Medical Schools in Missouri: How to Get In (2024)
/Which are the best medical schools in Missouri? Explore the Missouri medical school rankings, plus strategies to get into your top-choice programs
There are six medical schools in missouri
Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: List of medical schools in Missouri: 2023 rankings and admissions statistics
Part 3: Missouri medical school profiles
Part 4: Missouri medical school admissions strategies
Appendix A: Missouri medical schools by degree type
Appendix B: Missouri medical schools by institution type
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Part 1: Introduction
When you think of Missouri, you might think of metropolitan cities such as St. Louis and Kansas City, the famous Gateway Arch National Park, renowned sports teams including the Kansas City Chiefs and the St. Louis Cardinals, or popular Missouri foods like red hot riplets and St. Louis-style ribs. The state is also well known for its six medical schools, five of which were established in the 1800s.
Whether you choose to study in a bustling city or a rural area, or if you wish to pursue an osteopathic education or a research-heavy curriculum, there is surely a Missouri medical program that will be an excellent fit for you.
The goal of this guide is to provide you with an overview of the unique characteristics of each Missouri medical school, along with the relevant admissions data, so you can best position yourself for success when applying to Missouri medical programs. We recommend you supplement this guide with information from each school’s website to ensure that you have a comprehensive understanding of its specific offerings and differentiating features.
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Part 2: List of medical schools in Missouri: 2023 rankings and admissions statistics
We’ve compiled data on Missouri medical schools, including their rankings, locations, average GPAs and MCAT scores, and more, so you can compare the schools at a glance. While putting together this information, the following main takeaways were observed:
Four allopathic medical schools and two osteopathic medical schools are located in Missouri.
In-state Missouri residents enjoy significantly higher interview rates and make up a majority percentage of matriculating students at Missouri’s two public medical schools.
Four Missouri medical schools appear in the 2023 U.S. News Research ranking, with one landing in the top 5.
In the rankings below, numbers in parentheses represent each Missouri medical school’s national ranking, whereas numbers outside parentheses show each school’s relative rank. Relative rankings helps us answer the question, “Which are the ‘best’ medicals school in Missouri?”
(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.)
| Missouri Medical Schools | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine | $71,544 OOS |
21.5% OOS |
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| Saint Louis University School of Medicine | $67,294 OOS |
11.9% OOS |
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| University of Missouri–Columbia School of Medicine* | $88,296 OOS |
3.6% OOS |
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| University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Medicine* | $83,775 OOS |
1.7% OOS |
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| A.T. Still University–Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine | $65,446 OOS |
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| Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine | $57,676 OOS |
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Part 3: Missouri medical school profiles
A.T. Still University–Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM)
ATSU-KCOM is the founding college of osteopathic medical education and a pioneer in training medical students to become the next generation of patient-centered, holistic care providers. While at ATSU-KCOM, students will be able to engage in and explore the patient simulation lab, ultrasound lab, the Museum of Osteopathic Medicine, and the A.T. Still Research Institute.
In addition to studying basic and clinical science, students will participate in the “Complete Doctor” aspect of the ATSU-KCOM curriculum. This curriculum provides students with early clinical lessons in physical examination skills, teamwork and communication tactics, and topics such as ethics and spirituality. When medical students enter their clerkship and elective rotations in their third and fourth years of medical school, they will rotate at sites throughout the nation including institutions in Arizona, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and other states.
Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine (KCU)
KCU is the eighth-largest medical school in the country, with two campuses in Kansas City and Joplin to serve both the urban and rural populations of the state. In their first two years of medical school, KCU students will study organ systems first by learning about normal physiology and then by exploring the various diseases and presentations of the various organ systems. They will also have the opportunity to practice their patient-facing skills via standardized patient encounters. In years three and four of medical school, students will rotate through various clinical sites and will also be matched with a preceptor who will oversee their educational trajectory.
KCU medical students will also participate in the Score 1 for Health initiative, a preventive health program that provides free, in-school health screenings for elementary school students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Moreover, osteopathic philosophy and osteopathic manipulative medicine courses are incorporated into students’ educations.
Saint Louis University (SLU) School of Medicine
The core tenant that the SLU School of Medicine promotes is “Cura Personalis,” or care for the individual person. SLU places a strong emphasis on educating the next generation of physicians to practice humanistic and holistic medicine. This is evidenced by the SLU School of Medicine curriculum, which embeds courses such as Foundation in Health Care Ethics, Medicine and Society, and Professional and Personal Development into the traditional biomedical and clinical science coursework. Additionally, the SLU School of Medicine promotes “Team Teaching,” which means that preclinical courses are taught by a team of faculty from multiple departments rather than an individual instructor. This allows for information to be shared with medical students from various vantage points.
SLU School of Medicine students also have several opportunities to serve the broader St. Louis community by volunteering at free clinics such as the SLU’s Jesuit Health Resource Center, Casa de Salud, Chinese Clinic, and Adolescent Teen Pregnancy Clinic.
University of Missouri–Columbia School of Medicine
The University of Missouri–Columbia School of Medicine places a strong emphasis on team-based learning; students engage with preclinical coursework in small groups and in the context of real patient situations instead of lecture-based instruction. Following their preclinical education, medical students have the opportunity to pursue their core clinical clerkships in either Springfield or Columbia. 25% of students will be assigned to the Springfield clinical campus, where they will rotate at CoxHealth and Mercy Hospitals. Additionally, students may elect to enroll in the Rural Track Pipeline Program, in which they will complete three of their clinical rotations at a specific rural location and develop longitudinal relationships with their patients and preceptors at this continuity site.
The medical school also supports students’ various interests through programming such as the Global Health Scholars Program, summer research fellowships, and the Legacy Teachers program, which allows students to recognize patients as their teachers through essays or other mediums at a ceremony.
University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Medicine (UMKC)
Students at UMKC will progress through an integrated, four-year curriculum that incorporates the basic science fundamentals, patient experiences, and docent rotations. UMKC structures its education in a team-based learning format; upon arrival to campus, students will be placed in “docent teams” of 10 to 12 other UMKC medical students. Their team will include a docent, pharmacologist, clinical medical librarian, and other healthcare professionals to help facilitate their maturation and professional development throughout medical school. For four weeks per year of the last three years, students will work with their docent team on daily ward rounds, which is known as their docent rotation. This allows for a smaller learning community within the larger UMKC medical school. Students will also be able to serve their greater community by volunteering at one of the free community-based clinics, such as the Sojourner Clinic or the Kansas City Free Eye Clinic.
Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine
In 2020, the Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine revamped its curriculum, now known as the Gateway Curriculum. The Gateway Curriculum integrates the foundational preclinical and clinical coursework with lessons on leadership, teamwork, discovery, innovation, and the social determinants of health. Additionally, the EXPLORE program is embedded within the MD Gateway Curriculum; through this programming, Washington University medical school students select one of four professional pathways: advocacy/global health, education, innovation, and research. Students will participate in this program throughout their four years of medical school; they will connect with mentors who have similar interests, define a scholarship project, and work on an in-depth project with faculty guidance.
Additionally, students are provided with time to conduct research throughout their preclinical years (5 to 10 hours/week) and can be connected with research mentors through the Office of Medical Student Research & Scholarship. The Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine also places a strong emphasis on service learning; the Gephardt Institute is a hub dedicated to creating opportunities to engage with the St. Louis community in a meaningful way.
(Suggested reading: How to Get Into Washington University School of Medicine: Requirements and Strategies)
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Part 4: Missouri medical school admissions strategies
Strategy 1: Use the data provided about each of the Missouri schools to select which Missouri medical schools you should apply to.
As evidenced by the GPA, MCAT, interview, and matriculation statistics, it is clear that Missouri schools have a wide range of average objective metrics, in addition to increased odds for in-state applicants.
For example, with a 3.7 GPA and 507 MCAT, KCU and ATSU-KCOM may be target schools for you, but the allopathic Missouri medical schools will be more challenging to receive acceptances from. Your likelihood of admission can, however, be increased at schools such as the University of Missouri–Columbia School of Medicine, the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Medicine, and ATSU-KCOM if you are a Missouri resident.
(Suggested reading: How Many Medical Schools Should I Apply To? Which Ones?)
Strategy 2: Leverage your holistic understanding of each Missouri medical school, and use this insight to select institutions that align with your own strengths and future goals.
It is important to think about your professional goals and career trajectory when you design your schools list and select which Missouri schools to apply to.
For example, if you hope to attend a top-tier medical school with an emphasis on research, the Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine is likely a great fit for you. On the other hand, if you are interested in exploring how medicine is practiced in other states via clinical rotations throughout the country, you may benefit from studying at ATSU-KCOM, an institution with many nationwide clinical partnerships.
This type of information will help you understand which Missouri medical schools best align with your own interests and aspirations. Make sure to convey this fit when constructing school-specific secondary essays and preparing for your interviews in order persuade adcoms that you’re a strong candidate for their program.
Strategy 3: Think through your interview answers
Once you’ve made it to the interview portion of the process, you’re in the home stretch. There’s only one remaining challenge to overcome to be on your way to a career as a physician.
At this critical juncture, you need to make sure you’re as prepared as possible. That means considering how you will answer tricky open-ended interview questions to ensure that you come across as capable and absolutely certain that medicine—and the particular school—is right for you.
You need to know your application inside and out. They may ask you about your research experience or extracurriculars. If they do, it’s a good idea to include aspects of their program in your answer. This will demonstrate to your interviewer that you’ve thought deeply about your reasons for wanting to attend their institution.
Taking some time to create effective responses to questions like “Why do you want to become a doctor?” or “What do you hope to achieve in medicine?” will make a world of difference to how you are perceived on interview day.
Strategy 4: Organize your application efforts around your essays
Applying to medical school is a true balancing act. You’ll have classes to finish in order to graduate, extracurricular and/or volunteering responsibilities to maintain, and tests to study for—all while carving out time to write those all-important essays, your personal statement and secondaries.
With this in mind, a solid forward-thinking plan can help you tackle it all, and do so effectively. Time-management is key during this stage of the process. You can get a bird’s eye view of the work you’ll need to do by considering how many essays you’ll need to write for medical schools in Missouri.
Each school requires a different number of secondary essays of varying lengths which has a large impact on how much you’ll need to write. For example, A.T. Still University Kirksville only requires 2 essays but each has a limit of 500 words, while St. Louis University has five prompts limited to 1,000 characters each (about 150-250 words).
The essays for each school will take you a different amount of time to complete, so looking ahead can help you plan your time wisely and get everything in by their deadlines. To help you with this, we’ve placed the number of secondary essay prompts for each medical school in Missouri in the table below.
| Missouri Medical Schools | |
|---|---|
| Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine | |
| Saint Louis University School of Medicine | |
| University of Missouri–Columbia School of Medicine | |
| University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Medicine | |
| A.T. Still University–Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine | |
| Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine |
Final thoughts
Missouri medical schools offer a wide range of focuses, curricula, and locations. Consider each school’s specific qualities and statistics when selecting which institutions to apply to, and use the details provided in this guide, along with school websites and information from current students and alumni, to maximally inform your application. By submitting tailored application materials, you’ll increase your odds of success when applying to medical schools in Missouri.
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 medical school using his exclusive approach.
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Appendix A: Missouri medical schools by degree type
Allopathic medical schools in Missouri (MD)
Saint Louis University School of Medicine
University of Missouri–Columbia School of Medicine
University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Medicine
Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine
Osteopathic medical schools in Missouri (DO)
A.T. Still University–Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine
Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine
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Appendix B: Missouri medical schools by institution type
Public medical schools in Missouri
University of Missouri–Columbia School of Medicine
University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Medicine
Private medical schools in Missouri
A.T. Still University–Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine
Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Saint Louis University School of Medicine
Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine
