10 Easiest Medical Schools to Get Into Out of State

If you were considering applying to one of the easiest medical schools to get into out of state, you’re not alone.  Getting into college is tough.  You’ve got a mountain of paperwork to sort through, essays to write, letters of recommendation to solicit, and on top of it all vaunted standardized test score thresholds to reach.  That’s to say nothing of the arbitrary grade point average requirements that most schools impose on their applicants.  I’m getting PTSD just thinking about the hurdles I had to jump through when I was applying to schools.

With all of that being said, if getting into college is tough, getting into graduate school is even tougher.  You’ve got added paperwork to complete, more stringent grade and test score requirements, additional essays to compose in which you’ve effectively got to sell yourself to anyone who’s willing to buy, and on top of it all, the novel addition of nerve-wracking interviews with admission boards.  

Though I haven’t personally opted for the graduate school route just yet, I envision the process of applying as compared to that of applying to college as something similar to what professional athletes encounter when they want to make the jump to a more competitive league.  That’s to say that in much the same way that the gatekeepers of a more competitive league impose exacting standards on all who would try their hand at gaining access, admission boards to graduate schools do everything within their power to make sure that only the best of the best make it through their ever-finer sieve of requirements.

But even that analogy is somewhat fraught.  Professional athletes (or those on the way to becoming professional athletes) are already known.  The same is true for high school athletes on their way to competing at the college level.  They don’t need to sell themselves or provide evidence of their worthiness to anyone.  On the contrary, they have people beating down their door for the chance at having them provide their services at their university or for their professional club.  The only thing they really share in common with graduate school applicants is the fact that the competition becomes stiffer as they ascend the ranks.

And if college is ‘tough,’ and graduate school ‘tougher,’ getting into medical school these days is pretty much impossible.  All of the aforementioned requirements still exist, but with a significantly lower margin for error applied to all of those seeking admission.  Admission rates themselves (in the nation’s top programs) often hover at less than 5%, despite the fact that schools receive applications from thousands of comers each year.  Your academic resume must be sterling, the terms in which your references speak about you: glowing, and your test scores seemingly flawless.  

What can you say?  Just as the NBA only wants the best dribblers, passers, shooters, and defenders, med schools, too, only want the best and the brightest.

Assuming you have all of the aforementioned criteria going for you, the sobering truth remains that you still may not be able to gain admission to the program on which you had your sights set.  It’s a well-known fact among applicants everywhere that many schools give preferential treatment to a certain pool of applicants over others.  These applicants may be legacy students, those whose parents, grandparents, siblings, or other relatives attended, or those who are geographically representative of the school’s location: in-state students.  

For out-of-state students, this can serve as a tremendous disadvantage, which makes the task of applying and gaining admission to certain medical school programs downright Sisyphean.  There you are: having made it all the way to the top of the med school application mountain only to slide right back down once confronted with the unaccounted for the prospect of going up against the slightly-buffered in-state applicants that are also seeking admission.

Because of all of this, we decided to cobble together a list of medical schools that we believe are likely to be most forgiving to out-of-state applicants. The list of easiest medical schools to get into. To do so, we had to do a bit of filtering of our own to whittle down a massive list of potential programs to something significantly more manageable.  In the interest reaching that goal, we started with a list of medical schools with a higher-than-normal acceptance rate for applicants.  From there, it hit us: private schools are likely to be a lot more forgiving to out-of-state applicants than would public, state schools.  The only problem with that logic is that private schools are also a lot more competitive in terms of acceptance rates than are public schools.  What resulted was a bit of bending on our part to allow public schools that interview a lot of out-of-state applicants ultimately resulting in the following list: a combination of schools that boast either more inviting admissions rates or that don’t discriminate against out-of-state applicants.

For those that may have previously been put off by the medical school application process for any of the aforementioned reasons, rest assured that there’s still hope.  Though it will still be an uphill battle, getting into med school just got a whole lot easier.  Take a look at the list below and see what you think.  If you find it to be of interest, you may also want to check out our list of the Easiest Doctor of Osteopathy Schools to Get Into.  

Whatever the medical discipline in which you’re looking to specialize, getting into med school is the first step.  Why make the process harder than it needs to be?  Consider applying to one of the easiest medical schools to get into out of state!

 

10. Ponce School of Medicine

As part of Ponce Health Science University, the Ponce School of Medicine, one of the easiest medical schools to get into out of state, provides a viable out of state option for students looking to receive a solid medical school education outside of the mainland United States.  Located in Ponce, Puerto Rico, the medical school itself maintains a small first-year class size of just under 70 students while attracting applicants from all walks of life.  Founded in 1980, the school’s main program offering is a doctor of medicine (MD) degree–a program which features groundbreaking research in basic, public health, clinical sciences, and behavioral research.

 

9. Universidad Central del Caribe School of Medicine

With an admission rate slightly higher than that of the Ponce School of Medicine, Universidad Central del Caribe, located in Bayamon, Puerto Rico admits about 7% of all comers, while maintaining class sizes similar to those that one might find at Ponce. Having recently celebrated its 40th anniversary, the school boasts a seasoning not found in many other medical schools of its size, including accreditations from the  Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the Council on Higher Education of Puerto Rico, the Committee on Allied Health Education of the American Medical Association, and the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME).

 

8. San Juan Bautista School of Medicine

Rounding out our list of Puerto Rico-based institutions that are among the easiest medical schools to get into out of state is the San Juan Bautista School of Medicine, located in Caguas.  The acceptance rate for would-be applicants is slightly higher than that of its Puerto Rican counterparts on this list, though its first-year class size is roughly the same.  Academically, the school offers three distinct degree programs, including the Masters in Public Health (M.P.H.), the Bachelor of Sciences in Nursing, and the Doctor of Medicine (MD).

 

7. Mercer School of Medicine

With an acceptance rate of over 10%, the Mercer School of Medicine, one of the easiest medical schools to get into out of state, based in Macon, Georgia, features community-style class sizes of over 100 students for first-year residents.  Accepted applicants will benefit from a clinically-oriented curriculum that features numerous hands-on learning opportunities.  Apart from this, students can take advantage of an ever-growing alumni network available at their fingertips with over 60% of MD graduates practicing within the state of Georgia.

 

6. University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine

With an acceptance rate that’s even higher than Mercer’s, the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine represents yet another option among the easiest medical schools to get into out of state.  Accompanying those heightened acceptance rates, are larger class sizes, but those that are admitted enjoy access to 13 associated hospitals and can take part in student outreach activities such as the Sojourner Free Health Clinic, which offers outpatient services to underserved adult populations in the Kansas City area on Sundays.

 

5. Eastern Virginia Medical School

Located in Norfolk, Virginia, Eastern Virginia Medical school offers an intriguing option to out-of-state applicants, as over 60% of candidates interviewed for admission come from out of state.  Of those interviewed, 49% wind up being from out of state and are able to enjoy access to six different degree program tracks, under which a wide range of accredited residencies and fellowships are available.  EVMS was recently ranked 60th among all medical schools by US News and World Report for their cutting-edge primary care services.

 

4. University of Virginia School of Medicine

Another enticing option for out-of-state applicants looking to attend a Virginia-based medical school is the University of Virginia School of Medicine, number 4 on our list of  easiest medical schools to get into out of state. To be sure, it’s one of the more competitive schools on the list, but the school does make a point of reaching out to out-of-state applicants, with over 70% of candidates interviewed coming from outside Virginia.  With nearly 200 years of history at its back, the school has gained quite a reputation for excellence.  In 2016, US News and World Report ranked Virginia 28th in the nation for research and 25th for primary care.  Apart from this, admitted applicants are able to enjoy a unique “Next Generation” curriculum, access to six different research centers, and an alumni base loaded with accomplished doctors, scientists, and researchers.

 

3. University of Michigan Medical School

Ranked 12th in research and 8th in primary care by US News and World Report, the University of Michigan represents yet another top-tier school among the easiest medical schools to get into out of state.  The admissions process is a bit difficult, though a silver lining exists in the form of a 70% out-of-state interview rate among applicants.  Those admitted enjoy access to over 40 health centers and home care services throughout southeast Michigan, as well as clinical training in major facilities such as the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, the Von Voigtlander Women’s hospital, and many others.

 

2. West Virginia School of Medicine

The West Virginia School of Medicine is an absolute haven for out-of-state applicants.  Though actual admission rates are relatively low in comparison to similar medical schools, West Virginia receives over 90% of its applications from out-of-state comers, with nearly 85% of those receiving interviews also non-West Virginia residents.  Those admitted enjoy residency offerings in 20 different disciplines, ranging from anesthesiology to urology, while also being afforded the opportunity to utilize a number of state of the art facilities in and around the Morgantown-based campus.

 

1. University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine

Three stats stand out when considering the University of Vermont College of Medicine as one of the easiest medical schools to get into out of state.  First, of the over 5,300 students to apply, 98% were residents of a state other than Vermont.  As would logically follow, 87% of those that applied and received interviews were from states other than Vermont.  Finally, just over 114 students accepted admission to the University of Vermont in their most recent admissions cycle.  Of those that gained and accepted admission, over 70% were out-of-state applicants.  Simply put, the University of Vermont College of Medicine is in a league of its own as it relates to attracting and ultimately admitting students from out of state.