Medical School Admissions 2024 Trends
Do I have the right experiences?
Do I need a gap year?
Are my academics strong enough?
When should I take or retake the MCAT?
How is the best way to approach medical school application materials?
To ensure your success when you apply to medical school, it’s crucial to be aware to the current trends in admissions.
Here are the top five trends we observed in 2024:
Trend 1:
Research is more important than ever for allopathic medical school admissions.
The premed competencies a student demonstrates through research experience are some of the most important to medical school admissions committees.
In our Facebook group (join us!), we have heard people say that research isn’t needed for medical school admissions. For some medical schools this is true, but if a student is aiming for an allopathic, MD-granting medical school, they must have valuable research experience. Indeed, if a student hopes to attend a top medical school in the country, this research experience should be sophisticated with a demonstrated impact and long-term commitment.
My thoughts: If you aspire to gain acceptance to an allopathic, MD-granting medical school, start seeking out research experience in your junior year of college at the latest. Alternatively, consider a gap year or two to gain this experience.
Trend 2:
Hands-on patient care experience is not necessary to be successful in the medical school admissions process.
Over the past year, also in our Facebook group (join us!) and from our students, we have had a front seat to the pressure people feel thinking they must gain clinical work experience.
To satisfy this pressure, we see students and parents seeking out any clinical experience they can, which can have the downside of making it look like an applicant embraced a “check box approach” to their candidacy taking on work that is unrelated to their interests.
Let me clarify this by explaining that clinical work experience can be influential, especially if this clinical work is a most meaningful experience where a student has spent the majority of their time.
My thoughts: Follow your interests and explore them organically and deeply, making an impact. Seek out patient-facing experiences; these can be through volunteer or research experience. Don’t collect experiences and hours because you think this will improve your candidacy.
With limited types of clinical experiences available to premeds, I anticipate that common clinical experiences (scribing, working as a certified nursing assistant or a medical assistant) will soon become so generic that they will do little to make an applicant stand out in the process.
Please note: Some of our most successful applicants have no paid clinical work experience.
Trend 3:
The early birds see incredible results.
This year more than ever, we saw that students who worked on their medical school personal statement and activities entries early, submitted early medical school applications (by early June) and completed their secondaries before July, were afforded many more early medical school interviews than in years’ past.
This doesn’t mean that our students who submitted later medical school applications did badly, but they had to wait longer for interview invitations and acceptances. Those who were early had less stressful application cycles because early medical school interviews typically translate into early acceptances, too!
My thoughts: If at all possible, for a less stressful application cycle, start working on your application materials early and even consider pre writing secondary essays based on last year’s prompts.
One caveat: do not let application prep get in the way of doing well academically or having a strong MCAT performance.
Trend 4:
Gap years are becoming more common, but applicants applying as juniors are being considered more carefully and within the context of their age.
Only 25% of allopathic medical school matriculants now go to medical school straight from college. For most, deciding to take a gap year or two is a practical decision as most students are not able to be competitive applicants by the end of junior year.
Recently, however, we have seen that junior year applicants have been more successful in the process and I believe this is because they are being evaluated holistically and are considered within the context of their age and the time they have had to devote themselves to scholarly and extracurricular experiences. Keep in mind these applicants have taken no shortcuts; they are very accomplished and have all the elements needed to be successful.
My thoughts: Deciding whether or not you are ready to apply to medical school is often a very personal decision, but one that also requires an experienced eye. If you aren’t sure you are ready to apply to medical school, meet with your premed advisor, discuss your goals, and assess whether you can reach them by the end of your junior year.
We would also be happy to evaluate your candidacy and offer guidance. Want to learn more about us? Sign up for a meeting.
Trend 5:
Medical school applications are up.
While the AAMC data for the current cycle has not yet been released, people in medical education have made it clear that application numbers bumped by 5% this year overall, and some individual medical schools saw more than a 10% bump in applications.
My thoughts: I think students will continue applying to more and more medical schools to increase their chances of acceptance so I believe individual medical schools will continue to see increases in application numbers. More medical schools may implement screening measures or start using AI in medical school admissions. Until the official data is released, I won’t comment on the 5% national bump, but I think this trend will depend on national economic and employment trends.
Final Thoughts
As medical school admissions trends shift every year, so too does the strategy required to be successful in the process. What worked for one student a few years ago, might not work in today’s climate.
At MedEdits, we work with a huge range of students with a range of future goals who are from a variety of different undergraduate colleges.
Together with published national trends, we are able to understand, on a large scale, what medical school applicants need to be successful.
Not sure whether or not you are ready to apply? Schedule a consultation with MedEdits to build a personalized application strategy.
Happy 2025!
JESSICA FREEDMAN, M.D., a former medical school and residency admissions officer at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, is the founder and chair of MedEdits Medical Admissions and author of three top-selling books about the medical admissions process that you can find on Amazon.
