New York State Medical Schools—2024-2025 Guide to Acceptance

Are you considering applying to medical school in New York? Do you want to wake up in a city that never sleeps? Are your little town blues melting away? Hey, if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere, right?

If you like the sound of Broadway, over 70 Michelin starred restaurants, skyscrapers as far as the eye can see, iconic monuments around every corner, and some of the best shopping in the world, New York City could be the spot for you. And if you don’t like the sound of that, New York City is only one small part of New York State. The rest of the state is known for its laid back culture, beautiful natural landscape, and wealth of outdoor activities.

But what’s it like to attend medical school in New York, and how do you get accepted?

In this post, we’ll break down everything you need to know about going to medical school in New York, including where the medical schools are located, what it’s like to live in New York, how to apply, and tips for gaining acceptance to medical schools in New York.

Here’s what to expect below.

How Many Medical Schools Are in New York?
List of Medical Schools in New York
List of Osteopathic Medical Schools in New York
What Are the Best Schools in New York?
New York Medical School Locations
How Much Is Medical School Tuition in New York?
In-State vs Out-of-State Preference
What It’s Like to Go to Medical School in New York
How to Apply to New York Medical Schools (MD)
- 1. Application Requirements
- 1. Application Deadlines
How to Apply to Osteopathic Medical Schools in New York
Acceptance at New York Medical Schools
- 1. Understand the Cost
- 1. Research City Differences
Bottom Line: Is Going to Medical School in New York Right for You?

How Many Medical Schools Are in New York?

There are 18 medical schools in New York. 15 of them are MD (allopathic), and 3 of them are DO (osteopathic) medical schools.

New York has more medical schools than any other state in the country. The only other states that come close are California and Texas—both with 16 med schools.

List of Medical Schools in New York

Allopathic Medical Schools in New York (MD)

CUNY School of Medicine is a BS/MD program, meaning it’s an early admission pathway that combines bachelor and medicine degree programs together to streamline the journey from high school to medical school. The program is only available to students still in high school.

List of Osteopathic Medical Schools in New York (DO)

What Are the Best Schools in New York?

Classifying which New York medical schools are the best is a challenge, as what’s best for one student may not be best for another.

From an admissions standpoint, this is how competitive your hard metrics must be to be considered at a New York medical school. These numbers are based on 2023 matriculant data from MSAR.

New York Medical School (MD) Median GPA

These are the median GPAs of New York med school matriculants.

Medical School	Median GPA
Albany Medical College	3.8
Albert Einstein College of Medicine	3.88
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons	3.95
CUNY School of Medicine	3.8
Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell	3.9
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai	3.92
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo	3.79
New York Medical College	3.8
NYU Grossman School of Medicine	3.98
NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine	3.84
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University	3.89
State University of New York Upstate Medical University Alan and Marlene Norton College of Medicine	3.81
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine	3.79
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry	3.91
Weill Cornell Medical College	3.93

New York Medical School (MD) Median MCAT

These are the median MCAT scores of New York med school matriculants.

Medical School	Median MCAT
Albany Medical College	510
Albert Einstein College of Medicine	516
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons	522
CUNY School of Medicine	508
Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell	518
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai	519
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo	511
New York Medical College	516
NYU Grossman School of Medicine	523
NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine	515
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University	517
State University of New York Upstate Medical University Alan and Marlene Norton College of Medicine	513
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine	513
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry	518
Weill Cornell Medical College	519

From a rankings standpoint, three New York medical schools rank in the top 25 schools for research, based on the U.S. News ranking system. The first New York school to make the list is Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell at number 4, Albert Einstein College of Medicine at number 17, and Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University at number 24.

Additionally, only Albert Einstein College of Medicine ranks in the top 25 schools for primary care at number 16.

It should be noted, however, that Columbia elected not to participate in the US News ranking.

New York Medical School Locations

New York State has a population of just under 20 million, give or take, making it the fourth most populous state after California, Texas, and Florida. The state holds the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, and Albany. New York’s most populous city, which needs no introduction, is New York City, also known as the Big Apple, which has a population of over 8 million, making it the most populous city in the entire country.

New York City itself is made up of five boroughs: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island, and Queens. Brooklyn and Manhattan have the highest cost of living, although Queens is getting up there as well.

While not technically a borough of NYC or a city itself, Long Island is a sprawling, densely populated island that stretches east from New York City. It’s home to a significant piece of both NYC’s metropolitan area as well as its population. Long Island is divided into four counties: Kings (Brooklyn), Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk.

There are a number of medical schools located across New York State, but by far, most medical school campuses are located in NYC.

NEW YORK STATE

Albany Medical College—Albany

Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo—Buffalo

New York Medical College—Valhalla, Westchester

State University of New York Upstate Medical University Alan and Marlene Norton College of Medicine—Syracuse

University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry—Rochester

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine Elmira Campus—Elmira

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine—Middletown campus

LONG ISLAND

Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell—Hempstead, Long Island

NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine—Mineola, Long Island

Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University—Stony Brook, Long Island

New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine—Old Westbury, Long Island campus

NEW YORK CITY

Albert Einstein College of Medicine—The Bronx

Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons—Manhattan

CUNY School of Medicine—Manhattan (Harlem)

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai—Manhattan (Upper East Side)

NYU Grossman School of Medicine—Manhattan (Midtown)

SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine—Brooklyn

Weill Cornell Medical College—Manhattan (Upper East Side)

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine—Manhattan (Harlem campus)

How Much Is Medical School Tuition in New York?

So, how much does medical school cost in New York?

New York Tuition Costs (2023 Data From MSAR)

New York Medical School

Yearly Tuition In-State

Yearly Tuition Out-of-State

Albany Medical College

$57,723

Albert Einstein College of Medicine

$63,473

Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

$73,501

CUNY School of Medicine

$41,912

$69,572

Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell

$58,325

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

$66,446

Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo

$48,238

$70,368

New York Medical College

$63,824

NYU Grossman School of Medicine

$4,150

NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine

$4,350

Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University

$49,464

$71,594

State University of New York Upstate Medical University Alan and Marlene Norton College of Medicine

$45,213

$66,703

SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine

$45,713

$67,843

University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry

$71,677

Weill Cornell Medical College

$71,900

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine Elmira Campus

$44,365

New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine

$66,050

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine

$66,600

View the most recent AAMC tuition data.

Additional fees not included.

There are also many other financial factors to consider, including housing, transportation, food, exercise, and events. Unfortunately, New York has the 4th highest cost of living in the US.

You must also consider the cost of medical school applications, which compound quickly across primary fees, secondary fees, exam fees, study resources, matriculation fees, and interview travel costs. Learn more: How Much Do Med School Applications Cost? The Full Price Analyzed.

In-State vs Out-of-State Preference

New York Medical School	In-State Applicants	Out-of-State Applicants	In-State Matriculants	Out-of-State Matriculants
Albany Medical College	2052	11,195	41	102
Albert Einstein College of Medicine	1783	7167	90	92
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons	1077	5711	24	114
CUNY School of Medicine	702	176	75	0
Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell	1551	3467	64	35
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai	1441	6531	32	86
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo	2146	3862	165	17
New York Medical College	2102	7998	125	83
NYU Grossman School of Medicine	1150	6619	7	93
NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine	1072	2692	11	12
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University	2027	2838	105	27
State University of New York Upstate Medical University Alan and Marlene Norton College of Medicine	2182	2791	135	37
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine	2435	4438	177	30
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry	1344	4833	27	76
Weill Cornell Medical College	1231	5542	32	71

Please note that CUNY School of Medicine is a BS/MD program only available to high schoolers.

Because there are so many schools in New York State, you’ll find a variety of in-state vs. out-of-state preference.

NYU Grossman School of Medicine, for example, does not at all favor in-state applicants, with only 7 matriculants compared to 93 out-of-state matriculants. Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Icahn School of Medicine, University of Rochester, and Weill Cornell also don’t favor in-state applicants.

In contrast, schools like Jacobs School of Medicine, Renaissance School of Medicine, SUNY Upstate, and SUNY Downstate heavily favor in-state applicants and offer significantly lower tuition costs for in-state matriculants.

For more tips on applying to out-of-state schools, check out our guide: Applying to Out-of-State Medical Schools — What You Need to Know.

What It’s Like to Go to Medical School in New York

What it’s like to go to medical school in New York varies considerably depending on whether or not your school is located in New York City or New York State.

New York City is the most diverse city in the country. Over 700 languages are spoken on a daily basis, making it the most linguistically diverse city in the history of the world.

NYC has some of the best attractions, art galleries, and museums in the world. In fact, the city that never sleeps is home to 83 museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art (also known as the MET), which at 2 million square feet, is among the five largest museums in the world. It’s also home to the New York Public Library, which is the second largest library in the US (after the Library of Congress) and the fourth largest in the world.

As far as attractions go, NYC is home to the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, Central Park, Madison Square Garden, and Broadway. It also has 71 Michelin starred restaurants—though on a student’s budget, this may have little relevance to you. While NYC is certainly an urban jungle, there’s a lot more nature than you may expect. Central Park is nearly 850 acres itself, and it’s far from the only park and greenspace—there are over 1700 parks in NYC!

You also don’t need a car to live in NYC as the city’s public transportation is strong with an efficient, if crowded, subway, train, and bus system.

But of course, there are some downsides.

NYC is very crowded and very dirty. Due to its high population and lack of accessible garbage cans, piles of litter in the streets are very common. This is exacerbated during the summer. Summers can get extremely humid and muggy, which makes everything smell that much worse. The trash and the heat also brings out the rats. While the smell isn’t as bad in the winter, that’s only because NYC winters are bone-chilling and full of snow.

The homeless population in NYC is also very high. Homelessness in New York City has reached the highest level since the Great Depression. It’s estimated that more than 350,000 people were without homes in NYC in June 2024. This is primarily due to the astronomical cost of living. Housing simply isn’t affordable for people who don’t earn six figure salaries.

And then there’s the crime. While crime rates are higher in other cities across the US, based on population, NYC is still a hugely densely populated city. And in large cities, more crime is to be expected. Our expert contributor for this guide shared a number of anecdotes that involved brazen crimes being committed in full view of many bystanders, including muggings, apartment break ins, and random assaults in broad daylight.

New York State, on the other hand, is quite a bit different than the Big Apple. The pace of life is much slower, and the landscape is more rural, full of forests, farmer’s fields, rivers, lakes, such as Lake George, Lake Ontario, and Lake Erie, and mountains, including the Catskill Mountains and Adirondack Mountains. In fact, Adirondack Park is the largest park in the US outside of Alaska.

The Adirondacks offer hiking and whitewater rafting in and around Lake Placid, and the Catskills offer fly fishing in its many rivers. New York State has 2000 miles of hiking and biking trails and millions of acres of protected wilderness, so if you’re an outdoor enthusiast, you’ll find plenty to love in New York State.

But of course, to access this nature, you’ll need to own a car. So, while you’ll save money on rent, food, and activities, you’ll also have to deal with car payments.

How to Apply to New York Medical Schools (MD)

You’ll use AMCAS, the American Medical College Application Service, to apply to any allopathic (MD) medical school in New York.

AMCAS is the centralized medical school application processing service. You only need to submit one primary application to the service and it will send your application to as many medical schools as you apply to.

If you are only applying to osteopathic medical schools in New York, skip to the next section, which outlines the DO application process for applying using AACOMAS.

Here’s what you need to know about applying to MD med schools in New York.

1 | AMCAS Application Requirements

Your primary application has many different components, such as your college transcripts, MCAT score, personal statement, letters of recommendation, and Work and Activities section—and each is vital to your acceptance.

Depending on which schools you’re applying to, you may also need to complete a situational judgment test, such as **the Acuity Insights’ Casper test, the PREview exam, or both.

Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, New York Medical College, and Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University all **require a Casper test, but none require Duet.

No New York medical schools currently require a PREview exam, but many schools are using PREview data for research purposes, which may mean they plan to adopt the test in the future. View the full list of schools requiring Casper and schools requiring AAMC PREview.

A school’s requirements can change from year-to-year, so always check and double-check what each school you’re planning to apply to requires well before application season and leading up to your submission to ensure nothing is missed.

Our Casper Test Guide and AAMC PREview Guide have everything you need to know about these tests. When it comes time to prepare, utilize our Casper and PREview AI courses, which generate instant feedback, including emotion detection analysis and immediate personalized evaluation. These courses include unlimited practice problems, so you’ll have endless opportunities to adapt to various scenarios, refine your skills, and deeply understand the nuances of both exams.

Secondary application requests generally come through two to four weeks after submitting your primary application. Expect to receive secondaries from most or all of the schools you apply to. Contrary to your primary application, each secondary must be submitted to each school separately.

If your secondary impresses the admissions committee, you’ll receive an interview. Interview season runs from September into the following year.

The complete application process explained: How to Get Into Medical School.

2 | Application Deadlines

In addition to refining the many essential components of your application, you must also pay close attention to key dates and deadlines if you hope to be accepted.

The AMCAS application opens during the first week of May, and submissions start at the end of May or early June. If you want to start medical school in the fall of 2026, you need to begin the application process in the spring of 2025.

While each school has its own technical deadlines, for the most part, these should be ignored. The reason for this is applications are reviewed on a rolling (continuous) basis, meaning admissions committees consider applications in the order they receive them. This means the first people to submit their primary application will receive the first secondaries. The first to submit their secondaries receive the first interviews. The first people interviewed receive the first acceptances.

Therefore, the longer you delay any step of your application, the worse your chances of acceptance.

Here’s what you should be working on month-by-month: Medical School Application Timeline and Monthly Schedule. (Updated every application cycle.)

How to Apply to Osteopathic Medical Schools in New York

While the process for applying to osteopathic (DO) medical schools in New York and the rest of the country is much the same as MD schools, you must use a different application service.

Instead of applying through AMCAS, you’ll apply through the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service (AACOMAS). Just like the AMCAS application, the DO primary is made up of your transcripts, MCAT score, personal statement, letters of recommendation, and an experiences and achievements section.

Although the process is largely the same, there are a few key differences between the MD and DO application. Namely, the DO application is centered around osteopathic medicine. Therefore, your personal statement won’t be about why you want to be a doctor, but about why you want to be an osteopathic doctor specifically. Similarly, you must also include at least one letter of evaluation from a DO.

To be a competitive applicant, you must illustrate a deep knowledge of and passion for osteopathy.

In addition, the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in Harlem, NY requires applicants to complete both aspects of Acuity Insights—the Casper exam as well as Duet.

Casper is a computer-based situational judgment test that evaluates who you are beyond your hard skills, focusing instead on soft skills like empathy, communication, ethical decision making, and bedside manner. Duet is a value-alignment assessment that compares and contrasts what applicants value most in a program to what programs have to offer.

Learn more about the DO application process: AACOMAS Application Guide for DO Schools.

Acceptance at New York Medical Schools

1 | Understand the Cost

If you are planning on attending medical school in New York City, it’s imperative that you understand how expensive it is to live there. New York City is the most expensive city in the entire United States.

The cost of living in Manhattan is more than twice the national average. For some extra perspective, coming in second is Honolulu, Hawaii, and coming in third is San Jose, California. However, Manhattan is 24% more expensive than Honolulu and 30% more expensive than San Jose.

Depending on the source, the average cost of a 1 bedroom apartment is anywhere from $3500 to $4500 a month. A 2 bedroom is closer to $5500, so even if you had a roommate, you’re still looking at $2500-$3000 for rent alone.

On top of your tuition and the cost of applying to medical school, rent, food—everything is more expensive in New York City, so your day-to-day expenses will skyrocket. It may be a magical place to live, but a New York state of mind will cost you, and you’ll need to plan ahead for these costs.

2 | Research City Differences

New York City is not the only city in New York State—far from it. New York State is 54,500 square miles, and only 302 of them are part of NYC. That’s 0.5% of the square miles of New York State.

In contrast to the urban jungle of NYC, New York State’s landscape is dominated by forests, rivers, farms, meadows, mountains, and lakes. And the cost of living is extremely different across the state. Manhattan is the most expensive place to live in all of the US, whereas the cost of living is reduced by nearly half that of New York City in Buffalo or Rochester.

Additionally, the patient populations you interact with will vary from one city to the next, as well as the support available to those populations. Take time in your early research phase to better understand the demographics of each area where you’re considering applying to medical school.

What’s most important to you, and what do you want to get out of your education? Do you want to work in large hospitals that treat rare and unique conditions, or do you want a smaller, more laid back rural atmosphere? Do you have a passion for contributing to groundbreaking research, or have you always dreamed of helping underserved communities?

Bottom Line: Is Going to Medical School in New York Right for You?

Medical schools in New York offer state-of-the-art research facilities and the most diverse patient population in the entire country.

But beyond the medical program, curriculum, and school resources, it matters if you actually enjoy the community and environment you’ll call home for four or more years.

Pros of Medical School in New York

NYC has the most diverse patients in the country, not only in the diseases that you may never see elsewhere but also in the patients’ backgrounds
NYC has an excellent public transportation system
NYC has one of the best culinary scenes in the world
NYC has dozens of iconic sites and monuments, including the Statue of Liberty
NYC has Broadway and off Broadway shows
NYC has over 80 museums
In NYC, you can see the Yankees play at Yankee Stadium
NYC has access to nature (over 1700 parks!)
Beautiful scenery in New York State
You get to experience all four seasons

Cons of Medical School in New York

The cost of living in NYC is astronomical
NYC is very dirty
NYC has a lot of homeless people
Summers are extremely humid and muggy
Winters are frigid and snowy
NYC is noisy (the city never sleeps!)
NYC has a high crime rate

New York offers just about everything, from the impossible hustle and bustle of New York City to the serene beauty of the Great Lakes to the rolling green hills of the Adirondack Mountains to some of the best medical schools in the country—there’s something for everyone in New York. Whether you’re dying to live in the bright lights of New York City or prefer the laid back environment of New York State—“Welcome to New York, it’s been waiting for you!”

Learn more: How to Decide Which Medical Schools to Apply to (12 Important Factors).

What Adcoms Are Looking For

No matter the states you choose to apply to, admissions committees are looking for resilient, professional, and versatile students who will actively contribute to the student body of their school. Leave any checkbox mentality at the door. It’s imperative that you demonstrate why you are an ideal fit for the schools you apply to and what specifically you can offer the program to help fulfill its mission.

Med School Insiders can help you design a narrative-driven application that will impress adcoms at New York medical schools, as well as any schools at the top of your list. We have a range of services to help you craft a well-rounded application, from one-on-one guidance to application editing to mock interviews to our Ultimate Research Course.

Our services are tailored to meet the needs of each student because we understand that every applicant is unique. Learn more about our comprehensive medical school application packages.

**Sign up for our newsletter and follow our blog for the latest medical school application news, guides, and study strategies.**

Thank you to Danny Liaw, MD, for being our Insider contributor for this guide.