Medical Schools in Tennessee: How to Get In (2024)
/Which are the best medical schools in Tennessee? Discover the Tennessee medical school rankings, plus strategies to get into your top-choice programs
There are five medical schools in Tennessee
Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: List of medical schools in Tennessee: 2023 rankings and admissions statistics
Part 3: Tennessee medical school profiles
Part 4: Tennessee medical school admissions strategies
Appendix A: Tennessee medical schools by degree type
Appendix B: Tennessee medical schools by institution type
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Part 1: Introduction
Tennessee is a diverse state with many opportunities to explore history and spectacular natural scenery, including the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, the National Civil Rights Museum, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and Lookout Mountain. On top of this, Tennessee is well-known for its five medical schools, located in various cities from Memphis to Nashville to Johnson City.
While a medical student in Tennessee, you may choose to explore urban areas like Nashville or escape to Harrogate for more of a college-town feel. And whether you opt to study at a large, academic medical institution like Vanderbilt University or at a preventive-care-oriented school such as Lincoln Memorial University–DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine, it is likely that you will find at least one Tennessee medical school that aligns with your own interests and goals.
Our goal for this guide is to help you understand the strengths and distinctive features of Tennessee medical schools, including their admissions statistics, curricula, clinical rotation sites, and extracurricular offerings, so you can determine which schools best fit your goals. Additionally, you can use this information to prepare informed, school-specific essays and interview responses in order to increase your likelihood of receiving an acceptance from the Tennessee school of your choice.
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Part 2: List of medical schools in Tennessee: 2023 rankings and admissions statistics
We’ve compiled statistics on Tennessee medical schools’ rankings, locations, academic metrics, and more so you can measure the schools side-by-side. While collecting this data, we noticed the following:
Tennessee medical schools encompass a wide range of average GPAs and MCAT scores.
Tennessee’s two public medical schools matriculate extremely high percentages of in-state Tennessee residents.
Four Tennessee medical schools appear in the 2023 U.S. News Research ranking, with one in the top 15.
In the rankings column below, each Tennessee medical school’s national ranking appears inside parentheses, whereas its relative rank appears outside of parentheses. Relative rankings help us more easily answer the question, “Which are the ‘best’ medicals school in Tennessee?”
(Note: We strongly recommend that you sign up for MSAR for the most up-to-date information on MD programs and that you sign up for Choose DO for DO program data.)
| Tennessee Medical Schools | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanderbilt University School of Medicine | $65,166 OOS |
10.5% OOS |
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| University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine* | $53,379 OOS |
2.0% OOS |
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| East Tennessee State University James H. Quillen College of Medicine* | $44,862 OOS |
3.5% OOS |
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| Lincoln Memorial University–DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine | $53,200 OOS |
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| Meharry Medical College | $57,243 OOS |
0.3% OOS |
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| Belmont University Thomas Frist College of Medicine | $66,924 OOS |
Minimum required for consideration |
Minimum required for consideration |
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Part 3: Tennessee medical school profiles
East Tennessee State University James H. Quillen College of Medicine
Located in the Appalachian region, the East Tennessee State University Quillen College of Medicine is a leading medical school for rural medicine, primary care, and family medicine training. The medical school recently introduced a new curriculum that will be phased in starting July 2022, called the TRAILS (Team-Based Rural Applied Integrated Learning System) curriculum. This curriculum includes an 18-month pre-clerkship phase followed by six weeks of dedicated USMLE Step 1 study time, 12 months of core clerkship rotations, and 14 months of senior electives and dedicated USMLE Step 2 study time.
Notably, the institution emphasizes high accessibility to instructors; there is a 1:1 student-to-faculty ratio. The East Tennessee State University Quillen College of Medicine also has a specific Rural Primary Care track, a four-year community-based curriculum that emphasizes high exposure to rural and community medicine.
Lincoln Memorial University–DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine (LMU-DCOM)
LMU-DCOM is located in the college town of Harrogate, and students will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the outdoors with the Cumberland Gap mountains nearby. Osteopathic and preventive medicine principles are emphasized in the LMU-DCOM curriculum; students will pursue a traditional curriculum, including two years of preclinical coursework followed by two years of clinical rotations. During years 3 and 4 of medical school, students will be assigned to rotation sites throughout the country, including locally in Tennessee and in other states like Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky, Texas, and Ohio.
Students also have the opportunity to obtain experience in teaching and leadership while being compensated, if selected to participate in the Anatomy/Osteopathic Principles and Practice (OPP) Scholars program. When senior medical students, they will serve as anatomy and OPP instructors for junior medical students.
Meharry Medical College
Meharry Medical College is one of the three historically Black medical schools (HBCU) in the United States. It has a longstanding history of training healthcare professionals to address healthcare disparities and to care for marginalized populations in Nashville and its surrounding communities. The institution places a strong emphasis on diversity and inclusion when selecting medical school matriculants and aims to train the next generation of Black clinician leaders.
In 2018, Meharry created and launched a new curriculum called Next S.T.E.P. (Successfully Trained Equipped Physicians). The new curriculum bases medical school teachings off clinical cases and diagnosis-based presentations and incorporates active and team-based learning methodologies. Notably, approximately 90% of Meharry Medical College students qualify for financial assistance either through financial aid or institution-funded scholarships.
(Related reading: How to Get Into Meharry Medical College: Requirements and Strategies)
University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine has four campuses: Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis, and Nashville. Students will pursue a traditional curriculum, including two years of preclinical coursework followed by two years of clinical rotations and dedicated time for USMLE studying and scholarly projects.
The medical school places a strong emphasis on training the next generation of Tennessee physicians; over 90% of the first-year class are Tennessee residents. The commitment to caring for the citizens of Tennessee is reflected in the extracurricular offerings at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine. For example, students will have the opportunity to volunteer with CHEER, the Consortium for Health Education, Economic Empowerment and Research. CHEER is a community-based research organization that studies how to improve outcomes for patients located in Memphis and the Mississippi Delta region.
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
The Vanderbilt University School of Medicine is an internationally recognized medical school located in the heart of Nashville. Here, students will pursue an accelerated 13-month preclinical curriculum before embarking on their clinical rotations early during year 2 of medical school. This empowers Vanderbilt medical students to explore their clinical and overarching professional interests during their third and fourth years of medical school, a period called the Immersion Phase. During this time, students pursue individualized learning by designing their own schedules to include a combination of clinical electives, research opportunities, and additional coursework in medical ethics, healthcare systems, and global health.
In an effort to form stronger relationships with peers and mentors, Vanderbilt medical students will also be placed in Colleges and Learning Communities. Students are divided into four Colleges; these groups convene at wellness, social, and career-oriented events. Students are also divided into Learning Communities comprised of 24 medical students and 2 faculty mentors to talk through difficult personal and professional experiences, professionalism, and empathy.
Belmont University Thomas Frist College of Medicine
The Belmont University Thomas Frist College of Medicine (FCoM) is the newest medical school in Tennessee, located in Nashville. With its first cohort beginning classes in the fall of 2024, the Thomas Frist College of Medicine offers an allopathic medical education with a Christian-centered focus. The FCoM curriculum comprises three distinct phases, the foundation phase, the clerkship phase, and the individualization phase.
The foundation phase lasts about 18 months and focuses on clinical relevance with science principles being taught “in the context of social determinants of health and the humanities.” The clerkship phase consists of six clerkships with students returning to the FCoM campus after each for an integrated clinical practice focus week emphasizing whole-person care. The individualization phase is spread out across the curriculum with the first section occurring during the foundation phase and the second immediately after core clerkships. This second phase culminates in a Transition to Residency capstone course to fully prepare students for internships.
Overall, their curriculum highlights an interprofessional education and a focus on whole-patient care with medical students learning how to effectively communicate across healthcare teams through interprofessional exercises, small group sessions, and simulation learning throughout their four years in the program.
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Part 4: Tennessee medical school admissions strategies
Strategy 1: Take a data-driven approach when deciding which Tennessee medical schools to apply to
As evidenced by the data above, it’s clear that Tennessee schools as a whole have not only a wide range of average GPAs and MCAT scores, but also an increased likelihood of admissions offers for in-state applicants. Take note that many Tennessee schools have a preference for interviewing and accepting in-state applicants who are keen to practice medicine in Tennessee after graduating from medical school.
When deciding which schools you should apply to, consider how these statistics line up with your own metrics. For example, with a 3.5 GPA, 502 MCAT, and Tennessee residency, Meharry Medical College and Lincoln Memorial University–DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine would be good target schools for you, but Vanderbilt University would be more challenging to receive an admissions offer from.
Strategy 2: Develop a comprehensive understanding of what makes each Tennessee medical school unique and ensure your own strengths and prior experiences align with these key features
It is necessary to be practical about your own prior achievements, existing strengths, and future career goals when determining which medical schools to apply to.
For example, if you hope to pursue in-depth research and be exposed to many sub-specialty areas of medicine, Vanderbilt is likely a fit for you. On the other hand, if you are keen to practice community-oriented primary care, you will enjoy your time at the University of Tennessee, Meharry Medical College, or East Tennessee State University. Alternatively, if you are interested in observing how medicine is practiced nationwide, you can seek out clinical rotations in other states as a LMU-DCOM medical student.
Once you’ve identified schools at which you’d be an excellent fit, incorporate your understanding of that fit into your secondary application essays and interview preparation for the best chances of standing out.
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Strategy 3: Take the time to think through the interview
As with all aspects of the admissions process, forethought and planning are crucial to success. Interview day is no different and while you may not know precisely which questions you will be asked, it’s important that you consider how to approach common questions to maximize your chances of acceptance.
You may think you can easily handle questions like “Why do you want to attend our university?” but how would you respond to “How do you handle criticism?” Could you fashion an answer that communicates a healthy and constructive attitude toward criticism? Keep in mind, you are likely to receive a good amount of it during your time embroiled in the rigors of medical school, so your interviewer will be keen to understand if you’re likely to get frustrated or do the work necessary to correct your mistakes.
With a little planning, you’ll have effective responses to tackle these tough questions and impress adcoms with your perseverance and commitment to the practice of medicine.
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Final thoughts
Tennessee’s numerous medical schools give you much to consider as you decide where to apply. By crafting excellent application materials geared towards programs at which you have a good likelihood of acceptance, you can set yourself up for success when applying to medical schools in Tennessee.
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.
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Appendix A: Tennessee medical schools by degree type
Allopathic medical schools in Tennessee (MD)
East Tennessee State University James H. Quillen College of Medicine
Meharry Medical College
University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Belmont University Thomas Frist College of Medicine
Osteopathic medical schools in Tennessee (DO)
Lincoln Memorial University–DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine
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Appendix B: Tennessee medical schools by institution type
Public medical schools in Tennessee
East Tennessee State University James H. Quillen College of Medicine
University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine
Private medical schools in Tennessee
Lincoln Memorial University–DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine
Meharry Medical College
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Belmont University Thomas Frist College of Medicine
