Medical Schools in New York: How to Get In (2025)
/Which are the best medical schools in New York? Learn admissions statistics, New York medical school rankings, and strategies to get into your top-choice program
There are 17 medical schools in new york
Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: List of medical schools in New York: 2024 rankings & admissions statistics
Part 3: New York medical school profiles
Part 3: New York medical school admissions strategies
Appendix A: New York medical schools by degree type
Appendix B: New York medical schools by institution type
Appendix C: New York medical schools by region
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Part 1: Introduction
Getting into medical schools in New York is no easy feat. Given its cultural cachet, large population, and many excellent schools, it’s no surprise that New York is one of the most popular places to pursue a medical education. Despite being the fourth-most populous state in the country, New York has the largest number of medical schools of any state (18), beating out the 16 medical schools in California, 15 medical schools in Texas, and 10 medical schools in Florida.
With 18 different programs come 18 different missions to help you develop into the physician you want to be. For example, the Zucker School of Medicine has developed a formal Humanism in Medicine Program, where students are encouraged to partake in humanities experiences (e.g., arts, literature, history) to help broaden their perspectives to truly understand the impact that illness can have on patients’ lives.
In this guide, we’ll discuss unique approaches to help your application stand out from thousands of others when applying to New York medical schools. But first, let’s start with an introduction of all the programs and important admissions statistics so you can see what you’re up against.
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Part 2: List of medical schools in New York: 2024 rankings & admissions statistics
To make the research easier on your end, we’ve curated the most relevant information about each New York medical school to help you understand the admissions landscape throughout the state. If you would like to view stats for schools outside New York, you can also peruse the average GPA and MCAT score for every medical school.
No matter the type of applicant you are, it’s important to note the trends underlying medical school admissions in New York. After analyzing the data from the 18 programs in New York, we noticed the following:
New York medical schools boast high rankings from U.S. News (Research). In the 2023 rankings, one is in the top 5, four are in the top 20, seven are in the top 50, and eleven are in the top 100. Many top schools declined to participate in the rankings in 2024. See our note below.
Tuition and fees at New York medical schools are steep; the majority of tuition costs hover around $60,000. Of note: many programs in New York are private and therefore charge in-state and out-of-state students the same amount.
The majority of schools, particularly private schools, are out-of-state friendly. (Note: In-state vs. out-of-state interview rates were not found for four schools.)
Numbers in parentheses reflect each medical school’s national ranking, whereas numbers outside parentheses reflect each New York medical school’s relative rank. Relative rankings help us to answer the question, “Which are the ‘best’ medicals school in New York?”
(Note: We strongly advise you to sign up for MSAR for the most up-to-date and comprehensive data on individual MD programs and to sign up for Choose DO for DO program data.)
(Note: U.S. News and World Report moved to a tier-based ranking system in fall 2024, in part due to a number of schools declining to participate. Schools who declined to share sufficient data with US News are now unranked, which is reflected in the table below with ‘UR.' Schools that did participate are given ‘tier’ rankings by U.S. News. We’ve reported rankings from both the prior and current cycles to more accurately reflect where medical schools in New York stand.)
| New York Medical Schools | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons | $80,644 OOS |
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| NYU Grossman School of Medicne | $4,350 OOS |
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| Weill Cornell Medical College | $82,294 OOS |
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| Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai | $77,390 OOS |
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| University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry | $78,379 OOS |
10.6% OOS |
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| Albert Einstein College of Medicine | $71,656 OOS |
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| Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University* | $76,874 OOS |
11.4% OOS |
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| Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell | $66,585 OOS |
11.7% OOS |
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| Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo* | $73,271 OOS |
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| SUNY Upstate Medical University Alan and Marlene Norton College of Medicine* | $77,365 OOS |
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| NYU Long Island School of Medicine | $4,350 OOS |
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| New York Medical College | $73,682 OOS |
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| Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine Elmira Campus | $41,510 OOS |
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| Albany Medical College | $64,278 OOS |
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| CUNY School of Medicine* | $70,216 OOS |
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| New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine | $66,050 OOS |
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| SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine* | $77,242 OOS |
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| Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (Middletown Campus / Harlem Campus) |
$66,600 OOS |
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Part 3: New York medical school profiles
Now that you’re familiar with the admissions landscape for New York medical schools, we’ll go over what each school is known for and what makes it unique. It probably goes without saying that medical schools differ in ways other than how difficult they are to get into. Location, curriculum, culture, resources, and competitiveness should all be taken into account when choosing the med schools to which you’ll apply.
Albany Medical College
Albany Medical College, founded in 1839, is one of the oldest private medical schools in the United States, with a long-standing reputation for excellence in medical education and patient care. Located in the capital of New York, the institution benefits from strong ties to state government, public health initiatives, and cutting-edge biomedical research.
Albany Medical College shares its campus with Albany Medical Center Hospital, the busiest Level 1 trauma center in New York State, which provides students with extensive hands-on experience in emergency medicine, surgery, and various subspecialties. Albany students rotate here and at other nearby facilities, giving them a wide range of clinical experiences.
Albany offers a fairly traditional medical school curriculum, and it’s known for its small class sizes, modified pass/fail grading system, and relatively low cost of living as one of just a handful of med schools located outside the New York City metro area.
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, located in the Bronx, New York, is a leading institution known for its commitment to medical education, research, and serving underserved communities. As part of Montefiore Health System, Einstein provides students with unparalleled access to a diverse patient population, many of whom face significant socioeconomic and healthcare disparities. This environment allows students to gain hands-on clinical experience early in their training, developing strong diagnostic and patient-care skills while fostering cultural competency and a deep understanding of social determinants of health.
Einstein’s curriculum features a strong emphasis on community engagement and population health. Students are encouraged to take an active role in addressing healthcare inequities through service-learning programs, outreach initiatives, and clinical experiences in community health centers.
Einstein students can take advantage of a true pass/fail curriculum and recorded non-mandatory lectures. In addition, Einstein is known for its strong research; all students must complete a scholarly paper based on mentor-guided research in order to graduate.
(Related reading: How to Get Into Albert Einstein College of Medicine)
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
In 2018, Columbia became the first medical school in the country to replace all loans with scholarships for students qualified for financial aid—this, combined with its top ranking and Ivy League prestige, have made it a highly desirable med school for many.
Columbia’s curriculum is designed to prepare students as leaders in the evolving landscape of healthcare. One of its defining features is the integration of non-medical curricular threads, such as public health, biomedical informatics, medical ethics, and health policy, ensuring that graduates understand the broader context of medicine beyond clinical practice. Columbia is also known as the birthplace of narrative medicine, a field that emphasizes the importance of storytelling and reflective writing in patient care.
Another unique component of Columbia’s curriculum is the Differentiation & Integration block, a flexible period in the later years of medical school where students take electives, participate in clinical and research opportunities, and complete a scholarly project aligned with their interests.
On the clinical side, Columbia students gain a wide range of experience rotating at many New York City-area hospitals and through the school’s free, student-run clinics. For students interested in rural medicine, Columbia offers the Columbia-Bassett track, a unique program that pairs the resources of an Ivy League institution with clinical training in a rural healthcare setting.
(Related reading: How to Get Into Columbia Medical School)
CUNY School of Medicine
CUNY School of Medicine is a relatively new med school with a clear mission: to expand access to medical education for students from underserved, underrepresented communities who have limited financial means; and to train primary care physicians who will serve these same communities.
Unlike most medical schools, CSOM exclusively offers a seven-year BS/MD program, which allows students to enter directly from high school. This accelerated pathway enables students to complete their undergraduate and medical education seamlessly, reducing the time and financial burden typically associated with becoming a physician. There is currently no standalone MD program, meaning prospective students must apply as high school seniors to join the program at the undergraduate level.
A key feature of CSOM’s curriculum is early clinical exposure, which begins during the three-year undergraduate phase. Students engage with patients and healthcare professionals early in their training, gaining hands-on experience that helps build clinical skills and patient interaction techniques.
CSOM’s commitment to affordability and accessibility makes it an attractive option for students passionate about primary care and community health. By integrating medical education with a strong focus on service, CSOM graduates emerge well-equipped to address healthcare disparities and improve health outcomes in underserved areas.
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Icahn School of Medicine aims to educate ambitious, creative physicians and scientists who will change the face of medicine through innovation and activism. This emphasis on creating change is also visible in its educational philosophy, which it describes as “combining the best traditions of medicine with the principles and entrepreneurial thinking of a startup.”
Icahn’s curriculum reflects this progressive and student-centered approach. It follows a pass/fail grading system in the preclinical years, promoting a collaborative and less stressful learning environment. The curriculum is also highly flexible, as evidenced by the school’s early assurance program, FlexMed, which allows undergraduates to secure acceptance to medical school without requiring the MCAT, enabling them to pursue non-traditional pre-med paths.
Students have opportunities for self-directed learning, discovery, and leadership development, known as "Flex Time", which is built into all four years of medical education. This time can be used for independent research, additional coursework, advocacy work, or leadership training, allowing students to personalize their medical education based on their interests and career aspirations. Additionally, students may choose to take a year-long scholarly project, engaging in deep, mentor-guided research in a field of their choice.
Icahn is unique in its integration with Mount Sinai Health System, making it one of the few U.S. medical schools embedded within a hospital. This provides students with unparalleled clinical exposure from the very beginning of their education, as well as direct access to leading physicians, researchers, and healthcare innovators.
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo
The Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo (UB) is a well-regarded public medical school known for its strong research programs, affordable tuition, and diverse clinical training opportunities. Given the lower in-state tuition compared to private medical schools and Buffalo’s relatively low cost of living, Jacobs offers an excellent return on investment, particularly for New York residents.
One highlight of the Jacobs School of Medicine is its new, state-of-the-art medical school facility, located in the heart of Buffalo’s downtown medical campus. This modern building features advanced simulation labs, cutting-edge research facilities, and interdisciplinary learning spaces, fostering a dynamic and innovative educational environment.
Jacobs also emphasizes early clinical exposure, with students gaining hands-on experience from their very first year. Through the Clinical Practice of Medicine course, first-year students are paired with a community-based physician mentor, providing them with early patient interaction, mentorship, and practical clinical skills development. This longitudinal mentorship enhances students’ ability to integrate classroom learning with real-world medical practice.
Jacobs also offers a Global Medicine Program, which provides opportunities to participate in medical outreach, research, and clinical experiences overseas, and a Medical Leadership Track, designed for students who aspire to lead in healthcare administration, policy, or academic medicine.
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine – Elmira Campus
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) is the largest medical school in the country, with four campuses spread across Pennsylvania, Florida, and New York, providing a wide range of educational pathways for aspiring osteopathic physicians. The Elmira campus, founded in 2020, is the newest addition, established specifically to address the physician shortage in the Southern Tier region of New York.
One of LECOM’s most distinctive features is its multiple learning pathways, allowing students to choose the instructional method that best suits their learning style. However, LECOM Elmira exclusively offers a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) curriculum, similar to the other satellite campuses (except the original Erie, PA location, which offers additional pathways). In this self-directed, case-based approach, students work independently or in small groups to develop clinical reasoning and problem-solving skills. Rather than traditional lectures, the PBL format encourages active learning, collaboration, and critical thinking, making it ideal for self-motivated students who thrive in a structured yet flexible learning environment.
The medical school boasts brand-new facilities, including state-of-the-art classrooms, anatomy labs, and simulation centers, designed to support the hands-on, technology-driven approach to medical training.
For clinical rotations, students train at Arnot Ogden Medical Center, a regional healthcare hub, as well as other hospitals and healthcare facilities throughout the Southern Tier. These training sites provide students with exposure to a wide range of patient populations, healthcare challenges, and medical specialties, particularly in primary care, rural medicine, and community-based healthcare.
New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine
NYITCOM is an osteopathic medical school on Long Island that’s dedicated to patient-centered, population-based healthcare. In particular, it emphasizes preparing students to practice in inner cities, rural environments, and global locations. NYITCOM also has a second, newer campus in Jonesboro, Arkansas; applicants can indicate if they’d like to be considered for both locations.
NYITCOM prides itself on integrating cutting-edge technology into its curriculum, ensuring that students are exposed to the latest advancements in medical education and clinical practice. Notable features include synchronized lectures across campuses using live-streaming, telemedicine training to prepare students for the future of remote healthcare, and robotics and simulation-based learning.
NYITCOM students complete their core clinical rotations at hospitals and healthcare facilities primarily in the New York City metropolitan area, offering exposure to diverse patient populations and a broad range of specialties.
It should be stated that NYITCOM has faced criticism for a few things in recent years: its large entering class size (typically around 320 students each year), high attrition rate (greater than 10 percent), and loss of many hospital affiliations as more medical schools have opened in and around New York City. Nevertheless, NYITCOM offers rotations at a variety of sites in the New York City metro area each year, allowing students to choose from a diverse range of clinical experiences.
New York Medical College
New York Medical College (NYMC), located in suburban Westchester County, is a well-established allopathic medical school with a longstanding commitment to diversity, inclusion, and community-based healthcare. With the largest entering class size among allopathic medical schools in New York, NYMC offers a robust medical education while maintaining a supportive and humanistic learning environment.
NYMC provides students with early exposure to primary care settings, emphasizing community-based medicine and patient-centered care. This aligns with its mission to prepare compassionate, well-rounded physicians who understand the social determinants of health and the importance of preventive care.
NYMC follows a pass/fail grading system, which fosters a collaborative, less competitive academic environment and allows students to focus on mastering medical knowledge rather than chasing grades. Additionally, students have the opportunity to participate in international exchange programs with partner medical schools in Japan, Korea, Hungary, and Israel. These global experiences enable students to gain valuable cross-cultural medical training, enhancing their ability to work with diverse patient populations both in the U.S. and abroad.
Its campus is shared with Westchester Medical Center, a tertiary care and Level 1 trauma center, as well as Maria Fareri Children's Hospital, one of the top pediatric hospitals in the region. Students rotate at Metropolitan Hospital Center in Harlem, an essential safety-net hospital serving a large, underserved patient population. These primary clinical training sites expose students to a wide range of medical conditions, patient demographics, and healthcare challenges, ensuring a well-rounded clinical education.
(Related reading: How to Get Into New York Medical College)
NYU Grossman School of Medicine
NYU set itself apart from the pack when it announced in 2018 that all accepted students would receive free tuition—already a competitive med school, its applications subsequently increased by nearly 50 percent.
NYU is recognized for its excellence in both clinical training and medical research. The school’s location in New York City, home to world-class hospitals and diverse patient populations, provides students with unique opportunities for both hands-on clinical experience and cutting-edge research. NYU has strong affiliations with leading medical institutions, including its own NYU Langone Health complex, which includes NYU Langone Medical Center, Tisch Hospital, and Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital.
Its innovative curriculum is designed to be both flexible and adaptable to the needs and interests of students. The program is student-centered, giving students the opportunity to shape their medical education through individualized paths, such as through scholarly concentrations and elective tracks. Students have the option to explore areas of medical research, healthcare innovation, public health, and medical ethics, among other fields, allowing them to align their training with their specific career goals.
In addition to its traditional four-year MD program, NYU offers an innovative three-year accelerated MD program for students who are committed to entering primary care fields or certain specialty areas that can be completed in a shorter training timeframe. This accelerated program offers the opportunity for early, conditional acceptance to NYU’s residency programs, allowing students to streamline their path from medical school to residency, ultimately entering the workforce earlier.
(Related reading: How to Get Into NYU Medical School)
NYU Long Island School of Medicine
NYU Long Island School of Medicine (NYU-LISOM) is a new, innovative medical school based on Long Island, and it represents a distinctive approach in medical education. NYU-LISOM offers a three-year MD program designed with a singular mission: to increase the number of physicians in primary care, addressing the growing need for healthcare providers in this critical field. By offering an accelerated and highly focused program, NYU-LISOM aims to train future physicians quickly while providing them with the skills necessary to lead in primary care settings.
Similar to NYU Grossman School of Medicine, NYU-LISOM offers free tuition to all admitted students making it easier for students to choose the lower-paid primary care specialties. NYU-LISOM is a small program, currently accepting just 24 students per year, though they plan to gradually increase their incoming class size to 40.
The curriculum at NYU-LISOM prepares students for leadership roles in primary care and emphasizes the critical areas of integrated care, population health, and health systems science. This integrated approach prepares students to handle complex, multifaceted cases that go beyond individual patient care, teaching them how to navigate healthcare systems, coordinate care across different specialties, and understand the social and economic factors affecting patient health.
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University is widely recognized as the highest-ranked public medical school in New York. Located on Long Island, it is a prestigious institution known for its research excellence, comprehensive clinical training, and dedication to producing well-rounded physicians. With a focus on both academic achievement and global health, Stony Brook attracts students who are looking for a strong, research-driven medical education paired with opportunities for community engagement and global health impact.
As a leading research institution, Stony Brook provides students with access to cutting-edge medical research and opportunities to engage with innovative scientific work in areas such as biomedical engineering, cancer research, and neurosciences.
Stony Brook’s Professional Identity Formation (PIF) curriculum is a key feature of the medical school program. This unique aspect helps students develop their professional values and clinical decision-making skills through a structured framework of personal reflection, mentorship, and self-awareness.
Students receive their clinical training at Stony Brook University Hospital, which is Long Island’s only tertiary care center and one of its premier Level 1 trauma centers. This hospital serves as a hub for complex medical care, offering students the chance to rotate in diverse specialties and handle a wide range of clinical cases.
Stony Brook also offers a Scholarly Concentrations Program, a track that allows med students to pursue scholarship in one of four areas, plus an accelerated, three-year MD program that provides students with conditional acceptance to a Stony Brook residency.
SUNY Upstate Medical University Alan and Marlene Norton College of Medicine
Located in Syracuse, SUNY Upstate’s regionally focused mission aims to improve the health of the communities it serves. One of the standout features of SUNY Upstate is its Rural Medicine Scholars Program, which specifically targets the physician shortage in rural parts of Central New York. This program offers a unique opportunity for students interested in practicing medicine in underserved rural areas, with a focus on community-based healthcare.
SUNY Upstate students can take advantage of University Hospital, the only academic medical center and Level 1 trauma center in the region. In addition to the main campus in Syracuse, SUNY Upstate also has a second campus in Binghamton, which offers students an opportunity to experience medical training in a smaller, community-based setting. Starting in their third year, about a quarter of each class is assigned to the Binghamton campus, where students have more direct patient interaction and closer mentoring relationships with attending physicians.
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine
As the only academic medical center in culturally diverse Brooklyn, SUNY Downstate offers students excellent clinical training both through its own University Hospital of Brooklyn and its many clinical affiliates.
SUNY Downstate’s curriculum places a significant emphasis on preparing students to practice in urban environments, where healthcare disparities and challenges are often more pronounced. The school trains students to tackle the specific needs of underserved populations, including those facing barriers such as lack of access to care, poverty, language barriers, and health inequities. This focus on social determinants of health ensures that graduates are equipped to provide high-quality care to vulnerable populations, including those living in Brooklyn’s economically and socially diverse neighborhoods.
Notable features of SUNY Downstate’s curriculum include a variety of integrated pathways that students can choose from (e.g., global health, social determinants of health, and medical education), pass/fail grading, non-mandatory lectures, and early clinical exposure. As a public med school, SUNY Downstate also offers New York residents in-state tuition.
Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine
Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (Touro COM) operates two campuses in New York—one in Harlem, Manhattan, and the other in the Hudson Valley. As an osteopathic medical school, Touro is committed to preparing students to become compassionate and competent physicians who will serve underserved communities and address the healthcare needs of diverse populations.
Touro employs a flipped classroom model, which encourages active learning and engagement with the material. Rather than traditional lectures, students are expected to prepare for class by engaging with pre-recorded lectures and readings. This allows in-class time to be focused on discussions, problem-solving exercises, and hands-on activities.
Clinical rotations at Touro take place at hospitals and healthcare centers throughout New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut, depending on which campus students are based at. A unique feature of Touro’s clinical training is its emphasis on underserved areas: approximately 80 percent of Touro’s hospital affiliates are located in rural or urban underserved regions, ensuring that students gain firsthand experience in environments where healthcare resources are often limited.
However, it must be noted that, during the last few years, some have found fault with Touro’s shortage of high-quality rotation sites, as well as its lower-than-average COMLEX II pass rates.
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
The University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry is renowned for its biopsychosocial model of medical education, which integrates biological, psychological, and social factors to provide a holistic approach to patient care. This model emphasizes understanding patients not just as physical beings but as individuals whose psychological well-being and social context are integral to their overall health.
Rochester bills itself as the “Liberal Arts School of Medicine,” emphasizing an interdisciplinary, humanities-focused medical education, with specific pathways available in topics such as medical humanities and bioethics, medical education, and global health.
Another standout feature of the University of Rochester School of Medicine is its small class size, which fosters a close-knit, supportive learning environment. With fewer students per class, there is greater opportunity for personalized attention from faculty and more collaborative learning among peers.
Students at Rochester gain clinical experience starting in their first year of medical school, ensuring that they are exposed to real-world medical practice early on. Students also work with a diverse range of patients, including underserved populations. Clinical experience takes place at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), one of the largest and most comprehensive medical treatment and research facilities in Upstate New York.
Weill Cornell Medical College
Weill Cornell Medical College is part of Cornell University, one of the most prestigious Ivy League institutions, and is consistently ranked among the top medical schools in the United States. What sets Weill Cornell apart, aside from its Ivy League stature, is its innovative curriculum and strong emphasis on global health, active learning, and self-directed inquiry.
Weill Cornell’s curriculum is designed to be progressive and student-centered, focusing on active learning and small-group discussions rather than traditional lectures.
One aspect of Weill Cornell is its strong commitment to global health. The school has established partnerships and clinical programs in 62 countries, providing students with unique opportunities to gain exposure to diverse healthcare systems.
Weill Cornell is located in the heart of New York City, sharing a campus with some of the most prestigious medical institutions in the world, including New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. These affiliations provide Weill Cornell students with access to cutting-edge research, clinical expertise, and unparalleled learning opportunities.
(Related reading: How to Get Into Weill Cornell Medical School)
Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
Created through a partnership between Hofstra University and the Northwell healthcare system, Zucker School of Medicine has a reputation as a rising med school despite its relatively short history.
At the core of Zucker's educational philosophy is its problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum, which emphasizes small group, case-based education and encourages students to engage in self-directed, independent study. Instead of traditional lecture-based instruction, students work together to solve clinical cases, reinforcing theoretical knowledge through practical application.
Starting as early as the first year, students begin interacting with patients through structured clinical experiences. This hands-on learning from the very beginning of their training helps students build practical skills and develop a well-rounded understanding of patient care.
Zucker School of Medicine also offers strong opportunities for students to engage in medical research, thanks to its affiliation with the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research at Northwell Health. The Feinstein Institutes are renowned for their groundbreaking work in a variety of medical fields, including neurology, cardiology, oncology, and immunology.
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Part 4: New York medical school admissions strategies
In this section, we’ll discuss two strategies—beyond achieving high stats and choosing all the right extracurriculars for medical school—to help maximize your admissions odds.
Strategy 1: Take a data-driven approach to decide which New York medical schools to apply to
Medical schools in New York exhibit considerable diversity with regard to matriculant stats. However, as shown in the profiles above, there are other differentiating factors between schools beyond academic metrics, such as the patient population the school focuses on or their unique program offerings. We encourage you to be extremely conscientious when making decisions about which schools to apply to.
Adding another school to your list is as easy as a couple of clicks, and we often find that many students fall into the trap of impulsively adding schools, thinking that “it can’t hurt” to try. However, your time and money are finite resources. That’s why we encourage you think two steps ahead before taking that first step. Pore through the data to be sure that the additional time and cost you incur by applying to these schools is well matched by your admissions odds. In other words, make sure your school list is filled with high-yield prospects.
Let’s follow a student whom we’ll call Esther. Esther is not a New York resident, but still wants to consider the state when producing her school list. Esther has an outstanding academic record, a 3.93 GPA and a 519 MCAT, but immediately happens upon three New York schools that showcase a first-year class that is over 85 percent in-state students. Esther doesn’t falter, however; she knows that there are still a dozen other schools in New York to research!
She then happens upon the University of Rochester Medical Center, the Weill Medical College of Cornell, and New York University, all with first-year classes composed of less than 30 percent in-state students. She now has identified three excellent target schools where she has excellent odds, demonstrating how beneficial strong research can be when building an optimal school list. So, skip schools that don’t fit your metrics and mission; more importantly, don’t let your lack of research be the reason why you left excellent medical schools off your list.
A quick disclaimer: we aren’t saying that you shouldn’t apply to a few reach schools or a few safety schools. Not all schools have to be perfect “targets”; in fact, it’s extremely important to have these schools on your list. You won’t be able to build a school list perfectly matched to your residency status, your GPA and MCAT score, and your mission and values, so take some liberties with a select number of schools. Employ sensible criteria, though, as we’ve discussed the pitfalls of the “let’s just apply and see what happens” philosophy when it comes to programs where your odds are slim.
Remember that “just applying” requires writing high-quality secondary essays. Because the application cycle is already extensive and involved, plan to focus mostly on high-yield schools that you have solid chances of getting into. In other words, the less time you dedicate to ‘impossible reach’ schools, the more time you’ll have to dedicate to crafting strong applications for schools within your target range. In such a competitive application process, the extra effort is the difference between an acceptance and a rejection.
In summary, use data to develop a school list that maximizes your chances of admission.
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Strategy 2: Demonstrate fit with each New York medical school
Demonstrating fit with a particular medical school can be difficult. For starters, nearly all medical schools have missions to give back to their surrounding communities, advance medical science, and train the world’s next generation of clinician-leaders. Given this, how can we discern one school’s focus from the next?
The answer is weight! Individual New York programs—and all medical programs—weigh, or place more emphasis on, certain facets of their mission more heavily than others. In short, schools will train the full range of physicians but typically have a program geared specifically to one or two specific pillars; these pillars are highlighted on their website or have stand-alone programs dedicated to just serving that mission.
(Note: The school profiles above are written to help you quickly learn more about what each med school emphasizes; we encourage you to use them and to do your own digging through each school’s website.)
For example, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine website speaks significantly about their unique location, allowing students to earn their clinical training alongside both the underserved populations of the Bronx and the New York metropolitan area at large. Their program believes that medical education should be inherently interdisciplinary, and in their program’s description, they describe themselves as offering “rigorous, hands-on clinical training with the flexibility [for students] to pursue their interests in research and to meet the healthcare needs of underserved populations in the Bronx, the greater New York metropolitan area, and beyond.”
In contrast, we return to NYU Grossman’s Accelerated three-year MD degree pathway. NYU’s medical education team clearly has thought deeply about physician shortages and accruing student debt; as such, they’ve designed a program specifically for students who know what specialty they already want to pursue, cutting the time most students spend in their fourth years on clinical elective rotations. Geared primarily towards students who focus on primary care training, this program demonstrates NYU’s commitment to medical education in alignment with the ongoing needs of healthcare.
To make it clear, it’s not that NYU doesn’t provide their students an interdisciplinary medical education; they enroll their students in the Practice of Medicine (POM) module where they integrate concepts learned in both the class and lab with real patient experiences. On the flip side, it’s not that the Albert Einstein College of Medicine doesn’t dedicate their time and attention to advancing medical education. They encourage their students to broaden their scopes by completing an MPH through the City College of New York, a Masters in Clinical Research Methods at Cardoza or a Masters of Bioethics at Einstein. Both schools show flashes of both interdisciplinary medical educations and attention to improving the didactic experience for students. The difference comes in the weight that each school puts on each of these pillars and, naturally, these schools will admit different proportions of students based on their fits with the schools’ priorities.
What this means practically is that when you answer the secondary prompts for each school, ensure that you can tease apart the school’s true priorities and showcase your match with their weighted missions. This demonstration of “fit” will be the difference between an acceptance and a rejection.
This strategy certainly isn’t limited to the written application or to just schools in New York. No matter where you apply, keep the “fit” philosophy in mind. During medical school interviews, make sure to communicate how your interests and the school’s mission statement are one and the same. During your multiple mini-interview (MMI), this may be more difficult given the limited time you have with each individual interviewer. Still, in the 8–10 minutes you have, make an effort to express your fascination with basic science research, your deep-rooted ties to a particular patient demographic within New York, or your desire to integrate medicine and business/bioethics/public policy. Thinking about how your values align with another program’s mission will be some of the most important time you spend in crafting your application.
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Strategy 3: Schedule your time around your secondary essays
As mentioned above, “just applying” is a much more involved process than simply paying a fee and hitting send. While your GPA and MCAT scores are critical to your application’s success, it’s in your secondary essays where your experiences and fit for a school really stand out.
Maximizing your chances of landing an interview at a medical school in New York means crafting an exceptional story about yourself and your desire to become a doctor. To do so, you’ll need to thoughtfully plan your approach to the essays for each school and schedule time wisely to work on them—around your many other commitments.
For instance, each school will require a different number of essays. Some of them may require 5 100-word essays, while others only 1 500-word essay. And keep in mind that the length of your essays may not be the only thing that makes writing them difficult. Occasionally, the question topic can be tricky to write about.
Your first step should be to research each school’s requirements and make a note of the number of essays as well as the deadlines for their submission at each school. To assist with this, we’ve listed the amount of essays for each medical school in New York in the table below.
Final thoughts
Admission to New York medical schools is competitive, with high out-of-state matriculant rates attracting a large number of applicants. Still, do your due diligence and use a data-driven approach to determine whether both your stats and values are in alignment with those of individual programs. Demonstrate your fit with each program in your applications, and you may very well find yourself studying medicine in the Empire State for four years.
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.
Want to learn more about what it takes to get into New York medical schools?
Click below to review our school-specific guides to help you get into your top-choice school:
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Appendix A: New York medical schools by degree type
Allopathic medical schools in New York (MD)
Albany Medical College
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
CUNY School of Medicine
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo
New York Medical College
NYU Grossman School of Medicine
NYU Long Island School of Medicine
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University
SUNY Upstate Medical University Alan and Marlene Norton College of Medicine
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
Weill Cornell Medical College
Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
Osteopathic medical schools in New York (DO)
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine Elmira Campus
New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine
Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine
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Appendix B: New York medical schools by institution type
Public medical schools in New York
CUNY School of Medicine
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University
SUNY Upstate Medical University Alan and Marlene Norton College of Medicine
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine
Private medical schools in New York
Albany Medical College
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine Elmira Campus
New York Medical College
New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine
NYU Long Island School of Medicine
NYU Grossman School of Medicine
Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
Weill Cornell Medical College
Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
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Appendix C: New York medical schools by region
Medical schools in and around New York City
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
CUNY School of Medicine
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
New York Medical College
New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine
NYU Long Island School of Medicine
NYU Grossman School of Medicine
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine
Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine
Weill Cornell Medical College
Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
Medical schools outside Greater New York City
Albany Medical College
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine Elmira Campus
SUNY Upstate Medical University Alan and Marlene Norton College of Medicine
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry