November 14, 2025
Written By
Michael Minh Le
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When you look at the Rush Medical School acceptance rate, it’s hard not to wonder: do I actually have a chance, or is this school out of reach? With thousands of qualified applicants and a reputation for clinical rigor and community service, Rush doesn’t hand out acceptances easily. And if you’re applying this cycle, the pressure is real.
In this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know on how to get into Rush Medical College this cycle. You’ll learn what kind of applicants make the cut, what GPA and MCAT scores are competitive, what makes Rush stand out, and how to approach each part of your application.
And if you want to go beyond the stats and actually see what successful applications look like, we’ve got you. The Premed Catalyst Application Database gives you access to 8 real AMCAS applications that earned acceptances to top schools like UCLA and UCI. And it’s completely free.
Get your free resource here.
For the 2025 entering class, Rush Medical College received 13,045 applications. Of those, only 144 students matriculated.
That makes the Rush Medical School acceptance rate about 1.10%.
That’s not a typo. And since it's a private institution, there’s no in-state advantage. Everyone has the same odds regardless of where you live.
Here’s what you’re up against: the average GPA for accepted students at Rush is about 3.70. The average MCAT score? 511.
Compared to national med school averages (3.77 GPA and 511.7 MCAT) Rush is right in line.
That being said, Rush doesn’t have hard cutoffs for GPA or MCAT, but realistically, applicants below a 3.3 GPA or with MCAT scores under 505 are going to have a tough time making it past the first round.
To apply to Rush Medical College, you’ll need to complete the following core science coursework:
While not explicitly required, coursework in Biochemistry, Genetics, and Molecular Biology is strongly recommended.
Other than coursework, you’ll need to meet the following general requirements:
Rush Medical College, part of Rush University in Chicago, charges a tuition of $70,752 for the 2025–2026 academic year. When you factor in living expenses, books, fees, and other necessities, the estimated total cost of attendance (COA) reaches around $104,682.
Unlike public medical schools, Rush does not offer in-state tuition discounts since it is a private institution.
Financial aid at Rush is primarily need-based, with awards determined by subtracting a student’s available financial resources from the total cost of education. Students are encouraged to file the FAFSA as early as possible and consult with the Financial Aid Office to assess their eligibility.
While Rush doesn’t publish a detailed list of scholarships exclusive to MD students, they do offer both need-based grants and merit-based awards across the university, many of which are supported by philanthropic and alumni contributions. Students are also strongly encouraged to apply for outside scholarships to further reduce their financial burden.
Rush Medical College, located in the heart of Chicago, offers more than just a strong academic foundation. It combines a deep-rooted commitment to community service, a forward-thinking approach to clinical training, and a diverse, mission-driven environment that pushes students to become both skilled clinicians and compassionate leaders.
Here’s what sets Rush apart:
Rush Medical College is embedded within the Illinois Medical District, serving a diverse patient population on Chicago’s West Side. Students are not just learning about health disparities. They’re actively addressing them. The school’s commitment to social accountability means that from day one, students are encouraged to understand the social determinants of health and engage in meaningful community outreach.
Rush’s curriculum is competency-based and highly integrated, blending basic sciences with early clinical exposure. Through the EXPLORE Program, students gain hands-on experience across various specialties from the beginning of their education. The curriculum also includes ample time for individualized electives, research, and scholarly activity.
The Rush Community Service Initiatives Program (RCSIP) is a cornerstone of the Rush experience. It allows medical students to volunteer at free clinics, engage with underserved populations, and provide preventive health education long before their clinical years.
Rush maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio, which means you’ll get accessible mentorship and personalized academic guidance. Students are paired with advisors who follow them through their four years, helping with everything from course planning to residency preparation.
Rush University Medical Center is consistently ranked among the top hospitals in the nation. Medical students benefit from training alongside top specialists, using state-of-the-art technology, and learning in a collaborative healthcare setting. By the time Rush students enter residency, they’ve already worked in high-volume, high-acuity environments that prepare them for the real-world demands of medicine.
Getting into Rush University Medical College takes more than just checking boxes. Sure, your stats matter, but being a “competitive” applicant isn’t enough. You need a story. One that shows why you’re drawn to medicine, how you've grown, and what you’ll bring to the Rush community.
RMC uses the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) for the primary application. RMC offers an Early Decision Program (EDP) for applicants who choose RMC as their only school.
While the school does not exactly label itself as “rolling admissions” in the way some schools do, the use of AMCAS and secondary invites means earlier submission is advantageous. Especially considering decisions for early decision are made by October 1 for the ED pool. So, you should treat it like you must apply early to stay competitive.
So, here’s the application timeline you need to follow:
Your personal summary can’t just be a summary of your resume. It’s your chance to show who you are, what you care about, and the kind of doctor you’re becoming. And you need to use your experiences as your proof.
If you say you care about health equity, then you should show experiences in community outreach and working with underserved populations. If you claim leadership matters to you, back it up with times you stepped up and made an impact.
Secondary essays give the admissions committee a view into how you think, how you fit with their mission, and how ready you are for med school. Below are the prompts from the most recent cycle and some advice on how to approach each one.
Prompt 1:
“Rush Medical College is located on Chicago’s Near West Side and serves a diverse patient population. We seek to train physicians who can connect with diverse patient populations with whom they may not share a similar background. Tell us about a life experience that has broadened your own world view or enhanced your ability to understand those unlike yourself and what you learned from this experience.” (1,000 characters)
Advice: Use a concrete anecdote, something specific where you stepped out of your comfort zone or encountered a perspective very different from your own. Then connect it to how that changed you: how you listen differently now, how you were humbled, how you built empathy or cultural humility. Finally, tie it back to medicine and how that experience helps you serve diverse patients.
Prompt 2:
“‘Distance traveled’ is the metaphorical distance that represents the journey an applicant undertakes throughout their life, encompassing achievements, personal identity, and the competencies developed along the way. The Committee on Admissions seeks and values the skills and competencies that applicants develop as a result of their individual experiences, and recognizes them as desired and essential attributes of a future physician. Based on your experiences and your distance traveled, please describe any adversities, challenges, and/or marginalized experiences that you have encountered.” (Optional) (1,000 characters)
Advice: Because this is optional, it’s an opportunity to show resilience and growth. Think of an adversity or marginalized experience you’ve genuinely faced (it could be academic, personal, identity‑based, financial, etc.). The key is to show what you did (how you responded), what skills you built, and how that shapes how you’ll be a physician. If you haven’t had a major adversity, don’t force one. Skip or keep it genuine.
Prompt 2a:
“Please describe the effect of these adversities, challenges, and/or marginalized experiences on you as an individual. Explain how you overcame them, what skills you built, what lessons you learned, and how these experiences motivated you to be a doctor.” (Optional) (1,000 characters)
Advice: This is a continuation of 2, focusing more on reflection, and link to medicine. Don’t just say “I faced X and it was hard.” Rather: how did it change your approach, mindset, empathy, leadership, or perspective? Then tie it to why you want to be a doctor (or how you’ll practise differently because of it).
Prompt 2b:
“Can you describe a time when you recognized your privilege and used it to promote health equity? Please share specific initiatives, projects, or actions in which you were involved in and the impact they had.” (Optional) (1,000 characters)
Advice: This is a powerful optional question. If you have a genuine example where you recognized privileges (social, educational, economic, etc.) and used them intentionally to help promote health equity, this can set you apart. Be concrete: what you did, your role, what changed, how you measured or observed the impact. And again, link to your future role as a physician advocating for equity.
When applying to Rush Medical College, you’re required to submit three letters in total, and there are three different ways you can meet this requirement.
The preferred option is a committee letter from your undergraduate institution’s premed advising committee. If your school doesn’t offer one, you can also submit a letter packet compiled by your school, or go with the three individual letters route.
If you choose to submit individual letters, each one should come from a different perspective. One should be academic, meaning someone who can speak to how you handle a rigorous academic environment (this doesn’t have to be a science professor, but it should be someone who knows your academic performance well).
Another should be from someone in a professional or volunteer setting who can vouch for your dependability, resilience, and ability to work with diverse communities. Rush cares deeply about service and cultural competence. The third letter should be more personal, from someone who can speak to your character, your motivation for medicine, and how you carry yourself in life.
There’s no strict maximum, but more isn’t better if it weakens the overall strength of your application. If your committee letter or packet includes multiple individual letters, that’s fine. It still counts as one submission.
For RMC, the interview format is traditional (one‑on‑one or panel) rather than a full multiple‑mini‑interview (MMI) circuit. On occasion, there may be elements that resemble MMI stations, but the major publicly available guide states “traditional interview format with low‑stress environment.”
During the interview, you should expect a conversational but purposeful style. Interviewers will ask behavioural and scenario‑based questions: past experiences in service, how you handled mistakes, how you respond under pressure, how you engage with underserved communities, and how you think about health equity and systems.
You may also be asked to reflect on your personal statement or on comments made in your application, so be sure you know your story.
As far as timing, exact times are less frequently specified. That means you should prepare for an interview block of perhaps 30–60 minutes, given standard medical‑school interview lengths.
Choosing the right medical school is about environment, values, and how well the program suits you. Here’s a breakdown of where Rush shines, and where it might not align with your goals.
Rush Medical College is a good fit if…
Rush Medical College may not be a good fit if…
Rush Medical College is competitive for a reason. The school attracts applicants who are academically sharp, deeply involved in their communities, and genuinely committed to patient care. But when you're staring down your own AMCAS application, that bar can feel impossibly high.
What does “competitive” actually look like in practice? And how do you know if you're on the right track?
That's exactly why we built the Premed Catalyst Application Database, to take the guesswork out of the application process. This free resource gives you full access to 8 real, successful medical school applications, including stats, personal statements, activities, and more. You don’t have to guess. You can study the real thing.
Get your free resource here.
