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In this guide, we’ll break down how to get into the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth (Geisel), including its acceptance rate, MCAT and GPA expectations, admissions requirements, and what the Geisel admissions committee looks for in successful applicants.
If you’re only looking for the requirements, click here.
Geisel School of Medicine has an acceptance rate of 0.93%. The Association of American Medical Colleges’ (AAMC) 2025 FACTS report states that Geisel received 10,330 verified applications in the most recent admissions cycle and only 96 students matriculated. This means that fewer than 1 out of every 100 applicants ultimately earns a seat at Geisel.
According to the AAMC’s archived data, Geisel has remained highly competitive in the last four years. Here’s a breakdown of its admissions data from the 2022-2026 admissions cycles.
Geisel’s average acceptance rate from 2022-2023 through 2025-2026 is approximately 1.03%, meaning only about 1 out of every 97 applicants ultimately matriculated. This also means Geisel rejected roughly 98.97% of applicants from 2022-2026.
Geisel kept its class size consistent during this period, enrolling between 92 and 96 matriculants per cycle. Even in its most favorable year (2024-2025, with a 1.13% acceptance rate), Geisel still admitted only about 1 applicant per 100, confirming how selective the program remains.
It is extremely difficult to get into the Geisel School of Medicine. In the 2025-2026 admissions cycle, Geisel received 10,330 verified applications, and only 96 students matriculated, meaning Geisel could fill its entire incoming class more than 107 times over with the number of students who applied.
The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth’s median MCAT score is 516. While Geisel does not publish a minimum MCAT requirement, MSAR data shows that the 2024 entering class scored consistently high across every section of the exam:
The table below shows the MCAT score range for Geisel matriculants based on percentile data:
A 516 MCAT score places the Geisel matriculants around the 92nd percentile nationally. Since the national average MCAT score is 506.3, Geisel’s median score sits nearly 10 points above the national benchmark, reinforcing the academic strength of its incoming class.
An MCAT score of 519 is considered highly competitive at Geisel because it matches the 75th percentile score for matriculants.
What this means for competitiveness:
The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth’s median total GPA is 3.89. While Geisel does not publish a minimum GPA requirement, MSAR data shows that most matriculants earn near-perfect academic records.
The table below shows the total GPA percentile range for the 2024-2025 Geisel matriculants.
According to AAMC 2025-2026 data, the national average GPA for medical school applicants is 3.67. Geisel’s median GPA of 3.89 sits about 6.00% higher than the national average, reinforcing how academically selective the program is.
The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth’s median science GPA is 3.86. This benchmark shows that most accepted students excel in rigorous science coursework.
The table below shows the science GPA percentile range for Geisel matriculants.
To apply to the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, applicants must submit the following:
The table below shows the course prerequisites for Geisel:
Applicants to the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth must complete a secondary application with four short essay responses, each with a 500-word limit.
Your secondary essays should reinforce your personal narrative, demonstrate maturity and reflection, and show clear alignment with Geisel’s values, including community, service, social justice, and collaborative learning.
The Geisel School of Medicine’s 2025-2026 secondary essay prompts are:
1. Please indicate your plans for the 2025-2026 academic year. If in school, please list your courses. If working, let us know something about the nature of your job. If your plans or courses change (we only need to be notified about changes in prerequisite courses) subsequently, please inform the Admissions Office by email at Geisel.Admissions@dartmouth.edu.
During the 2025-2026 academic year, I will be completing my senior year as a full-time student pursuing a B.S. in Human Biology at the University of Michigan. In Fall 2025, I plan to enroll in Advanced Physiology, Immunology, Medical Ethics, and a seminar course on rural health delivery systems. In Winter 2026, I will take Biochemistry II, Epidemiology, a statistics course focused on public health applications, and a capstone research course in global health.
In addition to coursework, I will continue working as a clinical assistant in an internal medicine clinic affiliated with Michigan Medicine. I work approximately 12–15 hours per week supporting patient intake, documenting histories, and assisting physicians with follow-up coordination. This role has strengthened my communication skills and helped me better understand the barriers patients face in managing chronic illness.
I will also remain involved with the student-run free clinic in Ann Arbor, where I volunteer twice per month assisting with patient navigation and appointment scheduling. Through this experience, I have gained meaningful exposure to underserved populations and developed a stronger interest in community-based medicine.
Outside of clinical involvement, I will continue my research project on healthcare access gaps in rural counties, focusing on transportation barriers and delayed preventive care. I expect to present my findings at our undergraduate research symposium in Spring 2026.
This response answers the prompt directly by clearly listing courses for both semesters while also explaining work, service, and research commitments. It stays organized and easy to scan, which matters because admissions committees review thousands of applications.
It also includes concrete details like weekly hours, responsibilities, and research focus, which makes the applicant’s year feel realistic and intentional. Most importantly, it reinforces themes that align well with Geisel’s values, such as community health, underserved care, and healthcare access.
2. Please reflect on your primary application and share something not addressed elsewhere that would be helpful to the Admissions Committee as we review your file:
3. What aspects of the Geisel School of Medicine draw you to apply? Please include the characteristics and strengths you will bring to our program and how you hope to contribute to our community.
4. Geisel School of Medicine values social justice and diversity in all its forms. Reflect on a situation where you were the “other.”
The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth conducts virtual interviews. Interviewees will complete two separate 30-minute one-on-one interviews with members of the admissions committee.
Geisel structures its interview day to evaluate both your communication skills and your fit with Geisel’s collaborative learning culture.
The interview season begins in late August and continues through March, with interviews typically held on Thursdays by invitation only.
The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth has an overall interview rate of 7.18%. The MSAR reports that 611 out of 8,505 verified applicants received interview invitations in the 2024-2025 admissions cycle.
Out-of-state applicants made up the largest portion of the applicant pool and had a 7.35% interview rate, with 568 out of 7,728 invited to interview. International applicants had a 4.78% interview rate, with 34 out of 712 invited. In-state applicants had the highest interview rate at 13.85%, with 9 out of 65 applicants receiving interviews.
These numbers show that Geisel is highly selective, and earning an interview invitation signals that the admissions committee already considers you academically qualified and is now assessing your fit, character, and contribution potential.
Here are three tips to get into the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.
You should develop a cohesive personal narrative that connects your clinical exposure, service work, research interests, and long-term goals into one clear theme. Your application should answer one central question: Why medicine, and why you?
Dr. Jason Gomez, an MD/MBA grad from Stanford University, former Stanford Med admissions officer, and current admissions expert at Inspira Advantage, emphasizes this point in one of our MCAT webinars:
“My greatest advice would be own your story fully and authentically you're not just a GPA you're not just an MCAT score you're not just a list of activities you're a person with a voice a path a why and that's what will make you stand out …” he says.
He adds, “avoid any cliches like ‘I want to help people’ … and talk about the one rooted in your own lived experiences.”
Instead of treating each activity as a separate “resume bullet,” use your application to show consistency. For example, if you care about rural medicine, health equity, or underserved communities, you should reinforce that through your volunteering, patient-facing experiences, leadership roles, and secondary essays.
Your personal statement should introduce your central motivation, and your activities section should provide evidence that you acted on it over time.
You should prioritize depth, progression, and sustained impact in your extracurricular activities instead of trying to list as many experiences as possible.
One of the most important tips to get into the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth is to show long-term dedication in a few meaningful roles rather than short-term involvement in many unrelated activities. Admissions committees consistently value applicants who commit over time, especially in service, clinical work, research, or leadership.
For example, long-term involvement might look like volunteering at a community health clinic for two years with weekly shifts and eventually training new volunteers or leading a project. Short-term involvement would be joining several different clubs or volunteering programs for only a few months each without taking on meaningful responsibilities or demonstrating growth.
Dr. Bima Hasjim, an Inspira Advantage admissions consultant and former UC Irvine Medical School admissions officer, explains in our webinar on mastering the med school admissions process that many applicants fall into the “quantity trap”:
“An applicant that has all 15 spots filled versus an applicant that only has 10 for example but in those 10 slots they've been involved in those … experiences for three or four years is going to far outweigh the person that has 15 extracurricular activities but very superficial … hours here and there.”
Geisel wants to see consistency, maturity, and genuine investment, not resume stacking. If you show increasing responsibility, leadership, and measurable impact over several years, you prove that you can handle the long-term intensity of medical training.
You should approach the interview as the stage where your personality, communication skills, and character matter more than your MCAT or GPA.
In our webinar on how to prepare for medical school, Chiamaka Okorie, a member of the Geisel admissions committee for three years, explains that strong interpersonal connections can outweigh raw stats:
“I have recommended we don't accept someone with a 525 … I've recommended an acceptance for 507 … it’s all about how they connected with me and what I feel like they're going to add to the institution and to medicine…”
She adds: “Your grades at that point do not matter … if you got to the interview stage, it means that you pass[ed] through your screening for your grades.”
In other words, your interview is where you prove what the admissions committee is looking for beyond numbers. Strong grades and test scores can help you earn an interview invitation, but they do not guarantee acceptance.
Likewise, a slightly lower MCAT or GPA does not automatically disqualify you if you demonstrate maturity, self-awareness, and the ability to contribute meaningfully to Geisel’s learning environment
If you communicate your motivations clearly, show emotional intelligence, and reflect thoughtfully on your experiences, you can outperform applicants with higher stats who come across as rehearsed, disconnected, or self-focused.
If you want expert guidance on getting into medical school, Inspira Advantage can help you strengthen your essays, refine your positioning, and build a competitive medical school application.
Geisel School of Medicine offers the following MD programs:
For the 2025–2026 academic year, Geisel lists annual tuition at $72,570 for all four years of the MD program. Geisel also includes required fees such as student services, health access, disability insurance, and other administrative costs.
Geisel estimates the total cost of attendance (including tuition, mandatory fees, and living expenses) at approximately $101,004 to $106,064 per year, depending on the year of the program. This estimate includes housing, food, books and supplies, health insurance, exam-related expenses, travel, and personal costs.
Below is Geisel’s tuition and fee breakdown for MD students throughout their four years of med school:
Based on Geisel’s estimated annual cost of attendance, the total projected cost for four years of medical school is approximately $413,410. This estimate may vary depending on housing choices, personal spending, and travel costs during clinical training.
Geisel School of Medicine primarily awards financial aid through need-based scholarships and student loans. Geisel encourages students to apply early, since the school typically makes financial aid decisions in the spring, often shortly after admissions decisions are released.
Geisel financial aid packages generally include a required base loan amount of $42,700. If a student’s demonstrated financial need exceeds that amount, Geisel may award a Geisel School of Medicine scholarship to help cover remaining costs. Depending on eligibility and available funding, Geisel may award aid up to the full cost of attendance.
Students may also use federal financial aid options such as Direct Unsubsidized Loans and Grad PLUS Loans when eligible.
Geisel School of Medicine follows the standard AMCAS application cycle, with applications opening in the spring and interviews running from late summer through early spring. Below is Geisel’s full application timeline.
The Geisel School of Medicine may consider transfer students in limited circumstances, but transfer acceptance is rare. Applicants should contact Geisel Admissions directly to confirm eligibility and available space, since most medical schools only accept transfers when openings occur in the incoming class.
Yes, Geisel offers multiple dual-degree options for students pursuing careers in healthcare leadership, research, or public health. These include programs such as the MD/MBA, MD/MPH, and MEng-MD through Dartmouth’s partner schools.
Yes, the Geisel School of Medicine grades all Year 1 and 2 courses as Pass/Fail, which means students do not receive traditional letter grades during the preclinical curriculum.
Geisel grades core clerkships in Year 3 as Honors, Pass, or Fail; and most Year 4 electives as Honors, High Pass, Pass, or Fail, with some courses remaining Pass/Fail. Geisel also uses clerkship Honors performance to determine class standing and graduation honors.
Reviewed by:
Dermatology Resident Physician, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences
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