August 14, 2025
Written By
Michael Minh Le
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Every premed has that one school they can't get out of their head, and for many in Massachusetts, it's UMass Chan. With its mission-driven training, generous in-state tuition, and strong ties to underserved communities, it’s no wonder the competition is fierce.
We won’t sugarcoat it: the UMass Chan Medical School acceptance rate is low. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
This guide breaks down exactly what it takes to earn an acceptance to UMass Chan Medical School in 2025. You’ll get the real stats like GPA, MCAT, and tuition, as well as how to align your application with what this school is actually looking for. We’ll walk you through actionable strategies: applying early, crafting a powerful narrative, and getting rock-solid letters of recommendation.
To see exactly how successful applicants are getting into top programs like UMass Chan, check out our free application database. It includes 8 full AMCAS applications that earned real acceptances to schools like UCLA and UCI. You’ll even get to see my application that got me a white coat. Use this access to model your app after what works.
Get your free resource here.
For the 2025 entering class, UMass Chan Medical School received over 4,500 applications. Out of those, just 162 students matriculated into the MD program.
That puts the UMass Chan Medical School acceptance rate at about 3.6%.
And if you’re not a Massachusetts resident, it’s even tougher. UMass Chan gives strong preference to in-state applicants. In fact, roughly 90% of matriculants are Massachusetts residents. So, if you’re applying from out of state, just know that the odds aren’t in your favor.
For the most recent class, the average GPA of accepted students was 3.78, and the average MCAT score landed at 512.
Compare that to the national averages: 3.77 GPA and a 511.7 MCAT. That means UMass Chan students are right on par, and that’s what you should be shooting for, too, if you want to be competitive.
There’s no hard cutoff, but if your GPA is below a 3.3 or your MCAT sections are dipping below 125, your chances aren’t great.
To apply to UMass Chan, you’ll need to have completed the following coursework:
UMass Chan strongly recommends courses in mathematics (including statistics), social and behavioral sciences, and ethics. These aren’t required, but they help show you’re well-rounded and prepared for the school’s interdisciplinary approach to medical education.
And beyond academics, here’s a few other requirements you’ll need to meet to be considered for UMass Chan:
One more thing: there is no requirement for CASPer or PREview assessments for the MD program. That’s one less thing you have to think about.
For the 2025–2026 academic year, UMass Chan Medical School’s tuition is $42,284 for in-state students and $72,710 for out-of-state students. When factoring in fees, health insurance, housing, and living expenses, the total cost of attendance rises to approximately $83,247 (in-state) and $113,673 (out-of-state) for first-year MD students.
To make tuition more manageable, UMass Chan offers a unique Learning Contract, which defers $5,568 of tuition. This essentially gives students more flexibility in how and when they repay part of their educational cost. But it is worth noting that 71.1% of the Class of 2023 still graduated with debt, averaging $180,632 per student.
The good news is you have a lot of options for financial aid:
The Financial Aid Office supports students with digital counseling, guidance on budgeting, and help navigating aid applications. Incoming students should complete the FAFSA (available December 1) and watch for UMass Chan’s institutional aid forms in mid-February via their NetPartner portal.
UMass Chan Medical School stands out not just for its academic prestige but for its deeply rooted public mission, collaborative culture, and unparalleled research and training opportunities. Here's more about what makes it so unique.
UMass Chan is Massachusetts’s first and only public medical school, founded with the express goals of enhancing accessibility, affordability, and health outcomes across the Commonwealth.
You’ll be helping to advance the health and well-being of diverse communities through leadership in education, research, healthcare delivery, and public service.
The UMass Chan campus brings together three graduate schools: the T.H. Chan School of Medicine, the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing. This means researchers, clinicians, and care leaders are literally learning side-by-side.
Too many schools treat primary care like the backup plan. Not here.
UMass Chan is consistently ranked in the top tier for primary care education in the country. And it’s not just talk. About half the grads match into primary care every year, and that’s not because they couldn’t do derm or ortho.
Add to that $300+ million a year in research funding, and you’ve got a school that produces physician-scientists and change-makers in equal measure.
UMass Chan is broadening its reach via regional campuses like UMass Chan–Lahey in Burlington, which includes the LEAD@Lahey track, focused on leadership, systems-based care, and interprofessional learning.
There's also emphasis on serving rural and underserved areas across the state via community-based educational experiences.
Getting into UMass Chan Medical School means showing them you're not just another premed with decent stats. Sure, numbers might get you through the first door, but it’s your story, your grit, and how you’ve shown up for others that will earn you a spot.
UMass Chan Medical School uses the AMCAS (American Medical College Application Service) for all MD applications and operates on a rolling admissions basis. This means that applications are reviewed as they are received, and seats are filled throughout the cycle.
So, if you want to be competitive, you need to stay on top of the application timeline:
Show UMass Chan who you are by telling a story only you can tell. Your personal statement is your narrative. It’s meant to show what you stand for, where you've been, and the physician you're becoming.
The real way to intrigue AdComs? Use your experiences as proof. If you claim to care about mental health, show how you’ve engaged with it through peer support, research, or clinical exposure. If equity matters to you, your actions should reflect time spent lifting up communities that need it most.
Secondary essays need to show how you won’t just fit in at UMass Chan, but you’ll strengthen their community. Below are the prompts from the most recent cycle, along with focused advice on how to address each one.
1. UMass Chan Medical School strives to be a diverse academic community mindful that diversity makes our community stronger and benefits the patients we serve. Share your definition of diversity. Describe an example where you contributed to the diversity of a group, team or class. Connect this to how you will contribute to the diversity of the UMass Chan Medical School community. (150–200 words)
Define diversity as more than race or background. It’s the combination of values, struggles, culture, and perspective that influence how you show up in the world. Walk AdComs through a moment where your unique lens actively shaped the group dynamic. Maybe you brought a bilingual voice into a health workshop that had none, or reframed a team project by integrating perspectives your peers didn’t have access to growing up.
The key here is showing how your presence changed the conversation, the outcome, or the approach. End by tying it back to UMass Chan: how the lens you bring can help elevate your classmates, deepen peer learning, and broaden how future physicians understand and care for a diverse patient population.
2. Describe a time when you have made a decision that was not popular and how you handled this. (150–200 words)
Choose a moment where you stood your ground—maybe you changed how your team operated, even when others resisted, or rejected the easy path because it wasn’t the right one. Show how you didn’t just force your way through but took time to explain your reasoning, listen to concerns, and create space for honest dialogue. Leadership here isn’t about control. It’s about guiding others toward a better solution with clarity, humility, and integrity, especially when no one’s watching and the decision costs you something.
3. Describe a time when you were on a team that was dysfunctional in some regard. How did you address the situation? (150–200 words)
Think of a time your group was floundering. Were there conflicting goals, personalities clashing, or unclear roles? Describe how you stepped in. Did you organize a reset meeting, establish clearer communication norms, or reassign roles to play to strengths? Show how your tactical effort to re‑align the team restored trust, productivity, and camaraderie, and reflect how that same ability to diagnose and heal dysfunction would help you thrive in UMass Chan’s collaborative Vista curriculum.
4. Describe a time when you have “thought outside the box” to solve a problem. (150–200 words)
Pick a time you didn’t settle. For example, you can talk about a time when you devised a system to help a clinic track patients more effectively or created a peer‑learning tool when normal study sessions weren’t cutting it. Then, explain how you spotted the gap, brainstormed an unconventional fix, tested it, refined it, and it ultimately worked; that shows the curiosity and innovation UMass values, and that same out‑of‑the‑box thinking is what will drive the Vista curriculum forward with you in it.
5. Describe a meaningful interaction you have had with a person whom you have helped at work, school, or another activity. (150–200 words)Tell a story where you saw someone’s needs. Maybe you mentored someone overwhelmed by doubt, noticed a peer struggling to belong, or guided a patient’s caregiver through fear. Show how you responded with presence, listening, and small acts of care that made a real difference. That human connection is what shapes compassionate doctors, and that’s what you’ll bring into every hallway at UMass Chan.
6. Please discuss any part of your application that you feel requires further explanation. For example, grades or MCAT scores that do not reflect your true ability, and/or a gap in time that is not explained elsewhere in your application. Discuss any impact that the COVID‑19 pandemic has had on your academic, service, extracurricular or employment experiences. If you are reapplying to T.H. Chan SOM, highlight how you have strengthened your application. (250 words max)
Own that unexplained gap or imperfect score not with excuses, but with honesty and accountability. If your performance slipped during a crisis, or you paused to care for family or pivoted careers in uncertain times, talk about that. Then show what you learned or how you rebounded: did you retake the test and perform stronger? Did you re‑engage with clinical work or commit to volunteer service in your community? That kind of honest reflection and growth tells admissions more about your character than a perfect GPA ever could.
7. If you have participated in T.H. Chan SOM or UMass Memorial Health Care, or UMass Chan‑Baystate sponsored programs (SEP, Summer Research Program, Worcester Pipeline Collaborative, AHEC, BaccMD, HSPP, Academic Internships, BSEP, Summer Scholars), please describe how these programs helped you decide to apply to T.H. Chan SOM. (200 words)
Reflect on that moment when UMass Chan wasn’t just a concept, but where you felt its mission, saw its energy, and connected with faculty or community in a real way during one of their programs. Talk about how that experience shaped your goals, what you admired about their approach, or how you saw yourself fitting in; specificity matters: reference program details, who you met, what moved you. Then, tie it back to why UMass Chan is the specific school you want to contribute to and grow with.
8. Why did you apply to T.H. Chan SOM? (200 words)
Skip the generic rankings line and instead connect your motivations to UMass Chan’s mission and environment. You could talk about their Vista curriculum’s emphasis on community‑centered care, the way PURCH or Lahey’s LEAD track aligns with your ambitions, or their commitment to Massachusetts’ health equity. Show how that aligns with your story, values, and vision as a future physician who wants to serve and innovate.
9. If you are currently taking a gap year, in what activities are you engaged? (200 words)
Frame the gap as purposeful growth, not a pause but a setup. Maybe you’re working clinically, tutoring, volunteering, or researching. Explain what skills you’re building, the challenges you’re embracing, or the clarity you’ve found through deliberate reflection, and how that time off has sharpened your readiness for medical school with maturity, resilience, and direction.
10. Please describe an example of your personal and/or professional experience with and understanding of systemic inequity, exclusion, or lack of representation in health care in the United States. How did you arrive at this understanding? (200 words)Share a story where you witnessed or confronted structural barriers or inequities. It could be in a clinic, classroom, or community. Talk about how that moment shifted your awareness: naming what you didn’t know, how you educated yourself, or the steps you took to act (even if small). That’s the spark of advocacy and humility UMass needs.
Track-Specific Options (if applying to regional tracks):
1. PURCH (Population Health): Prompt: Please describe how a focus on population health and healthcare disparities will benefit you in your training and/or career. (≤ 500 words)
Connect your lived or clinical experiences of seeing gaps in care, experiencing barriers, or serving marginalized communities with your belief that healing populations demands systems thinking, partnership, and advocacy. Explain how PURCH’s emphasis on community health aligns with your ambition to translate insights into impact, and how you’ll both learn from and contribute to that mission.
2. LEAD@Lahey (Leadership Track): Prompt: Based on your interests and life experiences, please describe how you might be a good fit for the LEAD@Lahey Pathway at UMass Chan Medical School? What unique experiences and perspectives might you bring to the class? (≤ 250 words)
Lean into a moment you led with intention, like organizing cross‑disciplinary projects, navigating systems, or advocating for change. Then highlight how those leadership moments, paired with your ability to collaborate across boundaries, make you a natural fit for LEAD@Lahey’s interprofessional and systems‑driven approach; show how you’d both learn from and elevate that cohort.
UMass Chan requires a minimum of three letters of recommendation and allows up to six letters. If your undergraduate institution offers a premed committee letter, UMass Chan expects you to submit it. If your school doesn’t offer one or you can’t get it, you’ll need to explain why in your secondary application.
If you're not submitting a committee letter, you must include two letters from science faculty, such as biology, chemistry, biochemistry, or physics. Choose people who have taught you and can speak to your academic ability. Beyond that, letters from research mentors, clinical supervisors, volunteer coordinators, or employers are welcome, especially if they know your character and work ethic well. Don’t include letters from family or friends. They will be ignored.
Graduate or post-bac students in biomedical sciences are expected to include a letter from their program director instead of undergraduate science professors. MD/PhD applicants must include at least two letters from recent research supervisors. These applicants can exceed the six-letter maximum, but only with letters directly tied to research experiences.
All letters must be submitted through the AMCAS Letter Service. UMass Chan accepts letters via VirtualEvals, Interfolio, or traditional mail, but once received, it takes at least two weeks for processing. Plan accordingly and don’t let letters be the reason your app gets held up.
UMass Chan runs a Multiple Mini Interview. Eight stations, each one designed to test how you think, not what you know. You’ll get two minutes to read a prompt, then six minutes to respond. No science. No math. Just you, a scenario, and someone watching how you handle it.
This is where the AdCom wants to see what kind of person you are under pressure. They’re not looking for robots with perfect answers. They’re looking for future doctors who can think on their feet, communicate clearly, and stay composed when things get messy. You’ll get ethical dilemmas, patient interactions, and healthcare policy questions.
Don’t expect softball questions. Past prompts have asked applicants how they’d respond if a nurse was ignored during a team discussion. How they’d address rising syphilis rates in Worcester. How they’d balance visitor restrictions with patient well-being during COVID.
Before the MMI starts, you’ll get an orientation. Admissions, curriculum, financial aid. They’ll cover the basics. You’ll meet current students, take a tour, and get a feel for what life at UMass Chan is actually like. Then you’ll rotate through the MMI stations, one by one.
If you're applying for an MD/PhD, it’s a different beast. You’ll still do the MMI, but also face 3–4 separate Zoom interviews with research faculty. There’s a 30-minute Q&A with the admissions committee. A 90-minute student-led session where you’re expected to contribute. It’s longer. It’s more technical. And they’ll expect you to already be thinking like a physician-scientist.
Every medical school is different, and some fit certain students better than others, depending on values, goals, and learning style. Here's how to know if you belong at UMass Chan.
UMass Chan is a good fit if you:
UMass Chan may not be a good fit if you:
If you're considering UMass Chan, chances are you're also looking at other medical schools in Massachusetts. We've broken down the admissions process, stats, and how to stand out for each one. Check out the guides below to get a leg up on the competition.
The truth? Most premeds don’t get in because they never see what a real successful application looks like. They guess. They follow Reddit threads. They piece together advice from random forums and hope it sticks.
That’s why at Premed Catalyst, we put together a free resource that includes 8 real AMCAS applications that earned acceptances to top med schools. You’ll see how they wrote essays, described their activities, and more. I even included my own UCLA application, unfiltered and exactly how I submitted it, so you can model your app after what we know works.
Get your free resource here.
