Read our comprehensive guide on how to get into The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University (AMS), including its admissions statistics, requirements, deadlines, and tuition costs.
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The Warren Alpert Medical School Acceptance Rate: 1.57%
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University accepts 1.57% of applicants. In the 2025-2026 admissions cycle, AMS received 9,186 applications and enrolled a class of 144, according to Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR) data. For every student who earned a spot in the entering class, 63 did not.
0%
Warren Alpert Medical School Acceptance Rate
0
Applicants
0
Matriculants
< 2 in 100
Odds of Acceptance
Out of 100 applicants…
Matriculated Did not matriculate
Acceptance rate by cycle
Warren Alpert Medical School has enrolled exactly 144 matriculants each year for the past five cycles. With a five-year average acceptance rate of roughly 1.63%, AMS remains one of the most selective medical schools in the country.
The table below shows AMS's acceptance rate data from the most recent admissions cycle, as reported by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC):
Year
Number of Applications
Number of Matriculants
Acceptance Rate
2025-2026
9,186
144
1.57%
2024-2025
8,315
144
1.73%
2023-2024
8,873
144
1.62%
2022-2023
8,475
144
1.70%
2021-2022
9,457
144
1.52%
Warren Alpert Medical School's average acceptance rate across all five cycles is approximately 1.63%. That means roughly 1 out of every 61 applicants earned a seat in the entering class.
Class size held completely flat throughout the period. AMS enrolled exactly 144 matriculants in every cycle without exception
How Hard Is It to Get Into The Warren Alpert Medical School?
Getting into The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University is extremely difficult. AMS carries Ivy League selectivity with a 1.57% acceptance rate. The admissions funnel narrows fast; of 9,186 verified applicants, AMS invited only 344 to interview and ultimately enrolled 144.
That means 96.26% of candidates were eliminated before the interview stage. And 41.86% of those who did interview ended up in the entering class. Clearing the initial file review is the first major hurdle, and even a strong interview doesn’t guarantee a seat.
What Is The Warren Alpert Medical School's Acceptance Rate for In-State Applicants?
The acceptance rate for in-state applicants at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University is 18.52%. AMS received 81 in-state applications, extended 15 interview invitations, and matriculated 15 students. That means every Rhode Island resident who received an interview in the most recent cycle matriculated.
However, Rhode Island residents make up less than 1% of the total applicant pool (0.88%) and fill only 10.42% of the entering class.
What Is The Warren Alpert Medical School's Acceptance Rate for Out-of-State Applicants?
The acceptance rate for out-of-state applicants at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University is 1.49%. Of 8,609 out-of-state verified applications, 327 received interview invitations, and 128 students matriculated. Out-of-state applicants represent 93.72% of the total pool and fill 88.89% of the entering class.
What Is The Warren Alpert Medical School's Acceptance Rate for International Students?
The acceptance rate for international applicants at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University is 0.20%. There were 496 international applicants. Two received interview invitations. And only one student matriculated.
The fact that AMS matriculated one international student is notable because many U.S. medical schools accept zero international students in a given cycle. However, the 0.20% acceptance rate and the 0.40% interview rate signal that international applicants face the steepest odds of any group.
This low acceptance rate is also likely due to AMS requiring international applicants to have completed at least one year of coursework at an accredited institution in the United States or Canada.
How Many People Apply to The Warren Alpert Medical School Every Year?
Approximately 8,300 to 9,500 applicants apply to Warren Alpert Medical School each year. Application volume has fluctuated meaningfully over the past five cycles, dropping as low as 8,315 in 2024-2025 before climbing back to 9,186 in 2025-2026.
Despite a range of more than 1,100 applicants across five years, AMS maintained its class size at exactly 144 matriculants in every cycle.
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Admissions Statistics
The Warren Alpert Medical School Median MCAT Score: 516
Students accepted to Warren Alpert Medical School’s recent class had a median MCAT score of 516. The median MCAT score among AMS matriculants was 515.
516
Median MCAT Score
511
10th %ile
514
25th %ile
516
Median
520
75th %ile
523
90th %ile
Your MCAT Score516
472490500510520528
Warren Alpert Medical School does not publish a minimum MCAT requirement. MCAT scores are one factor in a holistic review that also considers GPA, research, clinical experience, and personal qualities.
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University does not set a published minimum score.
Here’s how the 2025-2026 admits scored across every section of the exam:
MCAT Section
Median Score
Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems
129
Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills
128
Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems
130
Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior
130
Here is the MCAT score percentile distribution for admits and matriculants:
Percentile
MCAT Score for Accepted Applicants
MCAT Score for Matriculants
10th Percentile
511
510
25th Percentile
514
513
Median
516
515
75th Percentile
520
518
90th Percentile
523
522
For context, a 516 ranks at the 92nd percentile nationally. And a 511 falls at the 82nd percentile. The lowest-scoring AMS matriculants still outperform roughly 4 out of every 5 MCAT test-takers.
The 12-point gap between the 10th and 90th percentiles is notably wide for such a competitive school, confirming that deep research experience, strong clinical exposure, and exceptional essays can compensate for a score that falls below their median.
What MCAT Score Makes You Competitive at The Warren Alpert Medical School?
An MCAT score of 520 or above makes you a competitive applicant at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, as it places you among the top 25% of accepted applicants.
Here is how different score ranges translate to your standing among AMS matriculants:
⚈ A 516 MCAT score lands at AMS's median. You clear the academic threshold, but at a school accepting 1.57% of applicants, median numbers alone aren’t enough. Your research portfolio, clinical narrative, and secondary essays must make the case for why AMS is the right fit.
⚈ A 520 MCAT score places you above three-quarters of AMS admits. At this level, the admissions committee spends less time evaluating whether you can handle the coursework and more time assessing what you will contribute to the school.
⚈ A 523+ MCAT score reaches the 90th percentile of accepted applicants. At AMS, where the median already sits at the 92nd national percentile, breaking into the 520s puts you among the strongest test-takers in any medical school class in the country.
The Warren Alpert Medical School Median GPA: 3.91
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University’s recent admits had a median total GPA of 3.91. And matriculants had a median total GPA of 3.90.
3.91
Median Total GPA
3.69
10th %ile
3.79
25th %ile
3.91
Median
3.98
75th %ile
4.00
90th %ile
Your GPA3.91
2.002.503.003.504.00
Warren Alpert Medical School does not publish a minimum GPA requirement. GPA is one factor in a holistic review that also considers MCAT scores, research, clinical experience, and personal qualities.
AMS is one of the few medical schools that publishes an explicit minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00. If your cumulative GPA is below that threshold, your application will not be reviewed.
The percentile breakdown for the 2025-2026 matriculants shows where the class actually clusters:
Percentile
Total GPA of Accepted Applicants
Total GPA of Matriculants
10th Percentile
3.69
3.68
25th Percentile
3.79
3.77
Median
3.91
3.90
75th Percentile
3.98
3.98
90th Percentile
4.00
4.00
AMS admits applicants with a 0.31-point GPA range, from 3.69 at the 10th percentile to 4.00 at the 90th percentile. The bulk of the admits fall in the high-3.7 to high-3.9 GPA zone.
What GPA Makes You Competitive at The Warren Alpert Medical School?
A 3.98 GPA makes you competitive at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. That places you in the top 25% of students who were recently accepted to AMS.
Here’s how each GPA tier stacks up against AMS admits:
⚈ A 3.91 GPA aligns AMS's admitted applicants’ median, which keeps you in the conversation but not ahead of it. At a school where more than half the class has a higher GPA, your MCAT, research track record, and intellectual range need to do the heavy lifting.
⚈ 3.98 GPA outperforms 75% of AMS admits, effectively taking GPA off the table as a concern. Paired with competitive test scores and evidence of intellectual curiosity, a GPA in this range lets the admissions committee evaluate you entirely on fit and potential.
⚈ A 4.00 GPA reaches the 90th percentile. A perfect transcript helps, but the distance between 3.98 and 4.00 is small. Research productivity, interdisciplinary interests, and essay quality still determine where your application lands compared to applicants with similar GPAs.
The Warren Alpert Medical School Median Science GPA: 3.88
The Warren Alpert Medical School’s recent admits and matriculants had a median science GPA of 3.88.
Percentile
Science GPA of Accepted Applicants
Science GPA of Matriculants
10th Percentile
3.58
3.54
25th Percentile
3.73
3.70
Median
3.88
3.88
75th Percentile
3.99
4.00
90th Percentile
4.00
4.00
The 75th and 90th percentiles both land near or at 4.00. That means at least 1 in 4 AMS admits earned near-perfect science marks.
What Science GPA Makes You Competitive at The Warren Alpert Medical School?
A 3.99 science GPA makes you highly competitive at The Warren Alpert Medical School, as it aligns with the top 25% GPA of recent admits.
If your science GPA lands between 3.73 and 3.88, you fall within the middle half of the accepted applicants and clear AMS's initial academic benchmarks. But you’ll need a strong MCAT, research depth, and polished essays to differentiate yourself.
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The Warren Alpert Medical School Admissions Requirements
Here’s a comprehensive list of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University's admissions requirements:
A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university (minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 required)
MCAT scores (scores must be from within three years prior to matriculation; January 2023 is the oldest score accepted for 2026 matriculation)
The Warren Alpert Medical School Course Requirements
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University requires the following prerequisite courses:
Required Course
Requirement
Biology (Cell Biology & Genetics)
2 courses with a grade of B or higher (lab required)
General (Inorganic) Chemistry
2 courses (lab required)
Organic Chemistry
1 course (lab required)
Biochemistry
1 course (lab encouraged)
Physics
2-course sequence covering mechanics, heat, electricity, optics, and radiation
Quantitative Reasoning
1 course in calculus or statistics (biostatistics preferred)
Writing
No specific course required, but strong writing skills expected; courses with substantial expository writing recommended
AP and IB credits are accepted for most prerequisites if they’re listed on your official undergraduate transcript and reported on AMCAS. However, biology is the one exception. All applicants have to complete two college-level biology courses, even if they received AP credit for introductory biology.
If you have AP biology credit, take additional upper-level biology courses, such as genetics, cell biology, or molecular biology, to meet this requirement.
The Warren Alpert Medical School Interview Format
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University conducts two traditional, one-on-one interviews with members of the MD Admissions Committee. For the 2026 cycle, all interviews are held virtually and take place on Thursdays and most Fridays from mid-September through February.
If you’re invited to interview, your day will include:
A group session covering admissions, financial aid, and an overview of the program
A virtual tour of the medical school
A session with current medical students
Two 30-minute individual interviews with faculty, students, or administrative members of the admissions committee
Each interview is open-file, meaning your interviewers have reviewed your application beforehand. You should expect specific, in-depth questions about your academic background, clinical experience, research, and motivation for medicine.
What Is The Warren Alpert Medical School's Interview Rate?
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University's overall interview rate in the most recent admissions cycle was approximately 3.74%. Of 9,186 verified applications, 344 applicants received interview invitations (15 in-state, 327 out-of-state, and two international).
Here’s a breakdown of each interview rate by applicant type:
Type of Applicant
Applied
Interviewed
Interview Rate
Rhode Island Residents
81
15
18.52%
Out-of-State Applicants
8,609
327
3.80%
International Applicants
496
2
0.40%
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Secondary Application Essays
The 2025-2026 Warren Alpert med school secondary essay prompts include one scheduling question and three required essays:
Scheduling Question
"Do you have significant limitations on your interview availability for the 2025-2026 admissions cycle? NOTE: Interviews occur on Thursdays and/or Fridays beginning in mid-September and finishing in February. Please detail any significant limitations on your availability during this time, such as international travel, work or courses." (500 characters, leave blank if no limitations)
How to Approach This Prompt
Only answer if you actually have conflicts.
Be concrete and limited to real constraints, like:
⚈ Pre-booked international travel
⚈ Fixed work shifts you cannot move
⚈ Required classes or exams
Give exact dates or time frames. Keep it short and factual. This is logistical, not a place to explain your commitments in detail.
Required Essay 1: Your 2025-2026 Activities
"Summarize your activities during the 2025-2026 academic year. Describe how your activities are preparing you for a medical career." (2,000 characters)
How to Approach This Prompt
Treat this like a structured update on your gap year or current work.
Start by clearly stating what you are doing (job, research, clinical, service). Then briefly explain how each activity builds relevant skills for medicine. For example, if you work as a medical assistant, mention patient interaction, workflow, or exposure to care delivery. If you are doing research, highlight your problem-solving or data analysis skills.
Focus on impact and growth, not just listing tasks. The reader should see how your current year is actively preparing you for medical school.
Required Essay 2: How You’ll Contribute to AMS
"How will your unique attributes, life experiences, and interests add to The Warren Alpert Medical School community?" (2,000 characters)
How to Approach This Prompt
Answer this essay as “what will you bring to the class?”
Pick one or two defining aspects of your background or interests and connect them to how you will engage with peers. For example, you might bring experience working in underserved communities, a strong research focus, or leadership in a specific area.
Then share how you’ll use it to contribute to the AMS community. Will you contribute to student groups, peer learning, research collaboration, or community initiatives? Focus on what others gain from having you in the class.
Required Essay 3: A Non-Academic Time When You Changed Your Plan
"Reflect on a non-academic situation when you had to change course, and how you did so." (3,000 characters)
How to Approach This Prompt
Choose a non-academic situation where something didn’t go as planned, and you had to adjust.
Start with the situation. Then focus on the turning point. What made you realize you needed to change course? Be specific about what you did next. You might have shifted your approach in a leadership role, changed how you communicated in a team, or adapted to an unexpected challenge in a clinical or work setting.
End with what you learned and how it changed how you approach similar situations now. The emphasis should be on your adaptability and decision-making under uncertainty.
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How to Improve Your Chances of Getting Into The Warren Alpert Medical School
The most effective tips to get into Warren Alpert Medical School are demonstrating the nine academic and non-academic qualities Brown explicitly evaluates and building a research profile that produces tangible academic output.
Here’s a closer look at each of these strategies:
Demonstrate Each Personal Trait Warren Alpert Medical School Is Looking For
AMS publishes its evaluation criteria directly. That gives applicants a rare and actionable roadmap. What Warren Alpert Medical School is looking for spans nine academic and non-academic factors:
Leadership qualities
GPA
MCAT
Letters of recommendation
A commitment to medicine
Research experience
Unique attributes
Clinical experience
Life experience
These traits can be found directly on AMS’ admissions page:
Most applicants focus almost exclusively on GPA and MCAT and treat everything else as supplementary. Brown's framework treats all nine factors as part of a unified picture. An applicant with a 3.95 GPA and no demonstrated leadership, no research output, and generic letters is not a strong ASM candidate, regardless of their numbers.
Map your application against all nine criteria before you submit. Identify which factors your application addresses with concrete evidence and which ones rely on vague claims.
Leadership requires a specific example of a decision you made, a team you built, or a direction you changed, not just a title you held. Unique attributes and life experience reward applicants who bring genuinely non-traditional perspectives into medicine. Do not leave those sections to chance.
How to Demonstrate Each Non-Academic Factor ASM Looks For
The table below shows what strong evidence looks like for each of the seven non-academic factors ASM weighs:
What Brown Evaluates
What Strong Evidence Looks Like
Leadership qualities
Founded or restructured a student organization, managed a team in a clinical or research setting, and led a community health initiative
Letters of recommendation
Letters from mentors who can speak to your research output, clinical judgment, or character under pressure, not just course performance
Commitment to medicine
Multi-year clinical exposure across more than one setting, not a single hospital volunteer stint
Research experience
At least one tangible output: poster, abstract, publication, or completed thesis
Unique attributes
A professional background, language skill, or lived experience that changes how you see patients or systems
Clinical experience
Direct patient contact in a role that required you to make judgments, not just observe
Life experience
Navigating financial hardship, caregiving responsibilities, immigration, military service, or other experiences that shaped your understanding of what patients carry into the exam room
Build a Strong Research Profile
Research experience appears in Brown's published evaluation criteria, and the entering class data makes the expectation concrete. Across four consecutive entering classes from 2022-2025, between 92% and 94% of Warren Alpert matriculants reported research or lab experience on their applications.
So research or lab experience isn’t just a recommendation; it’s practically expected of competitive applicants.
According to Dr. Joonhyuk Lee, a diagnostic radiology resident at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and admissions expert at Inspira Advantage, research output functions as a universal academic currency in medical school admissions. In our webinar on How to Get Ahead of the Competition, he shares:
"A published paper is a published paper and that's going to have a lot of weight moving forward," he says. "The contributions you made from a research standpoint, in terms of what type of posters have you presented, what type of papers have you published, that's all great academic currency, and that currency is what is kind of universal."
The distinction Dr. Lee draws is between passive participation and active output. Hours in a lab matter less than what those hours produced.
How to Turn Lab Time Into Tangible Research Output for Admission to Warren Alpert Medical School
Dr. Lee's advice is direct: Ask for what you want.
"I really do encourage that in whatever experience you're in, just don't feel afraid to delve right in,” he says. “Ask your principal investigators, 'Hey, I really want to do a poster presentation, I really want to do a paper, are there any projects you could place me on that kind of sets me up on that goal.'"
Most pre-med students wait to be assigned meaningful work. The ones who stand out at schools like AMS ask for it. Join a lab by sophomore year, identify a project with publication or presentation potential within the first semester, and have a direct conversation with your PI about your goals.
A poster at a regional conference, a co-authored abstract, or a completed honors thesis all demonstrate that your research involvement produced something the scientific community can evaluate. That output is what separates a competitive AMS applicant from one who simply logged hours.
If you want more expert strategies on how to get into The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Inspira Advantage’s team of admissions counselors can help you build the perfect application to maximize your acceptance odds.
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MD Programs Offered
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University offers several MD tracks:
MD Program
Length
Key Information
MD Program
4 years
Competency-based curriculum with integrated clinical experiences. Training takes place at eight affiliated hospitals.
Primary Care-Population Medicine (PC-PM) MD-ScM
4 years
First-in-the-nation integrated dual-degree program. Students earn both an MD and a Master of Science in Population Medicine within the standard four-year timeline.
For students pursuing careers as physician-scientists.
MD/MPA Program
4 years
Joint, integrated program with Brown's Watson Institute. Students earn both an MD and a Master of Public Affairs within four years.
Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME)
8 years
Combined baccalaureate-MD program, the only one in the Ivy League. Students are admitted as undergraduates and receive guaranteed admission to AMS upon completing their bachelor's degree.
Tuition and Scholarships
Brown University's Warren Alpert Medical School charges $73,150 in tuition for the 2025-2026 academic year across all four MD years. Total cost of attendance varies by class year based on resident budget length, class-specific fees, and living expenses.
How Much Does Warren Alpert Medical School Cost for 4 Years?
The total estimated cost of attendance across all four years of the Warren Alpert MD program reaches approximately $429,460, based on 2025-2026 published budgets. Tuition alone across four years totals $292,600.
Scholarships and Financial Aid at The Warren Alpert Medical School
Warren Alpert Medical School offers both merit-based and need-based financial aid to MD students. The Warren Alpert Scholars Program, funded by a $100 million gift, provides scholarship support and represents one of the most significant institutional commitments to student affordability among top medical schools. AMS also participates in federal Title IV financial aid programs. And all students should file the FAFSA to maximize eligibility.
The Warren Alpert Medical School Application Timeline
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University uses rolling admissions. Earlier submission directly improves your chances, as the admissions committee reviews completed files and extends interview invitations on a rolling basis throughout the cycle.
Here’s a breakdown of the key deadlines and milestones to keep in mind:
Date
Event
Late May / Early June 2026
AMCAS application opens
July 2026
AMS begins accepting applications
Mid-September 2026
Interview season begins (Thursdays and most Fridays)
October 7, 2026
AMCAS application deadline
November 1, 2026
Secondary application and letters of recommendation deadline
February 2027
Interview season ends
Early March 2027
All candidates receive notice of interview status
Rolling (after interview)
Admissions decisions are communicated; candidates are given a timeframe at their interview
April, 2027
Second look event for accepted applicants
April 30, 2027
Typical deadline to respond to the offer of admission
FAQs
What Is the Oldest MCAT Score The Warren Alpert Medical School Will Accept?
AMS accepts MCAT scores from within three years prior to matriculation. For applicants to the 2026 entering class, the oldest acceptable MCAT score is from January 2023. All MCAT scores must be available by the November 1 secondary application deadline to be considered for the current cycle.
Does The Warren Alpert Medical School Require Casper or AAMC PREview?
No, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University does not require the Casper exam or the AAMC PREview exam. Students are only required to complete the MCAT to be considered for admission.
Can You Apply to The Warren Alpert Medical School More Than Once?
You can apply to The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University a maximum of three times. If you’re a reapplicant, focus your application on demonstrating measurable growth since your last submission, including improved MCAT scores, additional clinical or research experience, and refined secondary essays.
Arush Chandna is the Co-Founder of Inspira Advantage and a nationally recognized expert on graduate school admissions. Arush has used his 12+ years of experience in higher education to help 10,000 applicants get into their dream graduate programs.
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