Medical Schools in Maryland: How to Get In (2024)
/Everything you want to know about medical schools in Maryland: admissions statistics, rankings and clever admissions strategies
Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: List of medical schools in Maryland: 2023 rankings & admissions statistics
Part 3: Maryland medical school profiles
Part 4: Maryland medical school admissions strategies
Part 5: Frequently asked questions
Appendix A: Maryland medical schools by degree type
Appendix B: Maryland medical schools by institution type
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Part 1: Introduction
Being the home of one of the foremost medical institutions in the nation, Maryland often tops the list of states where ambitious premeds wish to study. The world-class facilities of Johns Hopkins are second to none, such as their state-of-the-art simulation center, the Welch Medical Library, an enormous variety of research labs, and cutting-edge institutes such as the Pedersen Brain Science Institute and the Institute for Genetic Medicine.
However, the state’s two other medical schools, aren’t far behind. The University of Maryland boasts 19 high-end research centers and Uniformed Services University lists 17 research centers tasked with pushing the envelope regarding Defense Department priorities. In short, if you’re seeking to attend a top-tier medical school and make an impact in your career, you’d be hard pressed to find more dynamic environments than the medical schools in Maryland.
Medical schools in Maryland also stand out for their proximity to the nation’s capital and an array of hospitals within commuting distance, making finding volunteer opportunities to practice your skills or engage in research a bit easier.
With all of the positives of studying for your MD in Maryland, it’s no wonder there would be a high number of applicants to these schools. Therefore, they can afford to be selective and they take full advantage of this fact. If you dream of matriculating to an institution in the Old Line State, you will have your work cut out for you.
This guide is intended to examine each medical school in Maryland—their in-state and national rankings, tuition, and admissions statistics—and lay out strategies you can follow to give you the best chance of entry.
Suggested reading: (How Hard Is It to Get into Medical School?)
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Part 2: List of Medical Schools in Maryland
The three medical schools in Maryland all have unique characteristics that you should bear in mind when considering where to apply. When putting together applications it’s vital that you have the most recent data available so that you can target schools where you’ll have the greatest chance of acceptance.
To that end, we’ve collected the most pertinent data and organized it into the table below. Let’s carefully read through the information to see what key points emerge.
Upon first glance, you might immediately seek the average GPA and MCAT scores for each school. This is a key indicator of your likelihood of acceptance, but it doesn’t tell the whole story on its own. Both averages for each of the medical schools in Maryland are quite high, and the lowest scores come from Uniformed Services University, a school specializing in training doctors for military service.
Class size and interview rate are also important metrics. It’s interesting that Johns Hopkins, renowned for its selectivity, has a higher interview rate than the University of Maryland. However, we can also see Johns Hopkins has a smaller first-year class size. We could deduce that they have a higher amount of quality applications which pushes up the interview rate, and ultimately, the average GPA and MCAT scores.
| Maryland Medical Schools | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine | |||||||||
| University of Maryland School of Medicine* | |||||||||
| Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine* |
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Part 3: Maryland medical school profiles
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
If your dream is to make an impact with research, Johns Hopkins is the place to do it. For nearly 130 years, the school has been a magnet for research, currently comprising 902 research labs that contribute to innovative medical breakthroughs globally. Its staff routinely file new patents for innovations made possible through the university’s support.
Johns Hopkins hospital has consistently ranked in the top 5 hospitals nationally for the last 30 years. Its known for a high standard of care, excellent resources and a rigorous academic program that ensures the best and the brightest walk its halls.
Their “Genes to Society” MD curriculum is now pushing the envelope further in medical education by rethinking the prevailing ideas of health and disease. Using knowledge gained from the Human Genome Project as a foundation, the MD program at Johns Hopkins is much more than a traditional curriculum. It also incorporates the social sciences throughout your 4 years working towards a white coat so you will better understand the biological distinctiveness of individuals as well as the social factors that contribute to illness.
Suggested reading: (How to Get into Johns Hopkins Medical School)
University of Maryland School of Medicine
As the oldest public medical school in the United States, the University of Maryland School of Medicine traces its roots back 215 years. As a leader in translational medicine and research, it has operations throughout the US and the world with research centers and clinics in 36 countries.
UMD offers 9 dual degree programs—8 MD/MA programs and an MD-PhD program. They have also recently launched a Renaissance Curriculum program aimed at educating students to be well-rounded professionals and scholars with an awareness of social justice. Students will be required to participate in longitudinal experiences partnering with Baltimore City Public Schools and studying topics such as cultural competency.
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine
USU is a school that grants MD degrees in an environment of “military-unique” training. Both civilians and active-duty personnel are able to apply and the style of education offered is geared more towards the needs of the armed forces.
That’s not to say you won’t become a fully qualified doctor. This program is just as rigorous as any other. However, the research they engage in tries to solve problems for the U.S. Department of Defense, such as combating PTSD and using transcranial magnetic stimulation to treat chronic pain.
There are unique benefits to attending medical school at USU. Foremost among them is that you’ll pay no tuition. You will first need to be commissioned into the armed services before your classes begin and after graduation you must spend time as an active duty member of the military. In return, instead of paying for medical school, you will receive a salary as an officer of the US military which is currently set at $64,000 per year.
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Part 4: Maryland medical school admissions strategies
Gaining admission to any one of these top-tier institutions in Maryland is certainly a challenge, but with a little forethought and strategic thinking, one can break down the process into manageable chunks. Here are some strategies we have found to work for our students in the past.
Deepen Your Knowledge of a School’s Purpose and Underlying Philosophy
Each medical school has something which makes it unique in the way it approaches education, medicine and the types of students it wants to produce. You should attempt to make your application align with a school’s values as best you can.
One key indicator is a school’s mission statement. These will give you an overview of the types of candidates the school is seeking. For example, if their mission statement mentions integrity, leadership or a willingness to help those less fortunate, try to think of situations in which you have exhibited these qualities and explore them in secondary essays. You can also bring them up during interviews.
Furthermore, try to gain a holistic understanding of a school by investigating the kinds of activities they tend to support. Johns Hopkins is engaged in a lot of research, so you might try to find areas where your own research interests align with their current projects. For USU, they will value qualities like leadership and commitment to national values.
Additionally, it’s also beneficial to consider how much time it will take to craft excellent secondary essays. Each medical school in Maryland has a different number of secondary essay prompts with different required lengths. Thinking through how to best approach this task with your working style goes a long way to writing excellent essays. To that end, we’ve created the table below with the number of essays for each med school in Maryland.
| Maryland Medical Schools | |
|---|---|
| Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine | |
| University of Maryland School of Medicine | |
| Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine |
Which School’s Statistics Line Up With Your Own?
There’s no denying the importance of the numbers on a medical school application. While they don’t give a full picture of any applicant, they nevertheless weigh heavily on the decisions of adcoms.
If your own GPA or MCAT scores don’t quite line up with the averages of a school you’re considering, it might be worth looking elsewhere. For example, we can see above that UMD’s average GPA is 3.77 and average MCAT is 513. That means that just as many students scored above that as below, however, to be competitive you will likely need to be as close to that as possible.
(Suggested Reading: How Many Medical Schools Should I Apply To? Which Ones?)
Prepare responses for interviews
If you’ve been invited to an interview at one of these top schools, give yourself a huge pat on the back at making it to the final stage of the med school admissions process! At this point, you need to make sure you go into interview day calm and collected with thorough responses to any questions they may ask you.
To achieve this, consider how you might answer common questions and rehearse your responses with a friend or family member. You’ll want to cover as many bases as you can when it comes to question topics, so include questions such as “Why medicine?” along with “Where do you see yourself in 15 years?” or “How would you fix America’s healthcare system?”
Adequate preparation for your interview will ensure that you wow your interviewer with your in-depth knowledge of the school and your reasons for pursuing a career in medicine.
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Part 5: Frequently asked questions
How do I get into a Maryland medical school?
We’re often asked questions such as, “How do I get into Johns Hopkins School of Medicine?” or “How can I get into UMD?” The fact is, the three medical schools in Maryland are all difficult to get into. As is evident from the stats of their matriculating class profiles listed above, acceptees to Johns Hopkins have almost perfect GPAs and MCAT scores and while the University of Maryland stats aren’t quite so high, they still take considerable effort to achieve.
So what exactly do you need to do to get into a medical school in Maryland? First, make sure you’ve met all the prerequisites each school requires. This usually means classes in Biology, General and Organic Chemistry, Physics, English, Math, and often Biochemistry. Click on the following links to Johns Hopkins, the University of Maryland, and the Uniformed Services University to find out more regarding their specific requirements.
After you’ve met these requirements, aced the MCAT, and hopefully kept your GPA up, it will come time to apply. That’s when mapping out how you’ll put a stellar application together becomes crucial. Be sure to work in tandem with your pre-health or pre-professional advising office to put together letters of recommendation and gain helpful insights along the way.
What is the best degree to get into Maryland medical schools?
Premed students everywhere want to know how their choice of major will impact their chances of admission to medical school, whether to schools in Maryland or across the country. The fact is that you can (and many students do) get into medical school no matter which major you choose.
We’ve found that admissions committees don’t have a preference for certain majors over others. Rather, they tend to look at how well you did in your classes, namely your GPA. According to the AAMC, while biological sciences majors made up the largest percentage of applicants in 2023 by far, they only got in at a rate of 43.4 percent. Compare that to humanities majors who enjoyed an acceptance rate of 51.8 percent.
Instead of agonizing over choosing a major, simply choose to study what interests you. You’ll have an easier time maintaining a high GPA if you’re passionate about what you’re spending the next four years engaged in.
Suggested reading: (The Best Premed Majors to Get Into Medical School)
Why is Johns Hopkins a good medical school?
Occasionally, we encounter ambitious students who know they want to become physicians and attend a top school, but they aren’t yet sure which school to aim for or why. When it comes to medical schools in Maryland, often they want to know what makes Johns Hopkins a better choice for them over Harvard or Stanford, for example.
Johns Hopkins is a world-renowned institution with a history of groundbreaking research. Its faculty includes Nobel laureates and pioneers in their respective fields. Being a student at Johns Hopkins will have you mentored by some of the best minds in medicine. Not to mention it’s a funding powerhouse as one of the highest recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for their cutting-edge research.
If you have the stats to make a compelling application to Johns Hopkins, you’ll want to consider other more subjective aspects of the school as well. What kind of faculty-to-student ratio are you looking for? Are you interested in pursuing a particular kind of research or already have a research question of your own? What about the campus environment? Everything from the weather to the culture of inquiry and instruction should be on your radar. Compare your answers to these questions with other top schools to see where you would be the best fit.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re seeking to dig deep into groundbreaking research, work in a top-ranked hospital or assist in the defense of the nation, finding your way into one of the prestigious medical schools in Maryland will take effort, self-determination and courage. By taking the time to communicate your experiences and intent clearly, your chances of entry can improve substantially.
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: Maryland medical schools by degree type
Allopathic (MD) Schools in Maryland
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Osteopathic (DO) Schools in Maryland
None listed
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Appendix B: Maryland medical schools by institution type
Public Medical Schools in Maryland
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Private Medical Schools in Maryland
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
