Numbers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emory | Year: Fall 2026 | Offer rate: 1.8% (ours) | Numbers: 253 offers from 13,909 applications |
| NYU Grossman | Year: Class of 2027 (entered 2023) | Offer rate: 2.5% (school's figure) | Numbers: 208 accepted from 8,271 applicants |
| Pittsburgh | Year: 2025 | Offer rate: 2.7% (ours) | Numbers: 317 offers from 11,888 applicants |
| Boston University | Year: Fall 2025 | Offer rate: 2.95% (school's figure) | Numbers: 11,484 MD and MD/PhD applicants |
| Mayo Clinic Alix | Year: 2026 | Offer rate: 3.3% (ours) | Numbers: 180 acceptances from 5,499 applications |
| UChicago Pritzker | Year: Entering class of 2024 | Offer rate: 3.7% (school's figure) | Numbers: From Pritzker's facts page |
| Yale | Year: Class of 2029 | Offer rate: 4.4% (school's figure) | Numbers: 6,206 applicants, class of 104 |
| Johns Hopkins | Year: 2024 entering class | Offer rate: 5.62% (school's figure) | Numbers: Hopkins calls it an admit rate |
Why schools' rates are not all the same measure
Some schools divide offers by applicants. Northwestern posts a 1.63% acceptance rate for 2025, but it equals its class of 140 divided by 8,610 applicants, so it counts enrolled students, not offers, and we left it out of the ranking. Some count applications started, others only completed ones. Use these rates to compare a school with itself over time, and treat small differences between schools as noise.
Which medical schools have the most applicants per seat?
Among the 13 class profiles we checked, ranked by applicants divided by the entering class. This is our math. Some schools count applications rather than people, and Boston University and Icahn include MD-PhD applicants and seats.
| School | Year | Applicants | Seats | Per seat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quinnipiac Netter | Year: Class of 2029 | Applicants: 9,426 | Seats: 95 | Per seat: 99.2 |
| Rush | Year: 2025 | Applicants: 13,327 | Seats: 144 | Per seat: 92.5 |
| Boston University | Year: Fall 2025 | Applicants: 11,484 | Seats: 138 | Per seat: 83.2 |
| Rosalind Franklin | Year: 2026 | Applicants: 16,269 | Seats: 203 | Per seat: 80.1 |
| Central Michigan | Year: 2026 | Applicants: 8,250 | Seats: 104 | Per seat: 79.3 |
| Pittsburgh | Year: 2025 | Applicants: 11,888 | Seats: 151 | Per seat: 78.7 |
| Georgetown | Year: 2025-26 | Applicants: 14,953 | Seats: 203 | Per seat: 73.7 |
| Western Michigan (WMed) | Year: Class of 2030 | Applicants: 6,242 | Seats: 86 | Per seat: 72.6 |
| Icahn Mount Sinai | Year: 2025 | Applicants: 9,149 | Seats: 128 | Per seat: 71.5 |
| Northwestern Feinberg | Year: 2025 | Applicants: 8,610 | Seats: 140 | Per seat: 61.5 |
| Yale | Year: Class of 2029 | Applicants: 6,206 | Seats: 104 | Per seat: 59.7 |
| Columbia | Year: Class of 2030 | Applicants: 7,591 | Seats: 140 | Per seat: 54.2 |
| Miami Miller | Year: Class of 2029 | Applicants: 9,912 | Seats: 202 | Per seat: 49.1 |
The top of this list is mostly private schools with national applicant pools. Applicants per seat measures crowding, not how strong the pool is. Yale sits lower on this list, yet it offers admission to just 4.4% of applicants.
Which medical schools interview the fewest applicants?
Getting an interview is often the hardest step. Here is the share of applicants each school interviewed, our math from its own counts.
| School | Year | Interviewed |
|---|---|---|
| Rush | Year: 2025 | Interviewed: 3.4% |
| Emory | Year: Fall 2026 | Interviewed: 4.5% |
| Central Michigan | Year: 2026 | Interviewed: 6.2% |
| Miami Miller | Year: Class of 2029 | Interviewed: 6.9% |
| Pittsburgh | Year: 2025 | Interviewed: 7.3% |
| Georgetown | Year: 2025-26 | Interviewed: 7.4% |
| Columbia | Year: Class of 2030 | Interviewed: 9.8% |
| Icahn Mount Sinai | Year: 2025 | Interviewed: 9.9% |
| NYU Grossman | Year: Class of 2027 (entered 2023) | Interviewed: 9.9% |
| Mayo Clinic Alix | Year: 2026 | Interviewed: 12.4% |
Why are these medical schools so hard to get into?
Two things stack up. Their classes are small for the number of people who apply, about 85 to 205 seats for 5,500 to 16,300 applicants in the tables above. And most are private schools that draw applicants from every state, so residency gives no one a head start.
Their admitted students are very strong on paper. NYU Grossman reported a median MCAT of 523 and a median GPA of 3.98 for its Class of 2027. Our guides on MCAT targets and GPA for medical school put those numbers in context.
Should you apply to the hardest medical schools?
- Apply to a few of these, not only these. Pair them with schools where your numbers and your state give you better odds.
- Read each school's mission before you apply. Secondary essays and interviews at these schools ask why them, specifically.
- Submit AMCAS early and return secondaries within about two weeks. Schools review on a rolling basis.
- Treat the interview as its own skill. Once invited, your odds are far better than the offer rate suggests.
The other end of the list is in our easiest medical schools guide, and every school's own numbers are on its acceptance rate page.
Practice the question these schools ask
When everyone in the room has the numbers, interviewers want to know what is different about you. See more in our hardest interview questions guide.
“What would you bring to our class that other applicants would not?”
At schools with offer rates under 3%, almost every interviewee has the grades and scores. This question asks what is left. Pick one specific thing, prove it with a story and connect it to the school.
Example answer written by Confetto (the applicant is invented)
I would bring three years of working in a language most of your patients speak but few students do. Before medical school I was a Haitian Creole interpreter at a community health center, and I learned how much of a visit is lost when a family can't explain what they need.
I have already seen that matter here. When I visited your student-run clinic, a volunteer told me they often wait for a phone interpreter. I would like to help train classmates in basic phrases and in working well with interpreters, which is something I taught new staff at my last job.
Sources: each school's own class profile, facts or admissions page, linked in the tables, and the AAMC's 2025 enrollment news, all checked November 3, 2026. Offer rates marked as ours, applicants per seat and interview rates are our math.
Frequently asked questions
What is the hardest medical school to get into?
Among schools that publish their counts, Emory had the lowest offer rate we found: 253 offers from 13,909 applications for fall 2026, about 1.8% by our math. Northwestern Feinberg posts a 1.63% rate for 2025, but that is its class of 140 divided by 8,610 applicants, so it counts enrolled students, not offers. See Emory's class profile.
Which medical school has the most applicants per seat?
Among the class profiles we checked, Quinnipiac's Netter School of Medicine: 9,426 AMCAS applications for a class of 95 in its Class of 2029, about 99 per seat by our math. Rush and Boston University follow. See Quinnipiac's class profile.
What MCAT do you need for the hardest medical schools?
Their classes score well above average. NYU Grossman reported a median MCAT of 523 and a median GPA of 3.98 for its Class of 2027. Check each school's own class profile for its current numbers. See NYU Grossman's numbers.
Should I apply to the hardest medical schools?
If your numbers and experiences fit their missions, a few belong on your list. Build the rest of the list from schools where you have real odds, including your state's public schools. See how many schools to apply to.