In case you have decided to apply for Md/PhD program, because you are fascinated by research discoveries as well as clinical work, but you feel intimidated thinking these programs are too competitive, we will present you the 16 easiest Md/PhD programs to get into.
Generally speaking, getting into medical school requires for starters a big amount of commitment as well as outstanding scores in the MCAT and GPA, because the competition is intense. We were also dealing with this topic in articles related to how hard can be to get admitted into medical schools, and one of them is 10 Hardest Medical Schools to Get Into. However, we have also covered the easiest medical schools to get into in the USA, which are schools with more affordable tuition as well as higher acceptance rates in our article 9 Easiest Medical Schools to Get Into. So, take a look at it if you were looking for the easiest medical schools to get into 2017.
Let’s face it, applying for getting into medical school can be frightening. Many applicants consider that choosing a medical school out of the United States could save them the hassle of going through all the application process and the requirements of high scores. It is a fact that many students have been attracted to the less strict admission policies of medical schools in the Caribbean. In fact, their average acceptance rate is 38% for which they are considered the medical schools with the highest acceptance rate. Moreover, the minimum score in the MCAT required is much lower than in American medical schools. Just take a look at the acceptance rate of Loma Linda School of Medicine which is one of the easiest medical school to get into in California — it’s 3%, while the average MCAT score is 31.0. Precisely that is the reason why the universities in the Caribbean are among the easiest medical schools to get into in the world. On the other hand, the ones who prefer to stay within the United States think that an easy way to pass through medical school could be choosing, let’s say, Osteopathic medicine. Of course, if we consider that according to U.S. News less than 50% of applicants to traditional Allopathic medical schools are accepted, then Osteopathic medicine is an option. If you were looking for the easiest Osteopathic medical schools to get into, then you must know that overall, students accepted in these schools have lower average MCATs and GPAs. However, you might as well have to consider pursuing meaningful extracurricular activities and go through intense competition for getting admitted, since there are only thirty-three Osteopathic medical schools accredited by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) in the USA.
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But when we talk about the easiest MD/PhD programs to get into, it has to be said in a first place that opting for an MD/PhD requires a great deal of commitment and preparation. It’s a challenging career that takes about seven to eight years which are divided into two years of medical school, then three to four years of research which correspond to the PhD and finally the last two years back to medical education. Becoming an MD/PhD offers opportunities to benefit people developing new diagnostics and treatments for diseases as well as creating the technologies to apply them. In simple words, the program prepares students to be physician scientists. According to the AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) a successful MD/PhD candidate should show creativity and leadership potential; proof a productive research experience; a convincing personal statement; letter of recommendation from research mentors; outstanding academic records, including MCAT scores; and extracurricular activities and life experiences. With all that being said you might think that the task of finding the easiest MD/PhD programs to get into is not an easy one. Well, don’t get discouraged and think about this — in the U.S. more than 100 medical schools have an organized MD/PhD program. They range in size. There are small programs that admit one or two students per year and might have only a dozen students enrolled as well as programs that admit 20 new students per year and have over 150 students enrolled. The thing to keep in mind is that MD/PhD programs get fewer applicants than regular medical school. Moreover, your grades and scores need to be competitive, but your research experiences and other activities are just as important. With this, we want to show that the reputation of the University is important, but many students discard even applying to certain medical schools just because of that fact. Just take a look at the medical school of Cambridge University in the United Kingdom. The prestige of this university is undeniable, but if you search for data the competition for admittance is not as high as you might think. The range is six applicants for one spot, compared with the rest of medical schools in the U.K. where the average is nine to one. Based on this criterion, we could say that the School of Clinical Medicine of the University of Cambridge is one of the easiest medical schools to get into in the U.K.
For making the ranking of the easiest MD/PhD programs to get into we have researched and compared data such as average MCAT and GPA scores required, number of applicants versus number of accepted students and tuition costs, even though this information is not always shown on each of the school’s websites. That’s why we have used information provided by the AAMC, U.S. News, and StartClass, as well, resulting in the following list of the 16 easiest MD/PhD programs to get into:
16. Missouri School of Medicine, University of Missouri (Columbia, Missouri)
Acceptance Rate: 6.4%
Tuition Cost: $29,343
Average MCAT Score: Old MCAT 31 New MCAT 507
Average GPA Score: 3.82
This school covers areas such as family and community medicine, primary care, pharmacology and physiology, as well as health management and informatics. It is on our list of the easiest MD/PhD programs to get into because even though the acceptance rate is low, the tuition cost is not as high as other universities within the same rank.
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15. Alabama School of Medicine, University of Alabama (Birmingham, Alabama)
Acceptance Rate: 6.5%
Tuition Cost: $26,778
Average MCAT Score: Old MCAT 30 New MCAT 508
Average GPA Score: 3.79
The large university complex has most of its space dedicated to clinical facilities, research laboratories, classrooms, and surgical suites. It is ranked #35 in the ranking of best medical schools in the field of research.
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14. Utah School of Medicine, University of Utah (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Acceptance Rate: 6.6%
Tuition Cost: $32,934
Average MCAT Score: Old MCAT 30 New MCAT 510
Average GPA Score: 3.75
It is the only medical school in the state of Utah. It has 23 clinical and basic-science departments and is recognized for interdisciplinary research in the genetics of disease.
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13. Nevada School of Medicine, University of Nevada, Reno (Reno, Nevada)
Acceptance Rate: 7%
Tuition Cost: $24,623 USD
Average MCAT Score: Old MCAT 35 New MCAT 509
Average GPA Score: 3.75
It is the first public medical school in the state of Nevada which offers the advantage of small class sizes. This medical school has one of the most competitive physician residency programs.
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12. Kansas School of Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center (Kansas City, Kansas)
Acceptance Rate: 7.3%
Tuition Cost: $31,708
Average MCAT Score: New MCAT 507
Average GPA Score: 3.83
The school currently counts 843 students enrolled. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) provides funding for projects researching the field of anatomy/cell biology, which is the most researched field of study for this medical school.
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11. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, University of Arkansas (Little Rock, Arkansas)
Acceptance Rate: 7.4%
Tuition Cost: $29,204
Average MCAT Score: Old MCAT 29 New MCAT 506
Average GPA Score: 3.82
This medical school’s researchers have proved innovative works in areas such as Biomedical informatics, Alzheimer’s disease, osteoporosis and bone disorders and cardiovascular diseases.
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And now, let’s see the top ten easiest Md/PhD programs to get into.
10. Indiana University School of Medicine, Indiana University (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Acceptance Rate: 7.6%
Tuition Cost: $34,019
Average MCAT Score: Old MCAT 30 New MCAT 510
Average GPA Score: 3.82
The campus is also home to Indiana University Health University Hospital, Roudebush VA Medical Center, Riley Hospital for Children and Wishard Memorial Hospital. The school has more than 30 research centers and institutes including Hartford Center of Excellence in Geriatric Medicine and the Indiana University Center for Sports Medicine.
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9. University of Nebraska Medical Center, University of Nebraska (Omaha, Nebraska)
Acceptance Rate: 7.9%
Tuition Cost: $29,200
Average MCAT Score: Old MCAT 32 New MCAT 509
Average GPA Score: 3.71
The MD/PhD program currently has 27 members from 23 different colleges and universities across the nation. The Medical center has 508 students and its smaller than the average medical student body size.
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8. Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta University (Augusta, Georgia)
Acceptance Rate: 8.5%
Tuition Cost: $27.802
Average MCAT Score: Old MCAT 31 New MCAT 510
Average GPA Score: 3.79
With more than 200 years of existence, this medical college’s research fields are cardiovascular biology and disease, cancer, neurosciences and behavioral sciences, public and preventive health, regenerative and reparative medicine.
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7. UNM School of Medicine, University of New Mexico (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Acceptance Rate: 8.9%
Tuition Cost: $16,170
Average MCAT Score: Old MCAT 28 New MCAT 504
Average GPA Score: 3.77
It’s ranked third in the nation for its Rural Medicine Program, according to US News. The UNM is one of 29 institutions nationwide with both a Clinical and Translational Science Center, and an NCI designated Comprehensive Cancer Center.
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6. Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University (Greenville, North Carolina)
Acceptance Rate: 9.1%
Tuition Cost: $16,954
Average MCAT Score: Old MCAT 30 New MCAT 506
Average GPA Score: 3.7
Brody School of Medicine is annually recognized as one of the top ten institutions in the nation for preparing family doctors by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). One in six family physicians practicing in North Carolina is a Brody graduate.
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5. Tennessee Health Science Center, University of Tennessee (Memphis, Tennessee)
Acceptance Rate: 10.2%
Tuition Cost: $33,030
Average MCAT Score: Old MCAT 30 New MCAT 510
Average GPA Score: 3.79
On the 5th place of the easiest MD/PhD programs to get into is the oldest public medical school in Tennessee, with 679 students currently enrolled.
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4. UMASS School of Medicine, University of Massachusetts (Worcester, Massachusetts)
Acceptance Rate: 10.7%
Tuition Cost: $ 22,887
Average MCAT Score: Old MCAT 32 New MCAT 512
Average GPA Score: 3.77
The school was ranked 5th in primary-care education and 49th in research in 2015 according to US News annual guide. And it made it easily in our fourth place of our list of easiest Md/PhD programs to get into.
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3. Shreveport School of Medicine, Louisiana State University (Shreveport, Louisiana)
Acceptance Rate:11.1%
Tuition Cost: $20,146
Average MCAT Score: Old MCAT 30 New MCAT 503
Average GPA Score: 3.77
In our top three of easiest Md/PhD to get into is the Medicine School of the Louisiana State University. The University Hospital is the School’s principal teaching hospital.
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2. Sanford School of Medicine, University of South Dakota (Vermilion, South Dakota)
Acceptance Rate: 12.8%
Tuition Cost: $30,110
Average MCAT Score: New MCAT 509
Average GPA Score: 3.86
It is one of the best-known schools for its excellence in medical education. In addition to the M.D., the school of medicine offers graduate degrees in basic biomedical science and is home to the interdisciplinary Center for Brain and Behavioral Research.
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1. Mississippi School of Medicine,University of Mississippi (Jackson, Mississippi)
Acceptance Rate: 40.7%
Tuition Cost: $23,201
Average MCAT Score: Old MCAT 28 New MCAT 502
Average GPA Score: 3.79
And the first place of the easiest MD/PhD programs to get into goes to this medical school, because of the highest acceptance rate of all medical schools. It’s what makes it our favorite without a doubt. The School of Medicine’s enrollment and course offerings continue to grow, expanding the school to help Mississippi’s goal of training 1000 new doctors by 2025.
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