December 4, 2025
Written By
Michael Minh Le
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You’ve probably heard the UAB Medical School acceptance rate is low, but what does that actually mean for your chances? If you’re anything like I was as a premed, you’ve been digging through forums, obsessing over Reddit threads, and refreshing stats pages trying to figure out if you have what it takes. And worse, no one gives a straight answer.
Let’s fix that.
In this article, we’ll break down everything you need to know about the UAB Medical School acceptance rate for the 2025 cycle. You’ll get the real numbers on GPA and MCAT averages, understand what makes UAB stand out, and walk away with a full game plan on how to nail your primary, secondaries, letters, and interview.
And if you’re tired of guessing what a successful med school application actually looks like, we’ve created a resource just for you. Our Application Database includes 8 full AMCAS applications that earned acceptances to top schools like UCLA and UCI. Yes, including mine. Plus, it’s completely free. Use it to see what above average looks like so you can reverse engineer what works.
Get your free resource here.
For the 2025 entering class, the University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine received 5,196 applications. Out of those, just 186 students matriculated.
That makes the UAB Medical School acceptance rate roughly 3.58%.
Now, here’s the deal: UAB gives strong preference to Alabama residents. For the 2025–2026 admission cycle, about 13.3% of applicants were Alabama residents, and 86.7% were out‑of-state. But, 82.1% of matriculants were Alabama residents, and only 17.9% were from out of state.
UAB doesn’t mess around with academics. For the most recent incoming class, the average GPA was 3.83, and the average MCAT score clocked in at 511.
To give some perspective, the national average GPA for medical school matriculants is around 3.77, and the average MCAT hovers around 511.7. So UAB is right in line with national standards.
That said, UAB does have minimum cutoffs for GPA and MCAT to move forward in the process. Here’s what you need to know:
To be eligible to apply to UAB Heersink School of Medicine, you’ll need to complete the following prerequisite coursework:
UAB also recommends courses in Biochemistry, Genetics, and Behavioral Sciences, but those aren’t required. Still, if you want to stand out, especially as a non-resident, completing those extras can definitely work in your favor.
You’ll also need to meet the following general requirements:
For the 2025–2026 academic year, tuition for the MD program is $37,282 for Alabama residents and $67,786 for out-of-state students. When you factor in living expenses, books, and other costs, the total estimated annual cost of attendance rises to around $74,582 for in-state students and $105,086 for those from out of state.
Over the full four years, that’s roughly $256,000 and $386,000, respectively, in tuition alone, making UAB a more affordable option for Alabama residents.
UAB also offers a range of scholarship and financial aid opportunities designed to help students manage debt. Institutional scholarships include the Blue Cross Scholars Program, the Sara Crews Finley, MD, Leadership Scholarship, and the Dean’s Primary Care Scholars Scholarship, an award that offers increasing stipends each year to students committed to careers in family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, or medicine-pediatrics.
Beyond internal funding, students at UAB can access federal financial aid through FAFSA, apply for outside scholarships, and use private loans if needed. The school also provides one-on-one financial counseling, helping students make informed borrowing decisions and manage debt effectively.
UAB Heersink School of Medicine isn’t just Alabama’s flagship medical school. It’s a nationally respected institution that blends world-class research, high-volume clinical training, and a deep commitment to community health.
UAB is widely recognized for its commitment to underserved communities, especially in Alabama and the Deep South. The school runs one of the top Primary Care and Rural Medicine programs in the country. Through its Rural Medicine Program, students get hands-on training in medically underserved regions, often working closely with community health centers.
While many public med schools focus mostly on clinical training, UAB punches above its weight in research. It consistently ranks in the top 30 for NIH funding among medical schools nationwide. Areas of particular strength include cancer, infectious diseases (especially HIV/AIDS), neuroscience, and genomics. Medical students have direct access to funded labs and often co-author papers before graduation.
UAB Hospital is the third largest public hospital in the U.S., and it’s where students do most of their clinical rotations. That means exposure to a massive range of pathologies, patient populations, and subspecialties, all under one roof. Students rotate through top-ranked departments in internal medicine, surgery, emergency medicine, and more.
Graduates of UAB go on to match at top programs across the country in everything from dermatology and orthopedic surgery to primary care. The school’s reputation carries weight both regionally and nationally, and the alumni network is large, engaged, and often eager to mentor current students.
Getting into UAB Heersink School of Medicine takes more than hitting a GPA or MCAT benchmark. You need to show that you’re the kind of future doctor who earns trust in Alabama’s tight-knit communities and high-tech research hospitals alike.
UAB Heersink School of Medicine uses the standard American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) for its primary application. Admission decisions at UAB are made on a rolling basis, which means if you procrastinate, you’re fighting for whatever is left.
Here’s the application timeline you need to be on top of:
Your personal statement for UAB Heersink School of Medicine is your narrative. This isn’t a place for buzzwords or generic lines; it’s where you prove what you say about yourself with real experiences.
If you say you care about health equity, then you should show experiences in underserved clinics and advocacy work. If you say you’re committed to research, then you should show lab work and your curiosity-driven projects.
Secondary essays help show fit, values, life experiences, and how you might contribute to their community. Below are the most recent secondary prompts for UAB (2025–2026 cycle) and how to think about addressing each one.
1. Are you applying to the Primary Care Track? (Yes/No) If yes: Describe what experiences have led you to apply to the Primary Care Track. (1500 characters)
If you check yes, this essay needs to show you're not just vaguely interested in primary care, but that you’ve done the work, seen the need, and still want in. Think of any experiences where you saw long-term patient relationships, continuity of care, or community-centered medicine. Volunteering in a free clinic, shadowing family medicine, seeing your hometown’s physician shortage, any of those work if you can show how they changed your thinking. This isn’t about name-dropping clinics. It’s about showing you understand what primary care actually involves.
2. If you are not a resident of Alabama, please describe any ties or meaningful experiences you have had related to the state of Alabama or UAB Medical Center. (1500 characters)
UAB wants to know if out-of-state applicants are genuinely interested in their mission or just shotgun-applying. Talk about any personal, professional, or even academic connections to Alabama. Family in the state, conferences you attended at UAB, service projects in rural Alabama, or research tied to health disparities in the South all work. If you have zero ties, then write about how their mission or programs resonate with your career goals. Show them it’s not random.
3. If the area you spent most of your life before college differs from where you currently consider your permanent address, please explain. (1500 characters)
This is a context question; just be honest and clear. If you moved for college, family, job, or any other reason, explain that shift and how each place shaped who you are. This isn’t about justifying yourself; it’s about giving the committee an accurate picture of your roots and journey.
4. Where do you see yourself in your medical career fifteen to twenty years from now? (750 characters)
Don’t throw out something generic like “being a great doctor.” Be specific. Think about specialty, setting (academic, community, rural), population, and maybe teaching or policy. If you're drawn to underserved care, public health, or mentoring future med students, mention that. Show that you’ve thought beyond med school and that your long game aligns with UAB’s values.
5. Describe a patient interaction with the healthcare system (direct patient observation — in person or virtual — during shadowing, or a personal/family experience). What did you learn from this experience? (750 characters)
Pick one patient. Make it real. Maybe it was a 10-minute conversation during shadowing that revealed a bigger healthcare issue. Or maybe it was watching your own family struggle through insurance red tape. Highlight what the moment taught you, whether that’s empathy, broken systems, communication barriers, or resilience. Then show how that shapes the kind of physician you want to be.
6. Describe a fulfilling or challenging community service experience and how you grew personally from the experience. (750 characters)
Think beyond résumé items. Choose something that pushed you emotionally, logistically, or ethically. Then talk about what it taught you. Maybe you discovered how to advocate for people with different backgrounds. Maybe you had to confront your own assumptions. Growth doesn’t mean perfection. It means reflection and change.
7. Describe a situation where you had to adjust your behavior or response based on new information or changing conditions. (750 characters)
This is a professionalism test. Maybe you had to change your communication style with a research mentor. Or pivot during a clinical experience that didn’t go as planned. Pick a situation that shows self-awareness and emotional intelligence. Show that you don’t just react, you reflect and adapt.
8. Optional: Please share any information you want us to know about you that is not included in your AMCAS application or in this secondary application. (750 characters)
Use this only if you have something important to add, not just to repeat what’s already in your app. You could explain a gap in your timeline, a major life event that shaped you, or a unique hobby or experience that adds depth to your story. If nothing adds real value, skip it. Blank is better than filler.
UAB Heersink School of Medicine requires either a committee letter or three individual letters of recommendation. If your undergraduate institution provides a pre‑health or premedical committee, UAB strongly prefers that you submit a committee letter.
There’s no published maximum, but sending more than what’s required doesn’t boost your app. Quality over quantity always wins.
Your letters should come from people who know you well and can speak to your readiness for medical school. Ideally, at least one is from a science professor who taught you in a BCPM course. Others might come from research mentors, volunteer coordinators, clinical supervisors, or non-science faculty who can vouch for your character, work ethic, and commitment to service.
UAB uses a Multiple Mini‑Interview (MMI)‑based approach for its admissions interviews. That means you should expect a station‑based format, not a long traditional one‑on‑one interview.
During the interview, you’ll rotate through a number of short “stations.” Each station typically lasts on the order of several minutes (often 6–8 minutes, though exact times may vary) and addresses a specific prompt or scenario, such as an ethical dilemma, a role‑play or communication challenge, or a question assessing your empathy, reasoning, and professionalism.
There’s no such thing as a “perfect” med school, only the one that’s perfect for you. So, is UAB Heersink School of Medicine the right fit? That depends on your goals, your values, and what you’re looking for in the next four (very intense) years of your life.
Here’s how to tell if UAB might be the right place to launch your medical career:
UAB is a good fit for you if:
UAB may not be a good fit for you if:
Like most premeds, you’ve likely been stuck in that frustrating in-between: your GPA isn’t perfect, your MCAT could be better, and you’re not sure if your clinical hours or leadership roles really stand out.
Here’s what no one tells you: being average doesn’t get you in.
The best way to stop guessing and start building a successful application is to study real ones, apps that worked. That’s exactly why we created the Application Database: a completely free, hand-curated collection of 8 full AMCAS applications that earned acceptances to top medical schools like UCLA and UCI. Use this insider access to see what works and create your own acceptance-worthy application.
Get your free resource here.
