How to Apply to the University of Kansas School of Medicine

Thanks for considering KU School of Medicine in your future academic plans. Follow these steps to make sure your application is considered.

For all application options

Applicants to the MD program must submit an application online through the American Medical College Application Service® (AMCAS®), a centralized medical school application processing service from the Association for American Medical Colleges (AAMC).

Early Decision Program (EDP)

If you choose the Early Decision Program (EDP), you can apply and interview for admission before the regular selection process begins. However, AMCAS releases your application to only one medical school for early consideration.

If that one medical school accepts you, you must either attend that school or choose not to attend any medical school in the coming year.

Check with the KU School of Medicine for official deadlines on EDP, as those dates can change from year to year. The following timeline is offered as a guide for EDP consideration.

For the 2024 application cycle, July 15, 2023, is the last MCAT test date we can accept

• By August 1: Submit all application materials to AMCAS.
• September: Participate in early decision interviews.
• Oct. 1: Receive notification of admission.

If you are not accepted into KU's EDP program, your application is automatically placed in the School of Medicine's regular decision pool. At that time, you also may decide to release your application to other medical schools.

There are no automatic interview criteria for Early Decision Applicants as there are with Regular Decision applications. Applicants who have previously interviewed with us will not be offered an interview for Early Decision. Each interview cycle’s number of EDP applications and available interview slots will drive the number of invitations available, and therefore will vary from year to year.

Regular Decision

If you choose the regular decision process, note these important dates:

• Sept. 1: Submit all application materials to AMCAS.
• Oct. 15: Application materials are accepted by AMCAS until this date (but the Sept. 1 deadline is strongly encouraged).
• October to January: Participate in interviews.
• In March or before: Receive notification of admission.

The KU School of Medicine uses a conservative rolling admissions process, which means that your application receives notice soon after it is received. Therefore, it is usually a smart strategy to apply as early as you can.

The University of Kansas is a state-supported institution that gives primary consideration to Kansas residents and those with strong ties to Kansas.

The KU School of Medicine Admissions Committee has defined a “Kansas tie” as a nonresident applicant who meets one or more of the following criteria:

• currently resides and works in Kansas
• parent currently resides in Kansas
• graduate of a Kansas high school
• graduate of a Kansas four-year college
• parent is a graduate of the KU School of Medicine or
• parent is a member of the faculty of the KU School of Medicine

Applicants who are Kansas residents or who meet one of the above “Kansas tie” designations will be given priority review for an interview invitation. Those who have a minimum of a score of 500 on the MCAT and a 3.2 BCPM GPA and no red flags on the remainder of their application will be automatically offered an interview. This policy only applies to Regular Decision applicants. An automatic interview is only granted for two application cycles. If applying after receiving two previous interview invitations, applicants will be reviewed by a member of the Admissions Committee for an interview decision.

Applicants who are Kansas residents or have a Kansas tie but do NOT meet the above minimum scores and/or GPA will have their application reviewed by a member of the Admissions Committee for a recommendation on whether to extend an interview invitation.

An offer of an interview is not an offer of admission. Applicants should show some connection or understanding of the state of healthcare in Kansas, how they plan on serving the Kansas community, and demonstrate a service mindset, regardless of residency or tie status.

It is rare that applicants with an MCAT of 494 or below are offered an invitation to interview.

MD/PhD Combined Degree

If you have a strong interest in becoming a physician-scientist, you may apply for the combined MD/PhD Program. We accept AMCAS applications until Oct. 15 with applications of MD/PhD candidates processed through the MD/PhD Program Office.

We find successful candidates possess a 3.5 science grade point average, an MCAT score at or above the 80th percentile and strong research experience.