Penn State Medical School Acceptance Rate

Last Updated on June 4, 2024 by Oluwajuwon Alvina

Penn State College of Medicine is known for its highly competitive admissions process, with an acceptance rate of just 1.17%. This selective nature of the school means that only a small percentage of applicants are granted admission each year. In order to be considered for a spot in the medical school, applicants must meet certain GPA and test score requirements.

For admission to Penn State Medical School, applicants are typically required to have a high GPA, with the average for admitted students being 3.89. Additionally, applicants must have a strong SAT or ACT score, with accepted students having an average SAT score of 1570 or a composite score of 36 on the ACT. It is important to note that Penn State is test-optional through fall 2024, so applicants have the option to submit test scores or not.

The admission process at Penn State College of Medicine involves submitting a verified application, meeting the GPA and test score requirements, and possibly being invited for an interview. With such a low acceptance rate, prospective students should be well-prepared and meet all necessary criteria in order to increase their chances of being admitted to this prestigious medical school.

We want you to know that we’re not just looking for people who can recite facts or memorize procedures—we want people who can think critically and work well with others too. While we want our students to be highly intelligent and well-read, we also want them to be experts in what it means to act like professionals inside and outside the classroom.

The application/accept figures for the past several years show that of all students across the University who applied for medical school admission, about 60% were accepted. If you consider just the junior year undergraduate students who applied, about 65% were accepted. And finally, in looking at just the undergraduate Premedicine majors who applied, about 70% were accepted. These above figures compare with an overall national accept rate of about 40%.

Prerequisites for Admission

Penn State College of Medicine is committed to developing tomorrow’s diverse group of humanistic, systems-thinking physicians who will serve people in times of health and in times of illness. We seek strong applicants who come to medicine with a passion to serve and a commitment to excellence and life-long learning. In today’s rapidly changing healthcare environment, physicians must acquire a depth of understanding in the life sciences, humanities, clinical sciences and health system sciences. We seek students who bring a full, rigorous and holistic background of study and experiences to medical school and who are poised for the depth and breadth of learning demanded for tomorrow’s physician scholars and leaders.

We accept students in good standing who will be graduates of accredited colleges and universities in the U.S. or Canada before matriculation to Penn State College of Medicine. There are no restrictions on the type of major a student chooses. The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is required and used along with other data to predict success in our educational program. Completion of the CASPer Test for personal characteristics is also required for submission of the application. Applicants invited for interview are required to complete the AAMC Video Interview Tool for Admissions (VITA). Information about the CASPer Test and VITA can be found in the “Admissions and Interview Process” section.

Prerequisite Preparation For Admission

Penn State College of Medicine recognizes that its applicants bring varied and rich undergraduate academic and personal experiences to their admissions credentials. In order to acknowledge the diversity and flexibility of of our applicants’ preparation, we have chosen to describe the competencies we expect of our students at the time of entry into medical school. Instead of listing prerequisite course requirements, we describe required competencies that will most often be met through traditional and/or newly established interdisciplinary courses of study in an accredited institution of higher learning. We define competency as the acquired knowledge to solve problems in the discipline. Applicants will indicate whether the acquired competency was obtained by course work or other activity such as research or work. Competitive applicants should demonstrate competency in each of the following five areas adapted from the MCAT description:

• Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems: The contribution of biomolecules to the structure and function of cells; the interaction of molecules, cells and organs in carrying out the functions of living organisms; the interplay of complex systems, tissues and organs in sensing internal and external environments and maintaining internal environment stability in the setting of changing external environments.
• Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems: Application of physical principles to explain how complex living organisms transport materials, sense their environment, process signals and respond to changes; use of principles that govern chemical interactions and reactions to form the basis for the molecular dynamics of living systems.
• Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations of Behavior: Biological, psychological and sociocultural factors that influence how individuals perceive, think about and react to the world; how they influence behavior and behavior change;how we think about ourselves and interact with others; and how they influence well-being and access to resources that influence well-being.
• Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills: Comprehension of texts, extrapolating ideas to new contexts; assessing the impact of introducing new factors, information or conditions to ideas from the text.
• Scientific Inquiry and Thinking & Reasoning: Knowledge of scientific principles, scientific reasoning and problem-solving; reasoning about the design and execution of research; data-based statistical reasoning; and general mathematical concepts and techniques.

Mastery of competencies is reflected by a strong performance in the classroom and on the MCAT, knowledge gained from formative experiences, and letters of reference. Applicants should have engaged in-depth study based on the AAMC-HHMI Scientific Foundations for Future Physicians and AAMC-Behavioral and Social Science Foundations for Future Physicians.

In addition to the above science and thinking and reasoning competencies, Penn State College of Medicine expects applicants to demonstrate achievement of interpersonal and intrapersonal competencies. The following competencies are derived from the interpersonal and intrapersonal descriptions within the AAMC Core Competencies for Entering Medical Students.

• Interpersonal: Desire to help others; awareness that social and behavioral cues affect interactions and behaviors; interacts effectively with people from diverse backgrounds; works collaboratively in teams; listens effectively and conveys information clearly.
• Intrapersonal: Behaves in an honest and ethical manner; fulfills obligations in a timely and satisfactory manner; tolerates and adapts to stressful or changing environments; sets for continuous improvement; reflects on actions and solicits feedback.

Coursework and Experience

Students can accomplish their learning in other ways. Alternative methods of preparation, in combination with coursework, might include research or employment experiences. The most common methods of becoming competent in the science, thinking and reasoning, interpersonal and intrapersonal competencies will be formal coursework and personal experiences.

Pennsylvania State University is the best university in the state of Pennsylvania in academics, research and graduate education. Established in 1855, currently, the university enrols 88,914 students. Around 10% of the total students enrolled in the undergraduate programs at Pennsylvania State University are of international origin. Commonly known as Penn State, the university demonstrates an acceptance rate of 54%.

With a huge research endowment of 993 million USD including 610 million USD from Federal grants, the university is one of the top research institutes in the USA. 18 disciplines of the university are ranked among top 10 in the USA for research expenditures. 

Likes:

• Campus: Upenn has a huge campus with a comprehensive list of amenities. These includes athletic facilities, cultural institutions, healthcare and dining. 
• Scholarship Opportunities: Pennsylvania State University manifests a financial endowment of over 3.6 billion USD. Nearly 50% students of the university receive some kind of financial assistance from the university to study in USA. International students have to exclusive aids to avail – SIGIS and PSTAG.
• Placement Opportunities: Penn State PhD graduates earn the highest average annual salary of 159,000 USD. Further, the MBA graduates of the university secure a mean salary of 107,000 USD per annum.

Check: High Paying Jobs in USA

Dislikes:

• Enormous Campus: A variety of temptations on campus might distract prospective applicants from academics.
• Cost of Attendance: International students can expect to spend somewhere between 52,000-56,000 USD (~39-42 lakh INR) as a total cost of studying in Pennsylvania State University.

Pennsylvania State University Rankings

• #93 in QS World University Rankings, 2023
• #63 in National Universities by U.S. News and World Report, 2022
• #23 in Top Public Schools by U.S. News and World Report, 2022
• #34 in Most Innovative Schools by U.S. News and World Report, 2022
• #119 in World University Rankings by Times Higher Education, 2022
• #47 in Impact Rankings, 2022 by Times Higher Education.

The subject-specific ranking comparison of Penn-State University with few other universities in USA is given below:

Pennsylvania State University Programs

Pennsylvania State University offers over 160 undergraduate majors, more than 200 minors and 100 undergraduate certificate courses. Besides international students can choose from 190 graduate majors, various minors, and more than 100 certificate programs at graduate level in Penn State. It also offers 11,000 undergraduate certificate courses, postgraduate programs, and doctorate courses through 18 schools and colleges.

Pennsylvania State University Campus

Penn State has 7 on-campus housing complexes on the main campus that can accommodate 35% of its student population.

• The university has 24 campuses spread across Pennsylvania. The main and the largest campus is University Park.
• The Penn State World campus offers more than 60 online programs, degrees and certificates.

Pennsylvania State University Accommodations

Penn State University has housing options on all the campuses. First-year international students mandatorily need to stay on campus. The on-campus housing is offered to the students on a first-come-first-serve basis. The cost of living on-campus is provided in the following table:

Pennsylvania State University Admission

For the last admission cycle, Pennsylvania State University recorded a total admission of 88,914 students. Majority of the applications were for undergraduate degrees with 73,476 students. Postgraduate programs recorded an enrollment of more than 15,000 students.

Pennsylvania State University Enrollment Statistics by Years

Source: Penn State University

Pennsylvania State University Application Process

Application Portal: Applications for both UG and graduate programs must be submitted on the official website of the university – MyPennState
Application Fee: 75 USD (5,912 INR)

​Undergraduate ​Admission Requirements:

• Official transcripts
• Personal statement
• GPA: 3.59/4 ~ 91% (recommended)
• SAT/ACT scores (test-optional)
• English language test scores – TOEFL, IELTS
• Portfolio (if applicable)
• Standardized test scores

Postgraduate Admission Requirements:

• Academic transcripts
• GMAT/GRE scores
• SOP
• English language proficiency test scores
  • TOEFL iBT: 80
  • IELTS: 6.5
• Essays
• LOR
• Resume
• Passport

Pennsylvania State University Cost of Attendance

Students have to prepare themselves for tuition costs and living costs for Pennsylvania State University’s cost of attendance. The total expense can go up to 46 lakhs a year depending on the lifestyles of students. The estimated average annual cost of attendance of studying at Penn State University is tabulated below:

Pennsylvania State University Scholarships

Pennsylvania State University offers financial aids in the form of scholarships, grants, loans and work-study programs. International students are not eligible for any federal or state aids.

• Penn State University provides two scholarships exclusively for international students – The Special International Grant-in-Aid (SIGIA) and Penn State Tuition Assistance Grant (PSTAG).
• These scholarships grant up to 2,000 USD (1.58 lakhs).
• 46% students of the university receive some form of financial aid.T

Pennsylvania State University Alumni

Penn State has over 645,000 people in its alumni network worldwide. These alumni enjoy the following benefits offered by the university:

• Access and invitations for athletic, cultural, educational events
• Access to The Penn Stater and AlumnInsider
• Discounts on the alumni tours, worldwide vacation rents, healthcare centres, home, car, health, auto, life insurance
• Financial services and alumni career services.

Penn State University Notable Alumni:

• Ty Burrell – Actor
• Jonathan Frakes – Actor
• Lara Spencer – T.V. Presenter
• Adam McKay – Film Director

Pennsylvania State University Placement

Pennsylvania State University offer excellent placement opportunities to its international students. Graduates working in Compliance, AML, KYC, and Monitoring earn the highest average annual salary of 195,000 USD (1.54 cr). 

The average salary of Pennsylvania State University graduates according to their respective degrees are as follows:

Penn State is a highly popular institute offering admission to international students in USA. The university maintains a standard quality of education with candidates exhibiting a minimum GPA of 3.59 (~93-96%) on a scale of 4.0. The public land grant research university has its only private ‘Ivy League’ competitor University of Pennsylvania in the state.