How to Get Into Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine: Requirements and Strategies
/Learn the Mayo Medical School acceptance rate, requirements, and admissions strategies, plus a sample Mayo Clinic secondary application essay
The Mayo Clinic School of Medicine is ranked #13 by U.S. News & World Report
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Part 1: Introduction
If you’re looking to attend medical school, you may be considering the prestigious Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine. After all, as the best-ranked hospital in the United States, the Mayo Clinic name is synonymous with cutting-edge care and research. Similarly, Mayo is well known for its emphasis on student research, its unique curriculum, and its small class sizes. It should come as no surprise, then, that admission to Mayo Medical School is extremely competitive, with an acceptance rate of just 4.5% from a pool of 5,503 applicants in the 2023-2024 application cycle.
Fortunately, our team has nearly 20 years of experience helping students get into Mayo Medical School. In fact, we routinely receive messages like this:
If you hope to get into Mayo Medical School, we’ve got you covered. In this post, we’ll go over everything you need to know in order to ace your Mayo Medical School application including an overview of their three campuses, admissions statistics, prerequisites, and more. Most importantly, we’ll provide guidance on how to write first-rate responses to the Mayo Clinic secondary application prompts, including example essays and explanations of why they work.
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Part 2: Mayo Medical School MD programs
Mayo is unique among medical schools in that it offers one four-year MD program in three different locations: Rochester, Minnesota; Scottsdale and Phoenix, Arizona; and Jacksonville, Florida.
Apart from local culture and climate, there are a few differences between the locations.
The Minnesota campus is considered the main Mayo campus, as well as the largest, and offers specializations in basically every medical field. This location is part of the original Mayo Clinic, founded in the 1880s and considered the top hospital in the country. Because the Mayo Clinic is so renowned, patients travel to Rochester from all over the world to receive care. This campus is where Mayo Medical School (now Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine) began in 1972.
In 2015, Mayo announced that they would be expanding their medical school to Arizona and Florida. The Arizona campus is also well known for its high-quality care and the safety of its patients, with particular specializations in adult and surgical care. Being located in a populous metropolitan area also means students there can gain experience working with a diverse set of patients.
The Florida campus offers the FOCUS (2+2) track in which students spend the first two years of their education at either the Minnesota or Arizona campuses, then finish up in Jacksonville. Specializations at the Florida campus include the neurosciences, cancer treatment, and transplants. In addition, Mayo’s Florida location is especially well known for being the country’s top liver transplant program.
While each campus has its own unique strengths and culture, it’s worth knowing that students based at any location will have the opportunity to study at the other two campuses as well.
Mayo also offers the Medical Science Training Program in which students can simultaneously obtain the dual MD/PhD degree in order to train for a career as a physician-scientist. The Medical Science Training Program typically takes 7–8 years to complete and is fully funded, meaning that students receive a tuition waiver and a living stipend (we’ll discuss costs associated with the regular MD program shortly).
In the remainder of this post, we’ll cover best practices for gaining admission to the four-year MD program at all three campuses. Keep in mind that you can apply to all of the Mayo Medical School locations; you need not choose just one.
Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine tuition and scholarships
Mayo Medical School tuition for 2023–2024 ran $64,000 at all three campuses. When accounting for living expenses, books, insurance, and other expenses, Mayo estimates a total yearly sticker price of $99,930. Keep in mind, though, that the total cost of attendance may vary by location due to regional differences between costs of living.
Mayo offers scholarships for all eligible students through a review process of data submitted on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). They state that parental income and asset data help inform their decision and that awards are potentially renewable each year. This can help to drastically reduce the tuition burden for fortunate students.
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Part 3: How hard is it to get into Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine?
Mayo Medical School admissions statistics
Given its 4.5% acceptance rate, admission into Mayo Medical School is highly competitive. Let’s take a look at some admissions statistics for Mayo Medical School’s graduating class of 2027:
M.D. Program
Applications: 5,037
Interviews: 717
Acceptances: 182
Matriculants: 108
Median GPA: 3.94
Median MCAT score: 521
Since the figures above include the MD program at all three campuses, as well as the Medical Science Training Program, here is how the 108 matriculants above are distributed across Mayo’s various campuses and programs:
Arizona 4-year track: 42
Minnesota 4-year track: 42
Arizona/Florida track: 7
Minnesota/Florida track: 6
Arizona MD/PhD: 2
Minnesota MD/PhD: 9
We can see that the enrollment numbers are more or less evenly split between the Arizona and Minnesota campuses. However, you may be wondering which campus is the most competitive to get into.
While Mayo doesn’t release separate admissions statistics for each campus, anecdotal evidence suggests that there isn’t a substantial difference in the selectivity of the Minnesota and Arizona campuses (remember that all new MD students start at one of these two), and the small incoming class sizes at both ensure that either will be a challenge to get into.
Though some people perceive the Rochester campus, the original, as possessing more prestige, many students who apply to both have reported receiving interview offers at the Minnesota campus but not at the Arizona campus. One reason for this may be that some students who apply to both campuses are primarily interested in Minnesota but apply to Arizona as a “backup” and don’t take the time to tailor their secondary essays.
Whether you’re interested in applying to one or both campuses, our advice is the same: make sure that each application you submit reflects your genuine and specific interest in that campus.
Mayo Medical School application requirements
Mayo does not require applicants to have completed specific coursework. That said, they do note that “successful candidates will have a strong background in the life sciences and social sciences as reflected in their MCAT score.”
On that note, Mayo’s median GPA and MCAT score for accepted students is high. You’ll need to be close to the median MCAT score and GPA of accepted students—521 and 3.94, respectively—to be considered a strong candidate. To be eligible to receive a secondary application at all, you’ll need to score a minimum of a 508 on the MCAT.
Additionally, you must have taken the MCAT within three years of your matriculation year. If you are applying for Fall 2025 entrance, this means submitting a score earned between January 2022 and September 10, 2024.
The lower your MCAT score, the stronger your grades, extracurricular achievements, letters of recommendation, and personal statement need to be.
(Suggested reading: Medical School Requirements: The Definitive Guide)
(Suggested reading: Average GPA and MCAT Score for Every Medical School)
Mayo Medical School letters of recommendation
You’ll have until November 1st of 2024 to submit your recommendation letters for the 2024-2025 application cycle, and you should carefully follow the instructions they lay out here in order to ensure your letters meet their criteria. A few of these criteria include:
Your letters must be submitted through the AMCAS Letter Service. Mayo Medical School does not accept letters through any other service, nor do they accept letters sent directly to the admissions office.
You must submit at least one letter from a life sciences of physical sciences professor or TA.
You may submit up to nine additional letters from a someone who knows you very well and can personally vouch for why you’re an excellent med school candidate. These individuals can include other professors, employers, supervisors, research mentors, physicians you’ve shadowed, etc.
Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine application timeline
In order to apply to Mayo’s MD program, you’ll need to submit your AMCAS application according to the following timeline:
May 1, 2024: AMCAS application opens
May 28, 2024: AMCAS application can be submitted
July 2024: Application review begins
August 2024–November 2024: Interview invitations extended
September 2024–December 2024: Interviews conducted
October 15, 2024: AMCAS application deadline
November 1, 2024: Mayo secondary application and fee deadline
February 2025: Admissions decisions released
March 2025–June 2025: Applicants accepted from waitlist (called the “alternate list” at Mayo Medical School)
On your primary AMCAS application, you will choose your campus(es) of choice: Minnesota or Arizona (you may also apply to both). If you are interested in the Florida FOCUS (2+2) track, you will be able to note that on your secondary application (remember that the first two years of Florida FOCUS are spent at one of the other two locations, so you’ll still need to choose between Minnesota and Arizona).
We recommend submitting your primary application as early as possible. Once you have done so, assuming you meet the MCAT threshold of 508 or higher, you will be put under consideration to receive a secondary application. Mayo doesn’t list a specific timeline regarding when secondary applications are issued, but anecdotal evidence suggests that they typically start trickling out around early or mid-July.
(Suggested reading: The Ideal Medical School Application Timeline)
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Part 4: Mayo Medical School secondary application essays (examples included)
Below are Mayo’s three secondary application questions for the 2023–2024 cycle. Each question has space for 500 words, which is about a standard five-paragraph essay if you choose to use the maximum amount of space (remember that it’s okay not to).
Note: We will update the following essay prompts and examples as necessary if and when new prompts are announced in early summer of 2024.
Let’s get right into it and take a look at some examples.
Question 1: Why are you specifically interested in pursuing your medical education at Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine? Please tell us in a few sentences why you are interested in the top choice track you indicated. (500 words)
This is your standard “Why us?” prompt, which you will no doubt run into elsewhere. We’ve previously discussed how to tackle “Why us?” essays in our guide to medical school secondary essays.
Essentially, you want to make sure you are familiar with Mayo’s attributes and offerings, and then write an essay that argues why those specific qualities are a uniquely good fit for you and your specific background, interests, and strengths. Ask yourself how attending Mayo will help you achieve the future career you imagine for yourself.
Make sure to also devote a few sentences of your essay to explaining why the specific track you’ve chosen interests you most.
Example:
My interest in medicine was born out of a longstanding love of science and research, which began as a high school student in my hometown of Tucson. There, I eventually became president of my high school’s Science Club and worked as a research assistant to a biochemistry professor at the University of Arizona for two summers. Subsequently, as an undergraduate at the University of California-Berkeley, I worked in an immunology lab researching autoimmunity and inflammatory diseases. Among other things, this research led to me co-authoring a paper published in Immunity in 2019.
Though the sum of many other experiences—in particular, a summer spent at a public health intensive at a hospital in Mexico City during college—have led me to choose medicine as my life’s path, my interest in research remains strong. This is why the premium placed on both patient care and research at Mayo Clinic’s Alix School of Medicine makes it my ideal medical program. For instance, when I learned about many features of the MD curriculum, such as the third-year research experience quarter and selectives blocks, I became deeply excited in considering the various topics I could dive into. In particular, I am keen to continue my work in immunology research and hope to take advantage of all that the Center for Immunology and Immune Therapies at the Rochester campus has to offer.
While I know that I can become a competent physician at many different medical schools, Mayo stands out to me because of its uniquely strong emphasis and track record on student research. On top of this, I know that being a part of the Mayo Clinic’s four-year Minnesota track would provide me with unparalleled access to the broadest range of patient and clinical experiences, which I highly value due to my simultaneous interest in the public health side of immunology. Similarly, the Minnesota track also appeals to me due to its MD/MPH partnership with the University of Minnesota. I am confident that a Mayo Clinic education would be the very best preparation I could receive in order to achieve my goal of becoming a physician and a researcher, and I know that I would in turn have much to contribute to the Mayo community.
What works about this essay?
This applicant demonstrates that she is familiar with Mayo’s research-heavy curriculum and does a good job of showing how that emphasis fits perfectly with her own background and goals.
She explain exactly why she would choose Mayo over any other medical school, even schools that she knows would still give her an excellent medical education.
She states specific reasons why the four-year Minnesota track is her top choice.
Note that you do not need to choose to address every aspect of a school in your “Why us?” response. You can choose one angle, as this applicant did, in focusing on research.
Question 2: Each of us relates to others through characteristics that make up our individual diversity. Tell us how your diversity is reflected not only in your personal and professional activities, but also in your relationship with others, particularly in diverse learning environments. (500 words)
MSTP Applicants
Question 1: In the space below, write a brief paragraph (max. 500 characters) explaining why you are specifically applying to the Mayo Clinic MD-PhD Program.
Gain instant access to med school secondary essay examples for every single prompt required by every medical school in the United States and Canada. Subscribe today to lock in the current investments, which will be increasing after May 31 for new subscribers.
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Part 5: Mayo Medical School interview
Students who progress past the secondary application round will be invited to interview. All interviews will be held virtually. Invited applicants will participate in two 30-minute, one-on-one interviews with Campus Admissions Subcommittee members, plus a virtual tour, Q&A sessions, and opportunities to connect with current students.
Note that if you apply to more than one campus track, you’ll only be invited to interview once, and this interview will count for all the tracks you have selected.
Mayo conducts partially blinded interviews, meaning that interviewers will have looked at some of your application materials, such as your personal statement and activities, but not your MCAT scores or transcripts. Remember that being invited to interview means that Mayo has already vetted your academic record as good enough for acceptance. While there’s no way to predict exactly what questions you’ll be asked, we have found that some of the following questions have been used recently.
Tell me about yourself.
Tell me about a great team you worked on.
Why medicine?
How would you explain your research if I were a PhD?
What was your most meaningful extracurricular?
What are your reservations about attending Mayo?
How has X experience influenced the way you approach medicine?
If you could sum yourself and your application up in a short pitch, what would you say?
Tell me about a time when you disagreed with someone or something. How did you work that out?
Some of these questions are rather typical of med school interviews, but others that seek to get to know you on a deeper level may be trickier to answer. Would you have ready answers to questions like “What are your reservations about attending Mayo?” and “If you could sum yourself and your application up in a short pitch, what would you say?”
It could be that you only feel excitement about the possibility of attending Mayo, so a question like that could catch you off guard. Likewise, condensing your application into a short pitch can be a difficult task on the spot.
It’s worth taking the time to consider how you would answer questions like these before interview day. Make sure that your responses communicate your fit with their program as well as speak to your talents.
In the weeks and months following your interview, if you have significant updates you’d like to share with the admissions committee, you may do so in the form of a PDF document uploaded to your admissions portal. A couple examples of the types of updates worth sharing with adcoms are receiving a significant award or getting your research published in a journal.
(Suggested reading: How to Ace Your Medical School Interviews)
Final thoughts
The Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine is one of the most selective medical schools in the country. With its plethora of resources for student research, its unique three-campus system, and its affiliation with the country’s top-ranked hospital, the Mayo Clinic is a dream medical school for many aspiring doctors. If you hope to gain one of Mayo’s coveted spots, you’ll not only need a stellar GPA and MCAT score, you’ll also need outstanding secondary essays to differentiate yourself from the rest of the similarly qualified applicant pool.
About the Author
Dr. Shirag Shemmassian is the Founder of Shemmassian Academic Consulting and one of the world's foremost experts on medical school admissions. For nearly 20 years, he and his team have helped thousands of students get into medical school using his exclusive approach.