The University of California-San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine is one of the best medical schools in the U.S. In fact, U.S. News and World report ranks UCSF as the #3 top medical school for research and #3 for primary care. In addition to its academic accolades, UCSF is committed increasing the nation’s supply of compassionate physicians from all walks of life. As a result of their mission to increase the number minority physicians who are traditionally underrepresented in medicine, UCSF has had one of the highest minority enrollment and graduation rates in the United States. So what does it take to be offered a coveted seat in UCSF’s incoming medical school class? A great MCAT score is on the list of requirements for sure, but the admissions committee looks for a lot more than that.
UCSF MCAT Scores
Even though your MCAT score alone won’t snag you a seat in the next class, the average MCAT score for the most recent entering class was 35, which is the 96th percentile. On the new MCAT, this would be approximately equivalent to a score of 518- 519. These scores are similar to averages at other top medical schools.
What Else Do I Need To Know?
To earn an acceptance in a school that’s a top leader in both research and patient care, it’s going to take more than a great MCAT score to make a lasting impression on the admissions committee. How did the most recent matriculants make the cut? To begin, the average cumulative undergraduate GPA for the class of 2019 is 3.75 and they have an average science GPA of 3.72. Of the 149 students in the class of 2019, most of them are California residents, which is to be expected since UCSF is a state supported institution. But outside of academic records and test scores, UCSF med students are also very diverse. 50% of the students are women, 30% are underrepresented in medicine, and they range from ages 20 to 38. According to Dr. Catherine Lucey, Vice Dean for Education at UCSF
“One of the reasons our students come to UCSF is to work in a culture of discovery and innovation. They work closely with a wonderful community of faculty and help them solve important problems in healthcare today, in areas such as molecular medicine, clinical and translational research, medical education scholarship, and optimizing clinical care delivery.”
In other words, they’re future leaders in the medical field, and not just great test takers.
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