How to Get Into Perelman School of Medicine: Requirements and Strategies

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Learn UPenn Medical School requirements, admissions strategies, plus a sample response to the “Why UPenn Medical School?” question

A group of smiling Perelman School of Medicine students crossing their arms and wearing blue scrubs

perelman school of medicine is ranked SIXTH in the nation by u.s. news & world report

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Part 1: Introduction 

The Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, aka Penn Medicine, is not only the oldest medical school in the country—it’s also one of the most renowned. Currently ranked #3 on U.S. News and World Report’s list of the top research medical schools, UPenn Medical School has been producing leaders in the medical field for more than two centuries.

Some of the most important medical advancements of the last 100 years have been developed by UPenn Medical School alumni. As an Ivy League institution, the Perelman School of Medicine has high standards and low admission rates and will be a reach school for anyone. Test scores and excellent grades can help you get your foot in the door, but it’s the qualitative aspects of your application, especially the supplemental essays, that can make the biggest difference and set you apart. 

Here, we’ll run through strategies and examples that will strengthen your UPenn Medical School supplemental essays, as well as provide pointers for tackling your interview. 

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Part 2: UPenn Medical School MD programs

The Perelman School of Medicine offers several ways to attain the MD:

UPenn Medical School tuition and scholarships

Base tuition and fees for Penn Medicine in 2023–2024 run $71,935. Taking into consideration living expenses, travel costs, books, and other expenses, UPenn recommends a yearly budget of $109,497 for first-year students.

This may seem high, but UPenn offers a number of need-based scholarships and fixed-interest loans. There are also 34 full tuition scholarships given annually on the basis of student excellence as part of the Twenty-First Century Scholars Program. The class of 2023 graduated with, on average, $150,000 in debt.

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Part 3: How hard is it to get into Perelman School of Medicine?

UPenn Medical School admissions statistics

UPenn Medical School’s current acceptance rate is 3.8%, and we can look to admissions statistics for the class of 2027 to see that Penn Medicine’s standards are stringent:

  • Matriculants: 157 (92% out-of-state, 8% in-state)

  • Mean GPA: 3.92

  • Mean MCAT: 520.8

(Suggested reading: Average GPA and MCAT Score for Every Medical School)

UPenn Medical School admissions requirements

The Perelman School of Medicine does not require applicants to complete specific coursework. However, successful applicants will demonstrate the following competencies:

  • English/communication

  • Biology

  • Chemistry

  • Physics

  • Math

  • Behavioral disciplines (e.g. history, philosophy, ethics, anthropology, and others)

Furthermore, the MCAT must be taken within three years of applying. If you’re aiming to matriculate in the fall of 2024, your MCAT score must be earned between January 2020 and September 2023.

According to the UPenn Medical School website, students with degrees from foreign institutions (with the exception of Canada) “must complete a full-time year of science (biology, chemistry and physics) coursework before applying.”

Many applicants to prestigious medical schools like Perelman will meet the coursework standards and have impressive grades and test scores. However, the admissions committee will also want to see candidates who exhibit leadership and compassion, candidates who are intellectually curious and devoted to a field of study. Furthermore, they are interested in supporting candidates who’ve overcome hardships in their lives and can contribute to the diversity of the matriculating class. There’s no better place to showcase these attributes than in your supplemental essays. 

(Suggested reading: Medical School Requirements: The Definitive Guide)

UPenn Medical School application timeline

To apply to UPenn Medical School, you should submit your AMCAS application according to the following timeline:

  • May 2, 2024: AMCAS application opens

  • May 30, 2024: AMCAS application can be submitted

  • July 2024–November 2024: AMCAS applications transmitted to UPenn

  • August 1, 2024: AMCAS application deadline for Early Decision

  • August 2024–January 2025: Applications reviewed

  • August 16, 2024: UPenn secondary application deadline for Early Decision

  • September 2024–January 2025: Interviews conducted

  • October 2, 2024: Early Decision applicants notified

  • October 15, 2024: AMCAS application deadline

  • November 15, 2024: UPenn secondary application deadline

  • March 2025: Admissions decisions released

Although you can submit your UPenn application well into the fall, it’s in your best interest to submit your materials as early as possible. Competitive applicants often submit their personal statements and supplemental essays as early as June or July of the year they’re applying. 

As noted above, the Perelman School of Medicine has an Early Decision program. The admissions website states that successful Early Decision applicants will meet the average GPA and MCAT scores of the most recent entering class, and it recommends that applicants consult with the Office of Admissions prior to June 1 of the year they’re applying.

(Suggested reading: The Ideal Medical School Application Timeline)

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Part 4: UPenn Medical School secondary application essays (examples included)

With your medical school personal statement completed, you’ll be ready to tackle the UPenn secondary essays. Here, you’ll find the 2023–2024 prompts. For Question 1, you’ll also find strategies for answering the question, an example essay response, and a detailed breakdown of why that response works so well for the given prompt.

While 11 prompts might seem like a lot, note that many are optional. You should certainly answer any relevant questions, but feel free to leave blank the ones that don’t apply. The three required essays come towards the end with Questions 7, 8, and 11.

Question 1: Were there changes to your academic work and/or personal circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic that you would like to share with the committee? If yes, please describe these changes during this time in 500 characters or less.

Chances are, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted your life in some way. As you respond to this prompt, you’ll want to keep your answer focused on how your education or personal life changed and describe how that may have obstructed your path to medical school. For instance, perhaps testing centers near you were closed and, in turn, your MCAT test date got pushed back. Or, maybe you faced the untimely death of a loved one during the pandemic.

Whatever story you tell, focusing on any lessons you learned or ways you adapted will show resilience and the ability to adjust to quickly changing circumstances. This prompt is not simply asking you to explain why the pandemic caused you to hit a few obstacles, it’s asking you to explain what you did in response to those obstacles. How can you use these events to portray yourself as a leader? How can you show that you’re a decisive and committed individual to the practice of medicine?

Regardless of your situation, keep your response factual, to the point, and ultimately positive as you demonstrate that those changes have no bearing on your candidacy for medical school.

Here’s one example of how you might answer this prompt:

Due to COVID, my MCAT was canceled twice, which delayed my application. Moreover, the closure of my campus housing led me to quarantine with my family, which includes my parents and grandparents, who have multiple chronic health conditions. For their safety, and to meet the requirements of MCAT testing centers, I had to temporarily leave my work as an EMT. My hospice volunteering program was closed. I used this time to make masks for the local hospital and work as an online COVID test scheduler.

What makes this an effective response?

  • When answering a COVID response, it’s important not to sound like you’re making any excuses for poor academic performance or if your MCAT test score isn’t as high as you’d like. With this in mind, this response works because it’s straightforward and showed that the student was determined not to let changes in their plans stop them from pursuing medical school. 

  • Additionally, their singularity of purpose didn’t affect their concern for others, as is shown by their ability to be flexible regarding their job and the MCAT so as not to infect immunocompromised individuals.

In our guide on secondary essays, we’ve included information on COVID essays along with another example.

Question 2: If you were offered an option to continue courses with a standard grading system or switch to Pass/Fail, and you chose Pass/Fail, please describe the reason(s) for your decision here. (500 characters)

Question 3: Have you taken any online courses for credit (not due to the COVID-19 pandemic)?

Question 4: Have you been nominated for or received an award from any state, regional or national organization?

Question 5: Have you taken or are you planning to take time off between college graduation and medical school matriculation? If so explain in 500 characters or less.

Question 6. Have you participated in any global activities outside of the U.S. prior to submitting your AMCAS application? If so, explain in 1,000 characters or less.

Question 7: The Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM) is deeply committed to recruiting a diverse class to enrich an inclusive team-based learning experience. How would you and your experiences contribute to the diversity of the student body and/or how would you contribute to an inclusive atmosphere at PSOM? Please explain and limit your response to 1,000 characters.

Question 8: We are all navigating through challenging times, and physicians and physician-scientists must contend with many instances of uncertainty. Describe a time when you faced a situation that was ambiguous, confusing, or uncertain, and how you navigated making a decision without complete information. (3000 characters)

Question 9: Have you or your family experienced economic hardships? If yes, please explain briefly in 1,000 characters.

Question 10: Have you been employed at the University of Pennsylvania Health System or Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and worked with a Penn faculty mentor? If yes, please indicate name, department, phone number of faculty, and start/end dates.

Question 11: Please explain your reasons for applying to the Perelman School of Medicine and limit your response to 1,000 characters.

MD-PhD prompts

Question 1: Please use keywords or phrases, separated by commas, to identify your research interests more specifically. Do not use tabs or add lines by hitting the enter key. There is a limit of 500 characters. 

Question 2: List your research experiences chronologically, starting with the most recent. For each experience, please provide clear information about the time commitment. (For instance, if you worked continuously in one lab for a year, putting in full time hours during the summer, and part time hours during the school year, you might state: “full time (about 50 hours a week) from mid May until the end of August, continuing part time (about 10 hours a week) from September to April”. Note that if you worked two summers in the same lab, but did *not* work in that lab at all during the school year, these should be listed as two separate research experiences.)

For each experience, indicate whether your mentor will provide a letter of recommendation. Please note that letters are a significant aspect of your application. We encourage you to solicit at least 3 letters which will specifically address your research ability and potential. Included in these should be letters from mentors who have guided you through your most significant research experiences. If you do not solicit a letter from an individual with whom you have had an extensive research experience, please provide an explanation in the comments section.

Question 3: If you have publications as a result of your research, please provide the full citations here. If you do not have any publications at this time, please indicate that in the box (eg by typing “no publications yet”). Please note there is an 8,000 character limit. 

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Part 5: UPenn Medical School interview

If you’ve been invited to interview at UPenn Medical School, you’re one of the lucky few who have made it past the first round of the selection process. It means that the admissions committee was impressed by your credentials on paper. Now they want to see if you seem like a good match one-on-one.

The Perelman School of Medicine uses a standard (non-MMI) interview format. They have not yet announced whether 2023–2024 interviews will be virtual or in-person.

Because the Perelman School of Medicine is so focused on research, you can be sure your interlocuters will ask in-depth questions about the research experiences you’ve listed in your secondary essays. Make sure you’re up to speed on whatever you’ve listed. It would be a good idea to read further into the topics as they relate to the specific research programs at UPenn, but don’t exaggerate or assume expertise when your interviewer might well be a leader in the field. 

If you have a personal connection to UPenn–either the medical school, the university, or even the hospital, feel free to mention it during your interview since you won’t have the opportunity in your secondary essays. Your interviewers will want to see that you’re passionate about the school and a personal connection will only help to illustrate this.

While there’s no way to know exactly what you’ll be asked, we’ve come across some common questions that come up during Perelman interviews that we’ve listed below:

  • What is your greatest weakness?

  • Why do you want to become a doctor?

  • Tell me about x experience.

  • What do you like about Perelman?

  • Tell me about yourself.

  • What impact do you want to make on the field of medicine?

  • Tell me three things about you that make you a good leader.

  • What is the meaning you attribute to life?

  • What do you like to do in your free time?

These questions point to the admissions committee at Perelman wanting to get a deeper understanding of what makes you tick and what you want to contribute to medicine. Questions like “Tell me about yourself” or “What is your greatest weakness?” are standard interview fare, but would you have a decent response for “What is the meaning you attribute to life?” How about “What impact do you want to make on the field of medicine?” which is a fantastic place to mention your research interests and segue into why Perelman is the best place to do that.

By thinking ahead and strategizing your approach to the interview in this way, you’re much more likely to feel confident when speaking which will help your interviewer to see you for the top-tier candidate you truly are.

(Suggested reading: How to Ace Your Medical School Interviews)

Final thoughts

Few medical degrees carry the prestige of an Ivy League institution. Applying to the Perelman School of Medicine can seem both exciting and intimidating for that reason. But if you’re a gifted premed with superb grades and test scores, UPenn Medical School may well be within your reach. Fine-tuning your supplemental essays to emphasize your research experience and your compatibility with the university will help you stand apart from the other applicants and strengthen your prospects of admission.

Dr. Shirag Shemmassian headshot

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.