How to Get Into UCSF Medical School: Requirements and Strategies
/Learn the UCSF acceptance rate, admissions requirements, and strategies, plus UCSF secondary essay examples
LEARN HOW TO GET INTO UCSF MEDICAL SCHOOL
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Part 1: Introduction
The University of California San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine is widely regarded as one of the best medical schools in the nation. In fact, it’s the only program to consistently rank among the nation’s top five for both research and primary care.
In addition, the UCSF acceptance rate sits under 3 percent, placing it among the most selective medical schools in the country. If the odds of admission aren’t daunting enough, the UCSF secondary application gives its applicants the opportunity to answer only three cut-and-dry essay prompts, making it potentially tough for an applicant to stand out in today’s hyper-competitive admissions landscape.
Fortunately, our team has nearly 20 years of experience helping students get into UCSF School of Medicine. In fact, we routinely receive messages like this:
If you hope to join a future class at UCSF, read on. Although many applicants understandably agonize over how to get in, we’ve created this useful guide to help you put your best foot forward as you begin work on your UCSF Medical School application.
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Part 2: UCSF Medical School MD programs
UCSF offers students several tracks of study through which its students can earn their MD:
The traditional, four-year MD program
The Program in Medical Education for the Urban Underserved (PRIME-US), a five-year track focusing on urban underserved populations
The UCSF San Joaquin Valley Program in Medical Education (SJV PRIME), a five-year track focusing on underserved populations in the San Joaquin Valley
The MD/Masters in Advanced Studies in Clinical Research (MD/MAS)
The UC Berkeley/UCSF Joint Medical Program (MD/MS in the Health and Medical Sciences), a joint program with UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health
The MD/MPH, a joint program with UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health
Additionally, UCSF has a BS/MD program called the San Joaquin Valley Program in Medical Education Plus (SJV PRIME+) which lasts for 8 years taking students from entry as an undergrad all the way through MD.
How much does medical school cost at UCSF?
UCSF’s 2023–2024 tuition and fees run $47,580 for California residents and $59,825 for non-residents. However, keep in mind that living in San Francisco is far from cheap. The city’s cost of living is the highest in the nation, largely due to scarcity in the rental/housing market, so the overall cost of spending four years as a UCSF medical student might end up being more expensive than other top programs with higher tuition rates.
Once books, housing, transportation, and other personal expenses are factored in, the first-year cost of attendance is estimated to be $80,175 for in-state students and $92,420 for out-of-state students.
UCSF notes that increasing scholarship support is their highest priority, and that the number of scholarships awarded to its students have gone up by more that 50 percent since 2008. Graduates in the class of 2021 had an average medical school debt of $140,293, which was around $75,000 below the national average that year.
If you’re an out-of-state applicant, it’s possible to become a California resident after one year of living there, so long as you meet a number of criteria that establish your intent to permanently reside in-state. Once these metrics have been in effect for over one year (366 days), you can be considered “in-state” for UCSF’s tuition purposes. Since matters of state residency can be complicated, we encourage you to review the guidelines provides by UCSF.
(Suggested reading: Medical Schools in California: How to Get In)
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Part 3: How hard is it to get into UCSF Medical School?
UCSF Medical School admissions statistics
At just 2.6 percent, UCSF Medical School’s acceptance rate is low. Let’s examine the most recent admissions statistics information:
Applicants: 8,847 - (for the 2023 entering class according to the AAMC)
Interviews: 544 - (for the 2022 entering class according to UCSF)
Matriculants: 173 (69.9% in-state) - (for the 2023 entering class according to the AAMC)
Average GPA: 3.87 - (for the 2022 entering class according to UCSF)
Average MCAT score: 90th percentile (approximately 515) - (for the 2022 entering class according to UCSF)
Note: We continuously monitor this information and will update it as soon as new data is released.
(Suggested reading: Average GPA and MCAT Score for Every Medical School)
UCSF Medical School admissions requirements
Here’s the coursework required by UCSF Medical School in order to apply:
Biology: One year with lab (may include biochemistry)
Chemistry: One year, including at least one semester of organic chemistry with lab (may include biochemistry)
Biochemistry: At least one course
Physics: One semester
While the list of required courses is short, UCSF’s website states that most successful applicants will have exceeded these requirements and demonstrated an ability to excel at a high academic level. For example, the majority of accepted students will have taken at least one upper-level biology course and one full year of organic chemistry.
In addition to preparedness in the sciences, UCSF also encourages applicants to pursue academic breadth. They note that they value success in humanities coursework as well as proficiency in a second language, particularly languages commonly spoken by non-English-speaking populations in the U.S.
Applicants must also take the MCAT within three years of planned matriculation in order to submit a complete application. In the 2024–2025 application cycle, an MCAT score earned in 2022, 2023, or 2024 is required.
UCSF states that applicants with GPAs below 3.2 are usually not viewed favorably for admission.
(Suggested reading: Medical School Requirements: The Definitive Guide)
Beyond the statistics: How to stand out on your UCSF School of Medicine application
The UCSF School of Medicine is not merely seeking academically exceptional students—they want well-rounded, compassionate individuals with a drive to improve the health of their communities. Demonstrating this on your application can be a challenge, however, it’s one that can be overcome with the right forethought and planning.
If UCSF is your dream medical school, strive to use your extracurricular activities to align yourself with their mission. Below, we’ve listed some ways you can seek to achieve this.
Patient Care and Community Service: Seek out opportunities that directly involve patient interaction or serve a direct need in your community. Volunteer at clinics or hospitals, work with underserved populations, or participate in health outreach programs. This helps you grasp the real-world impact of medicine and the challenges patients face and will likely grant you plenty of material for those all-important secondary essays. If you can’t find particular programs to join via your university, be sure to look to free or low-cost clinics in your community for ways you can help. They are frequently in need of volunteers!
Leadership and Initiative: Demonstrating that you can take charge is a strong indicator of your potential as a physician. Get involved in student health organizations, initiate community health projects, or take on leadership roles in organizations important to you. Look first to organizations you’re a part of, whether at your school, in your community, or within your religious group. There are likely ways to increase your involvement through them and having some initial contacts could help you start something of your own. For example, perhaps you could organize a food drive for the local homeless population or even a screening and check-up day at a local free clinic for the underserved. Also, don’t limit yourself merely to health-related issues (although those are important). Many student organizations advocate for others through changes in public policy and having an initiative you spearheaded on your application would go a long way toward bolstering your leadership credentials.
Research: While not absolutely mandatory for medical school, you would be wise to participate in research when applying to a top school such as UCSF. This shows your curiosity and dedication to understanding medicine beyond the textbook. Looking for research opportunities related to healthcare disparities, public health, or addressing the needs of diverse communities would all be in line with UCSF’s core mission. Many undergrads join summer undergraduate research programs (SURP) offered through their pre-health or career advising office. The AAMC has a list of SURPs at many schools across the country. Additionally, the National Institutes of Health offers a variety of research training programs that may be of interest to you.
UCSF Medical School application timeline
To apply to UCSF, plan to submit your AMCAS application according to the following timeline:
May 1, 2024: AMCAS application opens
May 28, 2024: AMCAS application can be submitted
Early July 2024: Application review begins
October 15, 2024: AMCAS application deadline
December 2024–April 2025: Admissions decisions released
UCSF employs rolling admissions, so we encourage you to submit your AMCAS application as early as possible. They do prescreen for secondaries, so if you’re chosen to move on to the next phase of the admissions process, you’ll receive an invitation to complete the secondary application 3–10 weeks after verification of your AMCAS application.
(Suggested reading: The Ideal Medical School Application Timeline)
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Part 4: UCSF Medical School secondary application essays (examples included)
Compared with other top medical schools, UCSF’s secondary application is slim. With only three essays totaling under 1200 words, it might seem impossible to distinguish yourself from the thousands of other applicants vying for a spot in this elite program. To help you knock these prompts out of the park, we’ve broken down each response into the necessary marks you should aim to hit and advised a structure that will allow you to shine even with such limited space allowed.
Before we dive into the individual prompts, it’s worth noting that there is no secret formula or special strategy to blow the UCSF admissions committee’s socks off. It’s no accident that this secondary is so light. Much of what UCSF is looking for will be covered in your primary application’s personal statement and activities list, plus your MCAT score, GPA, letters of recommendation, and so forth. The best way to answer a straightforward secondary application prompt is to be straightforward—be clear, get to your point, and argue it persuasively and with conviction.
Question 1: If you wish to update or expand upon your activities, you may provide additional information below. (500 words)
Between your medical school personal statement and your AMCAS Work and Activities section, you may feel as though you’ve already completed this prompt. You’re not wrong; you have. But here they get another chance to see what makes you tick. Though this prompt may seem optional (“if you wish to…”), it’s not.
This is your chance to cover a passion that you haven’t yet demonstrated in your primary application. Review your personal statement and activities list and consider what other personal attribute will best round out the application. Remember the qualities medical schools look for when making their admissions decisions and try to isolate which of these (leadership, collaboration, service, cultural competency) you still need to refer to in order to present as the most well-rounded applicant you can be.
The most important advice we can give on this prompt is to avoid rehashing a resume. This essay provides an opportunity for you to craft an argument about why you, rather than a thousand other hopefuls, will make the best physician in the future and how your particular drives and passions will be best suited for UCSF.
Take a look at our advised structure below, followed by a sample essay drawn from composites of our successful students.
Thesis: begin your essay with an argument. This argument should be your overarching claim for what you care about as a future doctor. It should argue your passion.
For example, if you have demonstrated an extensive commitment to service or volunteer work and want to expand upon that work here, your thesis statement would be the argument that you have a commitment to serving the underserved, and that you’ve demonstrated that commitment through the activities you’ll write about here.
Evidence: use three to five activities from your past that support the argument you make in your thesis.
Important note: you shouldn’t think of this as “listing” examples. Instead, structure an argument that builds to your thesis by showing the trajectory that’s led you to the place you are now. Start small and build to your largest commitments, showing how one step led to the next.
Why UCSF?
You don’t get the chance to discuss why UCSF is your top-choice program elsewhere in your application, so use this prompt to do so, particularly as it relates to your argument above.
Do your research. What opportunities are available to you at UCSF or in San Francisco that relate to your past activities? How will your passion for these activities allow you to contribute to UCSF?
Conclusion: remind the admissions committee about the passion you’re arguing, and how you’ll carry that passion forward into medical school and beyond.
Here’s an example:
Providing equal access to healthcare to otherwise underserved communities is my greatest goal for my future in medicine. I’ve known this since my undergrad days, when my biggest commitment outside my coursework took place outside of the campus’s walls. I remember learning in a sophomore seminar that despite the dozens of top universities in Boston, the city’s public schools in lower-income neighborhoods were short on volunteers to run extracurricular activities such as pre-professional clubs like HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America.) As president of my high school’s HOSA chapter growing up in Texas, I got to meet doctors and nurses who showed me science wasn’t an abstract discipline but a tool to save lives. That knowledge helped me delve deeper into my science education in order to turn those options into a reality. I hoped introducing young high school students to future career possibilities, especially in communities with low graduation rates, might go a long way in inspiring them to complete their education.
I first canvassed freshman biology courses at Dorchester High to garner interest in a student-led HOSA chapter. Once I recruited over a dozen students, I worked as their sponsor to help register their club with the national organization and structure their vision for what they wanted to learn and achieve as a group. From there, I drew on my university peers and educational network to organize guest lectures, a CPR course, and other activities the HOSA chapter wanted. My service to these kids was rewarding as was seeing how my service propagated more service work as the HOSA chapter began volunteering at the local hospital, assisting with the Boston Marathon, and even joining the efforts of other HOSA chapters to increase numbers in support of their volunteer projects.
Seeing how I could lead by example—how through one service initiative, numerous others came about—I came to understand a core aspect of why medicine as a profession is so important: in providing health and well-being to one person through medical care, you’re also able to positively impact all the people that person touches and the community those people serve. Though this network of service, a doctor can have an astounding impact, and this is exactly the kind of work I hope to continue should I be fortunate enough to train at UCSF.
At UCSF, I’ll join the “San Francisco Cares” initiative already underway with the program’s Public Health Club, in which I’ll utilize my background working with underprivileged teens in Boston to provide health education to the city’s homeless youth population. I also hope to volunteer with UCSF’s “Wellness and Community” program to help educate SF’s homeless youth on STD testing, needle exchange programs, and other initiatives to improve their quality of living and empower them lead healthy, happy lives. UCSF’s commitment to community service is just one of the many reasons the program is my top choice.
Why does it work?
This applicant uses his essay to demonstrate a passion for service, an ability to take initiative and collaborate, and a savvy for leadership. All medical schools want you to be excited about patient care; top medical schools often expect you to couple that interest in patient care with an understanding of how healthcare fits into society, intersects with inequality, and can have a multiplier effect.
This student used his personal statement to talk about a family history, which meant that focusing primarily on service here rounded out his application. Note how he ties in how his commitment to service will contribute to UCSF’s culture and how being in San Francisco provides unique opportunities to work toward his long-term goal of increasing access to healthcare for all.
Question 2: If you are 2023 or earlier college graduate, please use the space below to tell us what you have done since completing your undergraduate degree. (350 words)
Question 3: Do you identify as being part of a marginalized group socioeconomically or in terms of access to quality education or healthcare? Please describe how this inequity has impacted you and your community. (500 words)
Question 4: UCSF PRIDE values serve as a guiding light for institutional life and activities. Briefly describe how you will contribute and support one of our PRIDE values that is consistent with your goals or life experience. (500 words)
Gain instant access to med school secondary essay examples for every single prompt required by every medical school in the United States and Canada. Subscribe today to lock in the current investments, which will be increasing in the future for new subscribers.
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Part 5: UCSF Medical School interview
On a rolling basis, UCSF will invite roughly 5–7 percent of its best applicants to interview. During the 2024–2025 application cycle, all interviews will be conducted virtually.
If you’re among the lucky few to be invited to interview, that means the admissions committee sees immense potential in your application and your ultimate future as a UCSF-trained doctor. So, what should you expect from this highly selective interview round?
Unlike many medical schools, UCSF’s interviews are closed-file, meaning the faculty members (or a combination of one faculty member and a current med student) interviewing you have no previous knowledge of your application narrative, your personal background, your demonstrated passions and activities, or your goals in medicine. This blind interview format allows you to get a totally fresh start at this critical stage of the admissions process.
With the understanding that your interviewer won’t know your application, you’ll need to be sure to hit the application highlights within their traditional interview questions. Be prepared to speak about your most illuminating achievements and activities, why you’re interested in studying medicine (in general and at UCSF in particular), and what your goals are as a physician.
We’ve researched common interview questions at UCSF and curated the following list to help you prepare:
Tell me about yourself.
What is one worry you have about medical school?
Why did you decide to take a "gap" year?
Why UCSF?
What kind of research do you do?
Is there anything on your application that would be concerning to the admissions committee?
What do you think is going to happen to healthcare in the future?
What experiences have led you here?
You mentioned X activity. How did that inspire you to pursue medicine?
You should have well-thought-out responses to questions such as these and be able to communicate those responses clearly. Consider ways you can tie in aspects of UCSF in your responses. For example, if asked “What kind of research do you do?” perhaps it’s something that UCSF specializes in or is currently investigating. Bringing this up to your interviewer is a great interview strategy. Don’t assume they’re aware of that particular project at their school. This type of effective communication paired with a little bit of practice and forethought will go a long way toward impressing your interviewer
In addition, you should review the ways you structured your application essays into arguments using specific examples from your past as evidence and be prepared to convey that argument verbally so that it clicks for the interviewer in the same way it did for your application reader.
Many applicants consciously or unconsciously end up quoting their own personal statement in closed-file interviews. While that’s not inherently bad, since you’re not repeating yourself to someone who’s already read your work, we recommend that you don’t memorize your personal statement and regurgitate it. Why? We usually do not speak the same way we write, and it’s obvious, in many cases, that you’ve pulled from a written text and are trying to fake it as conversational and colloquial.
Each applicant who’s invited to interview will receive two 40-minute sessions with two interviewers per session.
(Suggested reading: How to Ace your Medical School Interview)
Invited to a med school interview? Congrats! There's no need to land in waitlist purgatory or the rejection pile. Learn how to craft memorable, acceptance-worthy responses using the resource below.
Gain instant access to the most common traditional and MMI interview questions, plus sample responses for each, to help you craft responses that lead to acceptances. Subscribe today to lock in the current investments, which will be increasing in the future for new subscribers.
Final thoughts
UCSF, with its high rankings and small class size, is a “reach” school for nearly every applicant. Though the odds are tough, by following the strategies outlined in this guide, you’ll be one step closer to getting in. UCSF boasts a fantastic medical education, and every component of your application will need to be outstanding to secure a coveted spot among the ranks of accepted students.
About the Author
Dr. Shirag Shemmassian is the Founder of Shemmassian Academic Consulting and one of the world's foremost experts on medical school admissions. For nearly 20 years, he and his team have helped thousands of students get into medical school using his exclusive approach.