Health Professions Data

U.S. Students Matriculating to Medical School, 2022–23 (AAMC Table A-17)

• Biological Sciences: 57%
• Physical Sciences: 9%
• Social Sciences: 9%
• Humanities: 4%
• Other: 21%

Grinnell Students Accepted to Medical School in the Last 5 Years (2018–22)

• Biological Sciences: 90%
• Physical Sciences: 6%
• Social Sciences: 3%
• Humanities: 1%

Typically, the average GPA for Grinnell’s applicants to health professional schools is very similar to the national mean; the national mean GPA for U.S. applicants in 2022 was 3.62. The national mean GPA of matriculants in 2022 was 3.75. (AAMC Table A-16).  

From January 2018 to August 2022, the average MCAT score for Grinnell College examinees was 507.0. During the same time period, the national average for examinees was 501.3. 

To read more about the MCAT and see more statistics, check out the Using MCAT DATA in 2024 Medical School Selection (PDF) put together by AAMC. 

• 66% of all Grinnell graduates who applied were accepted into a medical school program. (Compare this to the national matriculation rate of around 40%.)
• 70% of Grinnell graduates who applied with an MCAT score at 85th percentile or higher were accepted.
• 82% of Grinnell graduates who applied with a GPA of 3.7 or higher were accepted.
• 87% of Grinnell graduates who applied with a GPA of 3.7 or higher AND an MCAT score at 85th percentile or higher were accepted.

Table of national acceptance (from AMCAS) rates based upon MCAT Scores and GPA (PDF). 

Typically, the U.S. matriculation rate to MD and DO programs is around 41%. That means 41% of the total applicants get accepted and enroll in a program. (By the way, there were just under 990,000 applications to medical schools from over 55,000 applicants in 2022.) (AAMC Table A-1)

Consider applying to at least one school in your legal state of residence. 

Not only is tuition less expensive for in-state residents, but the acceptance rate is several-fold higher for students applying to a medical school in their state of residence, compared to private schools or to public schools as an out- of-state resident. For example, at the University of Iowa in the 2022–23 application cycle, 31.5% of in-state applicants were accepted, but only 1.5% of out-of-state applicants were accepted. (AAMC Table A-1).

Our students typically apply to 15–20 schools. Of the 98 Grinnell students who matriculated to medical school in 2018–22, 44% of those students entered a medical school in their state of residence. 67% of those schools were public medical schools. The national observation is that about 60% of applicants matriculate to an in-state school (AAMC Table A-1).

Top 20 Schools in 2018

• Albany Medical College
• Boston University
• Chicago Medical School
• Creighton University
• Drexel University
• Georgetown University
• Temple University
• Loyola University Chicago
• Medical College of Wisconsin
• New York Medical College
• University of Vermont
• Thomas Jefferson University
• Tufts University
• Tulane University
• University of Colorado
• University of Illinois
• University of Iowa
• University of Minnesota
• University of Wisconsin
• Wake Forest University

Top Three schools, Based on Number of Grinnell Students Matriculating to Each

• University of Iowa
• Oregon Health & Science University
• University of Washington

Other Institutions (Top 15 Alphabetically) 

• Boston University
• Chicago Medical School
• Michigan State University
• Northwestern University
• Southern California Keck School of Medicine
• Temple University
• Thomas Jefferson University
• Tulane University
• University of Colorado
• University of Illinois
• University of Minnesota
• University of North Dakota
• University of Oklahoma
• University of California – San Francisco
• Wake Forest