Pre-Medicine
76% Cornell med school acceptance rate
40% National med school acceptance rate
The Berry Career Institute tracks professional school acceptances utilizing data from the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service (AACOMAS). Cornell’s medical school acceptance rate (since tracking began, in 2008, through 2020) is 76% when including reapplicants The national average acceptance rate for those years is 40%.
If you’re a current student at Cornell, schedule your appointment with the Associate Director of Dimensions to get started planning your future career in medicine.
Preparing for medical school
Choose a major
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Biochemistry and molecular biology
These majors are good choices and are our most popular for pre-meds since they help satisfy most prerequisites for medical school. However, you may consider another major instead. You strengthen your application if you double major in biochemistry and molecular biology with something outside of the natural sciences because it sets you apart from other applicants.
Complete your prerequisite coursework
Typical prerequisites include
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Organic chemistry
- Statistics
- Psychology
- Anatomy
- Physics
Not all medical schools have the same prerequisites, so in your first or second year, you should meet with the Associate Director of Dimensions, who can help you research the specific prerequisites needed for your desired programs, and can provide access to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Admission Requirements website.
Take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)
Dimensions provides resources, funding, and 1:1 professional support when you are preparing for the MCAT, which is required by all medical schools, and administered by the AAMC. Dimensions provides up to two free Kaplan test prep courses on a competitive basis every year.
Apply to medical schools
Before you begin to apply to medical schools, meet with the Associate Director of Dimensions to plan out the steps necessary for applying.
You will also meet with Cornell’s Health Professions Committee. Cornell’s Health Professions Committee will review your application in its entirety and author a committee letter of recommendation.
If you're interested in learning more about Cornell's pre-medicine program, let us know.