Duke University School of Medicine is one of the best medical schools in the nation, ranked #8 by the U.S. News & World Report on the list of Best Medical Schools in Research. Founded in 1930, Duke is the youngest of the top medical schools in the nation. Duke MCAT scores for the most recent incoming class are in the 97th percentile of all test takers.
Duke MCAT Scores
The entering class of 2015 of Duke University School of Medicine consists of 115 students selected among 7,013 applicants. These students boast an average GPA of 3.80 out of 4.00 and an average MCAT score of 36. On the new MCAT, this is equivalent to a score of about 518.
More Than Numbers
As with all medical schools, getting an admissions offer to Duke University School of Medicine is more than just numbers. The medical school admissions committee will read your entire application, including your personal statement, description of activities and awards, letters of recommendation, and any additional essays required by the school. You will be evaluated based on your reasons for pursuing medicine as well as the quality and depth of your clinical, volunteer, research, and other extracurricular experiences. A good GPA and MCAT score will definitely help but they are also not everything!
Why Duke?
Since the early 1900s, the majority of medical schools in the nation have been following the “two plus two” curriculum originally designed by Abraham Flexnor. In this model, medical students spend the first two years taking classes and the following two years interacting with patients and physicians in the hospital. Medical schools have recognized recently that this approach is out of date and does not prepare students adequately for modern medicine. Numerous novel curriculums have emerged in the past few years as medical schools reboot for the 21st century. A common theme among these new programs is the reduction in the time spent in the classrooms to allow for earlier clinical exposure and more time for research.
What is particularly interesting about these changes is that they all seem to be copying the curriculum at Duke University School of Medicine. In 1966, Duke established its current curriculum in which students complete their classroom studies in the first year, allowing students to start their clinical rotations in the second year. While students still finish their clinical rotations in their fourth year, this grants Duke students a whole year free in their 3rd year. According to Duke, the year is meant for scholarly research and students can choose any field they want “whether it is identifying and cloning new genes at the laboratory bench, formulating public health policy with state legislators, beginning studies toward a second degree, or studying specific patient populations at Duke or in another country.” This unique opportunity in the third year is one of the major reasons why Duke is a dream school for many pre-medical students.
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