Which are the best medical schools in New York? Learn admissions statistics, New York medical school rankings, and strategies to get into your top-choice program

An aerial shot of Central Park and Manhattan — There are 17 medical schools in new york

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: List of medical schools in New York: 2023 rankings & admissions statistics

Part 3: New York medical school profiles

Part 3: New York medical school admissions strategies

Appendix A: New York medical schools by degree type

Appendix B: New York medical schools by institution type

Appendix C: New York medical schools by region

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Part 1: Introduction

Getting into medical schools in New York is no easy feat. Given its cultural cachet, large population, and many excellent schools, it’s no surprise that New York is one of the most popular places to pursue a medical education. Despite being the fourth-most populous state in the country, New York has the largest number of medical schools of any state (18), beating out the 16 medical schools in California, 15 medical schools in Texas, and 10 medical schools in Florida.

With 18 different programs come 18 different missions to help you develop into the physician you want to be. For example, the Zucker School of Medicine has developed a formal Humanities in Medicine Program, where students are encouraged to partake in humanities experiences (e.g., arts, literature, history) to help broaden their perspectives to truly understand the impact that illness can have on patients’ lives.

In this guide, we’ll discuss unique approaches to help your application stand out from thousands of others when applying to New York medical schools. But first, let’s start with an introduction of all the programs and important admissions statistics so you can see what you’re up against.

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Part 2: List of medical schools in New York: 2023 rankings & admissions statistics

To make the research easier on your end, we’ve curated the most relevant information about each New York medical school to help you understand the admissions landscape throughout the state. If you would like to view stats for schools outside New York, you can also peruse the average GPA and MCAT score for every medical school.

No matter the type of applicant you are, it’s important to note the trends underlying medical school admissions in New York. After analyzing the data from the 18 programs in New York, we noticed the following:

New York medical schools boast high rankings from U.S. News (Research). In the 2023 rankings, one is in the top 5, four are in the top 20, seven are in the top 50, and eleven are in the top 100.
Tuition and fees at New York medical schools are steep; the majority of tuition costs hover around $60,000. Of note: many programs in New York are private and therefore charge in-state and out-of-state students the same amount.
The majority of schools, particularly private schools, are out-of-state friendly. (Note: In-state vs. out-of-state interview rates were not found for four schools.)

Numbers in parentheses reflect each medical school’s national ranking, whereas numbers outside parentheses reflect each New York medical school’s relative rank. Relative rankings help us to answer the question, “Which are the ‘best’ medicals school in New York?”

(Note: We strongly advise you to sign up for MSAR for the most up-to-date and comprehensive data on individual MD programs and to sign up for Choose DO for DO program data.)

New York Medical Schools	U.S. News Ranking	Location	Degree	Year Est.	Annual Tuition & Fees	Avg. GPA	Avg. MCAT	Interview Rate	First-Year Class Size
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons	1 (4)	New York	MD	1767	$78,052 IS $78,052 OOS	3.90	522	11.1%	140 (17.4% IS)
NYU Grossman School of Medicne	2 (10 [tie])	New York	MD	1841	$4,150 IS $4,150 OOS	3.97	523	10% OOS	100 (7% IS)
Weill Cornell Medical College	2 (10 [tie])	New York	MD	1898	$78,709 IS $78,709 OOS	3.91	519	11%	106 (30.2% IS)
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai	4 (18)	New York	MD	1963	$72,614 IS $72,614 OOS	3.81	519	10.5%	120 (26.7% IS)
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry	5 (32 [tie])	Rochester	MD	1921	$75,289 IS $75,289 OOS	3.82	516	11.2% IS 10.6% OOS	105 (26% IS)
Albert Einstein College of Medicine	6 (42 [tie])	New York	MD	1953	$69,673 IS $69,673 OOS	3.82	516	10.5%	183 (49.2% IS)
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University*	7 (58 [tie])	Stony Brook	MD	1971	$54,744 IS $76,874 OOS	3.89	NA (Matriculants had scores in 90th percentile)	21.1% IS 11.4% OOS	136 (77.2% IS)
Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell	8 (68 [tie])	Hempstead	MD	2008	$64,215 IS $64,215 OOS	3.86	518	21.7% IS 11.7% OOS	99 (64.6% IS)
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo*	9 (76 [tie])	Buffalo	MD	1846	$51,141 IS $73,271 OOS	3.58	507	9.87% (Approximately 600 applicants interviewed per year)	184 (88.0% IS)
SUNY Upstate Medical University Alan and Marlene Norton College of Medicine*	10 (88 [tie])	Syracuse	MD	1950	$50,114 IS $71,604 OOS	3.64	509.86	14.23% (Approximately 800 applicants interviewed each year)	171 (71.3% IS)
NYU Long Island School of Medicine	11 (92)	Mineola	MD	2018	$4,350 IS $4,350 OOS	3.8	516	NA	24 (50% IS)
New York Medical College	12 (101 [tie])	Valhalla	MD	1860	$70,454 IS $70,454 OOS	3.60	514	9.46% (Approximately 1000 applicants interviewed each year)	220 (57.7% IS)
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine Elmira Campus	13 (118–130)	Elmira	DO	2020	$42,660 IS $42,660 OOS	3.41	503	NA	145 (100% IS)
Albany Medical College	14 (UR)	Albany	MD	1839	$63,369 IS $63,369 OOS	3.70	510	NA	143 (28.7% IS)
CUNY School of Medicine*	15 (UR)	New York	BS/MD	2015	$41,912 IS $69,572 OOS	NA	NA	NA	75 (100% IS)
New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine	16 (UR)	Long Island	DO	1977	$65,730 IS $$65,730 OOS	3.62	506	NA
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine*	17 (UR)	Brooklyn	MD	1860	$50,105 IS $72,235 OOS	3.73	513	NA	207 (85.5% IS)
Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (Middletown Campus / Harlem Campus)	18 (UR)	New York	DO	2007	$64,240 IS $64,240 OOS	3.48 / 3.47	502.68 / 506.75	NA	135

*Public medical schools in New York | UR: Unranked | IS: In-state | OOS: Out-of-state | NA: Not available

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Part 3: New York medical school profiles

Now that you’re familiar with the admissions landscape for New York medical schools, we’ll go over what each school is known for and what makes it unique. It probably goes without saying that medical schools differ in ways other than how difficult they are to get into. Location, curriculum, culture, resources, and competitiveness should all be taken into account when choosing the med schools to which you’ll apply.

Albany Medical College

As one of the oldest private medical schools in the nation, Albany Medical College has a well-established history and reputation. Albany shares a campus with the Albany Medical Center Hospital, the busiest Level 1 trauma center in the state and the only academic medical center in northeastern New York—Albany students rotate here and at other nearby facilities, giving them a wide range of clinical experiences. Albany offers a fairly traditional medical school curriculum, and it’s known for its small class sizes, modified pass/fail grading system, and relatively low cost of living as one of just a handful of med schools located outside the New York City metro area.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Located in the Bronx, students at Albert Einstein College of Medicine are able to gain a breadth of clinical experience treating a diverse, underserved patient population. In line with this are Einstein’s emphasis on improving health through community engagement and a longitudinal curriculum theme focused on population health. Einstein students can take advantage of a true pass/fail curriculum and recorded non-mandatory lectures. In addition, Einstein is known for its strong research; all students must complete a scholarly paper based on mentor-guided research in order to graduate.

Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

In 2018, Columbia became the first medical school in the country to replace all loans with scholarships for students qualified for financial aid—this, combined with its top-ten ranking and Ivy League prestige, have made it a highly desirable med school for many. Notable features of Columbia’s curriculum include: non-medical curricular threads, such as public health and biomedical informatics; an emphasis on narrative medicine, a field pioneered at Columbia; a Differentiation & Integration block in which students take electives and pursue a scholarly project; and plenty of other opportunities to take advantage of Columbia’s research might. On the clinical side, Columbia students gain a wide range of experience rotating at many New York City-area hospitals and through the school’s free, student-run clinics. In addition, Columbia offers the Columbia-Bassett track, which focuses on rural medicine.

(Related reading: How to Get Into Columbia Medical School)

CUNY School of Medicine

CUNY School of Medicine is a relatively new med school with a clear mission: to expand access to medical education for students from underserved, underrepresented communities who have limited financial means; and to train primary care physicians who will serve these same communities. It’s important to note that CUNY only offers a seven-year BS/MD program that students can enter as college freshman; there is currently no standalone MD program at CUNY. Due to CUNY’s primary care focus, the med school curriculum has an emphasis on population health and how it affects wellness and disease prevention. Students begin clinical exposure during their three-year undergraduate education, then continue clinical training via rotations throughout the Bronx, Staten Island, Harlem, and Queens.

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Icahn School of Medicine aims to educate ambitious, creative physicians and scientists who will change the face of medicine through innovation and activism. This emphasis on creating change is also visible in its educational philosophy, which it describes as “combining the best traditions of medicine with the principles and entrepreneurial thinking of a startup.” Icahn prides itself on its pass/fail, flexible curriculum (evident in the name of its early assurance program, FlexMed)—for instance, students can elect to take on a year-long scholarly project, and “Flex Time” for self-directed, individualized learning, discovery, and leadership development is built into all four years. Icahn is one of few U.S. med schools embedded in a hospital, thus offering its students top-notch clinical training and excellent research opportunities.

Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo

Alongside Stony Brook, University of Buffalo is one of two public medical schools in New York to earn a U.S. News research ranking. Thus, given the relative affordability of in-state tuition and Buffalo’s low cost of living, students can be assured of the opportunities to partake in strong research and a wide range of clinical training opportunities at an affordable price—especially if they are New York residents. Of note at Buffalo are a new, state-of-the-art medical school facility; clinical exposure and mentorship from a community-based physician beginning in the first year; a Global Medicine Program with opportunities to go overseas; and a medical leadership track.

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine – Elmira Campus

With four campuses across Pennsylvania, Florida, and New York State, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) is the largest medical school in the country. The Elmira campus is the newest, founded to address a doctor shortage in the Southern Tier region; its first class matriculated in 2020. Like the other LECOM campuses, excluding the original Erie, PA location, LECOM Elmira exclusively offers a problem-based learning curriculum, meaning students work in a self-directed fashion, either independently or in small groups. LECOM is located on the campus of Elmira College and boasts brand new facilities. Students rotate at Arnot Ogden Medical Center and other Southern Tier hospitals.

New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine

NYITCOM is an osteopathic medical school on Long Island that’s dedicated to patient-centered, population-based healthcare. In particular, it emphasizes preparing students to practice in inner cities, rural environments, and global locations. NYITCOM also has a second, newer campus in Jonesboro, Arkansas; applicants can indicate if they’d like to be considered for both locations. NYITCOM offers a technology-infused curriculum that incorporates synchronized lectures across campuses, telemedicine, and robotics. In addition, students enjoy a pass/fail curriculum and non-mandatory, streamable lectures.

It should be stated that NYITCOM has faced criticism for a few things in recent years: its large entering class size (typically around 320 students each year), high attrition rate (greater than 10 percent), and loss of many hospital affiliations as more medical schools have opened in and around New York City. Nevertheless, NYITCOM offers rotations at a variety of sites in the New York City metro area each year, allowing students to choose from a diverse range of clinical experiences.

New York Medical College

Located in suburban Westchester County, New York Medical College has the largest entering class size among allopathic medical schools in New York. NYMC emphasizes a humanistic, inclusive approach, which is reflected both in students’ early exposure to community-based primary care and in the school’s history of admitting women and racial minorities as far back as the 1860s. Among NYMC’s offerings are a pass/fail curriculum and the opportunity to participate in exchange programs with medical schools in Japan, Korea, Hungary, and Israel. NYMC shares a campus with Westchester Medical Center and the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital—these hospitals, plus Metropolitan Hospital Center in Harlem, make up NYMC’s primary rotation sites, giving students a wide range of clinical experiences.

(Related reading: How to Get Into New York Medical College)

NYU Grossman School of Medicine

NYU set itself apart from the pack when it announced in 2018 that all accepted students would receive free tuition—already a competitive med school, its applications subsequently increased by nearly 50 percent. Currently a top-five med school, NYU is known both for its excellent clinical training and excellent research. NYU boasts an innovative, flexible curriculum that includes early exposure to clinical medicine, interdisciplinary education, and individualized exploration through scholarly concentrations and intensive electives known as “selectives.” NYU students gain a wide range of clinical training at the NYU Langone Health complex and through their major affiliate hospitals, Bellevue Hospital and the Manhattan VA Hospital. In addition to its traditional four-year MD program, NYU also offers a three-year accelerated MD that allows students to gain early, conditional acceptance to NYU residencies.

(Related reading: How to Get Into NYU Medical School)

NYU Long Island School of Medicine

NYU’s Long Island-based program, known as NYU-LISOM, is a brand new, three-year MD program with a mission to get more physicians working in primary care. Like NYU Grossman, NYU-LISOM offers free tuition, thus making it easier for students to choose the lower-paid primary care specialties. NYU-LISOM is a small program, currently accepting just 24 students per year, though they plan to gradually increase their incoming class size to 40. In preparing students to be leaders in primary care, NYU-LISOM’s curriculum emphasizes integrated care, population health, and health systems science. One perk of attending NYU-LISOM is conditional early acceptance to a residency at NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island.

Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University

The highest-ranked public medical school in New York, Stony Brook’s strengths include strong research, a robust global health program with opportunities to go abroad, a professional identity formation curriculum, and relatively affordable in-state tuition (note: out-of-state students are generally eligible for in-state tuition beginning in the second year). Students train at Stony Brook University Hospital, Long Island’s only tertiary care center and Level 1 trauma center. Stony Brook also offers a Scholarly Concentrations Program, a track that allows med students to pursue scholarship in one of four areas, plus an accelerated, three-year MD program that provides students with conditional acceptance to a Stony Brook residency.

SUNY Upstate Medical University Alan and Marlene Norton College of Medicine

Located in Syracuse, SUNY Upstate’s regionally focused mission aims to improve the health of the communities it serves. In line with this is its Rural Medicine Scholars Program, intended to address the physician shortage in rural parts of Central New York. SUNY Upstate students can take advantage of University Hospital, the only academic medical center and Level 1 trauma center in the region. In addition, SUNY Upstate has a second campus in Binghamton; there, students can gain more interaction with patients and attending physicians in a smaller, community-based setting—around a quarter of each class moves to the Binghamton campus beginning in the third year. Among SUNY Upstate’s offerings are pass/fail grading, optional lectures, an affordable cost of living, and in-state tuition for New York residents.

SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine

As the only academic medical center in culturally diverse Brooklyn, SUNY Downstate offers students excellent clinical training both through its own University Hospital of Brooklyn and its many clinical affiliates. As such, it has a focus on addressing urban-specific medical issues and treating the underserved. Notable features of SUNY Downstate’s curriculum include a variety of integrated pathways that students can choose from (e.g., global health, social determinants of health, and medical education), pass/fail grading, non-mandatory lectures, and early clinical exposure. As a public med school, SUNY Downstate also offers New York residents in-state tuition.

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine operates two campuses in New York: one in Harlem and one in the Hudson Valley. Touro focuses on providing healthcare to underserved communities and strives to achieve this by training physicians who will serve these communities and by increasing the number of physicians who come from underrepresented minority backgrounds. Touro’s curriculum employs a flipped classroom model and emphasizes community service during the pre-clinical years. Depending on which campus they’re based at, Touro students rotate at clinical sites in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut; around 80 percent of Touro’s hospital affiliates are located in underserved rural or urban areas. However, it must be noted that, during the last few years, some have found fault with Touro’s shortage of high-quality rotation sites, as well as its lower-than-average COMLEX II pass rates.

University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry

Rochester is known for its pioneering biopsychosocial educational model, which considers the interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors when treating patients. Similarly, Rochester bills itself as the “Liberal Arts School of Medicine,” emphasizing an interdisciplinary, humanities-focused medical education, with specific pathways available in topics such as medical humanities and bioethics, medical education, and global health. In addition, the school is known for its small class sizes, true pass/fail grading, and excellent research opportunities. Rochester students gain clinical experience beginning in the first year and work with a diverse range of patients, including underserved populations, at the University of Rochester Medical Center, one of the largest medical treatment and research facilities in Upstate New York.

Weill Cornell Medical College

Similar to Columbia, Weill Cornell offers top-tier ranking, Ivy League stature, and debt-free financial aid. What’s unique about Cornell is its progressive curriculum that favors active learning, self-directed inquiry, and small groups over traditional lectures. In addition, Cornell is known for its emphasis on global health and offers opportunities for students to provide clinical care and undertake research in 62 countries. Because Cornell shares a campus with several other renowned medical institutions, such as New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, students have top-notch research opportunities and gain excellent clinical exposure to a highly diverse patient population, including through student-run clinics.

(Related reading: How to Get Into Weill Cornell Medical School)

Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell

Created through a partnership between Hofstra University and the Northwell healthcare system, Zucker School of Medicine has a reputation as a rising med school despite its relatively short history. Hofstra offers an innovative, problem-based learning curriculum with an emphasis on small group, case-based education and self-directed, independent study. Hofstra students receive early clinical exposure, and Northwell’s large network of facilities throughout Long Island and New York City guarantee access to a highly diverse patient population. Also of note at Hofstra are new, state-of-the-art educational facilities and research opportunities through Northwell’s Feinstein Institutes.

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Part 4: New York medical school admissions strategies

In this section, we’ll discuss two strategies—beyond achieving high stats and choosing all the right extracurriculars for medical school—to help maximize your admissions odds.

Strategy 1: Take a data-driven approach to decide which New York medical schools to apply to

Medical schools in New York exhibit considerable diversity with regard to matriculant stats. However, as shown in the profiles above, there are other differentiating factors between schools beyond academic metrics, such as the patient population the school focuses on or their unique program offerings. We encourage you to be extremely conscientious when making decisions about which schools to apply to.

Adding another school to your list is as easy as a couple of clicks, and we often find that many students fall into the trap of impulsively adding schools, thinking that “it can’t hurt” to try. However, your time and money are finite resources. That’s why we encourage you think two steps ahead before taking that first step. Pore through the data to be sure that the additional time and cost you incur by applying to these schools is well matched by your admissions odds. In other words, make sure your school list is filled with high-yield prospects.

Let’s follow a student whom we’ll call Esther. Esther is not a New York resident, but still wants to consider the state when producing her school list. Esther has an outstanding academic record, a 3.93 GPA and a 519 MCAT, but immediately happens upon three New York schools that showcase a first-year class that is over 85 percent in-state students. Esther doesn’t falter, however; she knows that there are still a dozen other schools in New York to research!

She then happens upon the University of Rochester Medical Center, the Weill Medical College of Cornell, and New York University, all with first-year classes composed of less than 30 percent in-state students. She now has identified three excellent target schools where she has excellent odds, demonstrating how beneficial strong research can be when building an optimal school list. So, skip schools that don’t fit your metrics and mission; more importantly, don’t let your lack of research be the reason why you left excellent medical schools off your list.

A quick disclaimer: we aren’t saying that you shouldn’t apply to a few reach schools or a few safety schools. Not all schools have to be perfect “targets”; in fact, it’s extremely important to have these schools on your list. You won’t be able to build a school list perfectly matched to your residency status, your GPA and MCAT score, and your mission and values, so take some liberties with a select number of schools. Employ sensible criteria, though, as we’ve discussed the pitfalls of the “let’s just apply and see what happens” philosophy when it comes to programs where your odds are slim.

Remember that “just applying” requires writing high-quality secondary essays. Because the application cycle is already extensive and involved, plan to focus mostly on high-yield schools that you have solid chances of getting into. In other words, the less time you dedicate to ‘impossible reach’ schools, the more time you’ll have to dedicate to crafting strong applications for schools within your target range. In such a competitive application process, the extra effort is the difference between an acceptance and a rejection.

In summary, use data to develop a school list that maximizes your chances of admission.

Looking for secondary essay examples? Click here to access sample secondary essays for every prompt required by every MD and DO program in the United States and Canada. 1000+ essays.

Strategy 2: Demonstrate fit with each New York medical school

Demonstrating fit with a particular medical school can be difficult. For starters, nearly all medical schools have missions to give back to their surrounding communities, advance medical science, and train the world’s next generation of clinician-leaders. Given this, how can we discern one school’s focus from the next?

The answer is weight! Individual New York programs—and all medical programs—weigh, or place more emphasis on, certain facets of their mission more heavily than others. In short, schools will train the full range of physicians but typically have a program geared specifically to one or two specific pillars; these pillars are highlighted on their website or have stand-alone programs dedicated to just serving that mission.

(Note: The school profiles above are written to help you quickly learn more about what each med school emphasizes; we encourage you to use them and to do your own digging through each school’s website.)

For example, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine website speaks significantly about their unique location, allowing students to earn their clinical training alongside both the underserved populations of the Bronx and the New York metropolitan area at large. Their program believes that medical education should be inherently interdisciplinary, and in their program’s description, they describe themselves as offering “rigorous, hands-on clinical training with the flexibility [for students] to pursue their interests in research and to meet the healthcare needs of underserved populations in the Bronx, the greater New York metropolitan area, and beyond.”

In contrast, we return to NYU Grossman’s Accelerated three-year MD degree pathway. NYU’s medical education team clearly has thought deeply about physician shortages and accruing student debt; as such, they’ve designed a program specifically for students who know what specialty they already want to pursue, cutting the time most students spend in their fourth years on clinical elective rotations. Geared primarily towards students who focus on primary care training, this program demonstrates NYU’s commitment to medical education in alignment with the ongoing needs of healthcare.

To make it clear, it’s not that NYU doesn’t provide their students an interdisciplinary medical education; they enroll their students in the Practice of Medicine (POM) module where they integrate concepts learned in both the class and lab with real patient experiences. On the flip side, it’s not that the Albert Einstein College of Medicine doesn’t dedicate their time and attention to advancing medical education. They encourage their students to broaden their scopes by completing an MPH through the City College of New York, a Masters in Clinical Research Methods at Cardoza or a Masters of Bioethics at Einstein. Both schools show flashes of both interdisciplinary medical educations and attention to improving the didactic experience for students. The difference comes in the weight that each school puts on each of these pillars and, naturally, these schools will admit different proportions of students based on their fits with the schools’ priorities.

What this means practically is that when you answer the secondary prompts for each school, ensure that you can tease apart the school’s true priorities and showcase your match with their weighted missions. This demonstration of “fit” will be the difference between an acceptance and a rejection.

This strategy certainly isn’t limited to the written application or to just schools in New York. No matter where you apply, keep the “fit” philosophy in mind. During medical school interviews, make sure to communicate how your interests and the school’s mission statement are one and the same. During your multiple mini-interview (MMI), this may be more difficult given the limited time you have with each individual interviewer. Still, in the 8–10 minutes you have, make an effort to express your fascination with basic science research, your deep-rooted ties to a particular patient demographic within New York, or your desire to integrate medicine and business/bioethics/public policy. Thinking about how your values align with another program’s mission will be some of the most important time you spend in crafting your application.

Looking for proven med school interview strategies? Click here for advanced guidance, plus over 230 sample responses to the most common questions you'll encounter.

Strategy 3: Schedule your time around your secondary essays

As mentioned above, “just applying” is a much more involved process than simply paying a fee and hitting send. While your GPA and MCAT scores are critical to your application’s success, it’s in your secondary essays where your experiences and fit for a school really stand out.

Maximizing your chances of landing an interview at a medical school in New York means crafting an exceptional story about yourself and your desire to become a doctor. To do so, you’ll need to thoughtfully plan your approach to the essays for each school and schedule time wisely to work on them—around your many other commitments.

For instance, each school will require a different number of essays. Some of them may require 5 100-word essays, while others only 1 500-word essay. And keep in mind that the length of your essays may not be the only thing that makes writing them difficult. Occasionally, the question topic can be tricky to write about.

Your first step should be to research each school’s requirements and make a note of the number of essays as well as the deadlines for their submission at each school. To assist with this, we’ve listed the amount of essays for each medical school in New York in the table below.

New York Medical Schools	Number of Secondary Essays
Albany Medical College	7 required, 2 optional
Albert Einstein College of Medicine	43 required (many are yes/no questions)
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons	7 required
Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell	2 required
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai	4 required, 7 required for MSTP
New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine	6 required
New York Medical College	2 required, 1 optional, 1 read only
NYU Grossman School of Medicine	3 required, 2 optional - 3 required for MSTP
NYU Long Island School of Medicine	2 required, 2 optional
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine	6 required
SUNY Upstate Medical University Alan and Marlene Norton College of Medicine	6 required
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University	3 required
Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine	1 required
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo	2 required
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry	2 required, 1 optional
Weill Cornell Medical College	4 required
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine	0 required

NA: Not available

Final thoughts

Admission to New York medical schools is competitive, with high out-of-state matriculant rates attracting a large number of applicants. Still, do your due diligence and use a data-driven approach to determine whether both your stats and values are in alignment with those of individual programs. Demonstrate your fit with each program in your applications, and you may very well find yourself studying medicine in the Empire State for four years.