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In this guide, we’ll learn how to get into the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS), including acceptance rates, admissions statistics, GPA and MCAT benchmarks, application requirements, and what the admissions committee values most.
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The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has an acceptance rate of 1.34%. According to AAMC’s Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR) database data, ISMMS received 9,551 verified applications and welcomed 128 matriculants into its 2025-2026 class.
Here’s a breakdown of the ISMMS acceptance rate over the last six years:
The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has a highly competitive admissions landscape, with an average acceptance rate of just 1.43% over the past six admissions cycles. Annual applicant numbers have ranged from just over 7,100 to nearly 9,600, while the number of matriculated students has gradually increased from a steady 120 to 128 in the most recent cycle.
Getting into the Icahn School of Medicine is exceptionally difficult. For the 2025-2026 admissions cycle, only 128 students were admitted out of 9,551 applicants, resulting in an acceptance rate of 1.34%. With over 9,500 applicants vying for just 128 seats, Icahn could have filled its incoming class more than 74 times over.
The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s Admissions Difficulty Scale was created by comparing acceptance rates and overall selectivity across all accredited U.S. medical schools.
With an acceptance rate of just 1.34%, every part of your application to the Icahn School of Medicine must be strategically crafted to meet the school's high standards. Our ISMMS admissions counselors provide expert guidance to improve your chances of med school acceptance.
The median MCAT score among Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai accepted applicants is 520. The median MCAT score among matriculants is 519. ISMMS does not set a minimum MCAT score requirement.
Here's a closer look at how ISMMS's 2025-2026 accepted applicants and matriculants performed on the MCAT:
| Percentile | MCAT Scores of Accepted Applicants | MCAT Scores of Matriculants |
|---|---|---|
| 10th Percentile | 515 | 515 |
| 25th Percentile | 518 | 517 |
| Median | 520 | 519 |
| 75th Percentile | 522 | 520 |
| 90th Percentile | 524 | 523 |
According to data from the AAMC's MSAR database, the 2025-2026 accepted applicants achieved the following median scores in each section:
| MCAT Section | Median Score |
|---|---|
| Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems | 130 |
| Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills | 129 |
| Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems | 130 |
| Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior | 131 |
ISMMS's median MCAT score of 520 for accepted applicants falls in the 97th percentile of all MCAT test-takers nationally. For context, only about 3% of examinees nationwide achieve a score at or above this level.
The AAMC reports a national average MCAT score of 506.3 for applicants. ISMMS's accepted student average of 519.8 is 13.5 points higher.
The median GPA among Icahn School of Medicine accepted applicants is 3.95. The median GPA among matriculants is 3.94. ISMMS does not set a minimum GPA requirement.
Here's a breakdown of the GPA range for ISMMS's 2025-2026 accepted applicants and matriculants:
| Percentile | Total GPA of Accepted Applicants | Total GPA of Matriculants |
|---|---|---|
| 10th Percentile | 3.77 | 3.75 |
| 25th Percentile | 3.87 | 3.86 |
| Median | 3.95 | 3.94 |
| 75th Percentile | 3.99 | 3.98 |
| 90th Percentile | 4.00 | 4.00 |
For perspective, the AAMC reports a national average GPA of 3.67 for medical school applicants. ISMMS's accepted student average of 3.91 is 0.24 points higher, underscoring the school's rigorous academic expectations.
The median science GPA among Icahn School of Medicine accepted applicants is 3.94. The median science GPA among matriculants is 3.93.
Here's a breakdown of the science GPA range for ISMMS's 2025-2026 accepted applicants and matriculants:
| Percentile | Science GPA of Accepted Applicants | Science GPA of Matriculants |
|---|---|---|
| 10th Percentile | 3.70 | 3.67 |
| 25th Percentile | 3.84 | 3.81 |
| Median | 3.94 | 3.93 |
| 75th Percentile | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| 90th Percentile | 4.00 | 4.00 |
Applicants must submit:
Here are the prerequisites that Icahn School of Medicine applicants are recommended and required to have:
These coursework requirements help signal readiness for ISMMS’ rigorous curriculum.
The Icahn School of Medicine uses a traditional, semi-structured interview format. Each applicant invited to interview is assigned two 30-minute conversations with members of the MD Admissions Committee. Interviews are designed to provide a holistic candidate evaluation, covering academics, research, clinical exposure, community service, and extracurricular involvement.
During each session, interviewers evaluate candidates across five core areas: academics, clinical exposure, community service, research, and extracurricular involvement. They also assess communication skills and personal qualities that align with Icahn's institutional mission.
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai's secondary application consists of two required essay prompts and two conditional prompts, all with tight word limits.
The secondary essay prompts are:
"What is the toughest feedback you ever received? How did you handle it, and what did you learn from it?" (250 words)
"Describe a situation that you have thought to be unfair or unjust, whether towards yourself or towards others. How did you address this situation, if at all?" (250 words)
"If you are currently not a full time student, please briefly describe the activities you are participating in this academic year." (100 words)
"If you are committed to a particular community or if there is an important aspect of your background not addressed elsewhere in the application, we invite you to do so here. Briefly explain how such factors have influenced your motivation for a career in medicine." (150 words)
Here are some tips to get into the Icahn School of Medicine.
Unlike many medical schools that are tied to rigid traditions, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai emphasizes innovation, flexibility, and responsiveness in shaping its curriculum.
Dr. Rainier Soriano, Senior Associate Dean for Curricular Affairs at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, explains in a video titled “73 Questions With a Dean”:
“Most medical schools here have a very long tradition and we’re not challenged by that tradition. So we don’t have to follow a tradition that’s been there for many, many years. I think being at Mount Sinai Medical School we’re able to start anything that we think is important for the good of the community, for the good of the health system, but also for the good of Mount Sinai in general.”
Applicants can use this to their advantage by showing how they thrive in innovative spaces and are motivated to be part of a medical school that pushes boundaries to better serve students and the community.
Show in your application that you value forward-thinking environments and are eager to contribute to a continuously evolving school. Highlight experiences where you’ve adapted to new challenges, embraced change, or participated in innovative projects.
For example, launching a new public health initiative in your community, integrating telehealth tools into a clinical or volunteer setting, or collaborating with engineers and policy students on a health-tech prototype. Sharing examples like these demonstrates alignment with Mount Sinai’s culture of progress.
In the ISMMS Mission Minutes: Admissions video, Dr. Valerie Parkas, Senior Associate Dean for Recruitment and Admissions at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, makes it clear that what the Icahn School of Medicine is looking for goes beyond GPA and MCAT scores. She explains that the admissions committee values authenticity and genuine service, not applicants who simply try to look impressive on paper:
Icahn’s admissions approach is clear: grades and test scores are necessary but not sufficient. The MSAR 2025 data reinforces this, as 88% of matriculants had community service/volunteer experience and 91% had medical/clinical volunteer experience, showing that nearly all successful applicants had proven their commitment beyond the classroom.
Here’s a look at the percentage of matriculants who had community service/volunteer and medical/clinical volunteer experience over the past 3 years:
When presenting these experiences on your application, go beyond listing hours or titles. Frame your community contributions as stories of impact. Did you take on a leadership role in a student organization? Did you help implement a new process in a clinic? Did you build trust with patients from underserved backgrounds?
Icahn is drawn to applicants who can demonstrate they’ve been “productive members” of their communities and who will bring that same ethos to Sinai’s collaborative, service-driven environment.
Dr. Parkas also emphasizes that Sinai seeks students who will engage deeply in research, clinical service, and collaborative projects within the school’s unique environment:
“We’re looking for kids who are going to work in our labs, are gonna work in our community, are gonna work at the free clinic, are going to be committed to global health — whatever it is that they’re passionate about, we want to see that passion, we want it to be authentic, and we want people who are going to come and be collaborative members of really a very change-oriented academic environment.”
Icahn’s culture focuses on action, passion, and collaboration. This culture is supported by the MSAR 2025 profile, which indicates that 99% of matriculants had research/lab experience, and 89% had physician shadowing/clinical observation. In other words, almost every admitted student had already demonstrated they could thrive in hands-on medical or scientific environments before coming to Sinai.
When applying, link your authentic interests to specific opportunities at Sinai. For instance:
Sinai is not looking for students who simply say they are passionate; they want evidence that you’ve already acted on your passions and are ready to scale them in a collaborative, change-oriented environment.
ISMMS offers the following MD programs to students:
The Icahn School of Medicine tuition for the 2025–2026 academic year is $74,208. The required fees for the year, including general, student activity, and technology fees, total $1,745, bringing tuition and fees to $75,953.
The estimated total cost of attendance for a first-year medical student, including tuition, fees, books, supplies, transportation, and living expenses, is $99,803 (not including optional health, dental, or vision insurance).
The total estimated cost of attendance over four years at the Icahn School of Medicine is approximately $411,000 (before optional health, dental, or vision insurance).
Here’s a complete year-by-year breakdown of how much each year will cost at Icahn:
The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai offers financial support through its Enhanced Scholarship Initiative (ESI), a program designed to significantly reduce the debt burden for students with demonstrated financial need. Under the ESI, students with no expected family contribution (EFC) can graduate with no more than $75,000 in medical school debt over four years—well below the national median of nearly $200,000.
Icahn follows a need-blind admissions process, meaning applicants are admitted based solely on merit, and financial aid is awarded after admission based on each student’s demonstrated need. Aid packages typically combine a small base loan with institutional scholarships that cover the remainder of a student’s financial need.
In addition to institutional aid, Icahn encourages students to apply for external scholarships, which can be applied to offset loans or expected family contributions.
Here is a full breakdown of the Icahn School of Medicine application timeline:
No, the Icahn School of Medicine does not accept transfer applications. All students must apply directly through the standard admissions process.
Icahn awards financial aid based on demonstrated financial need. Need is calculated by subtracting your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) from the school's official Cost of Attendance (COA), which includes tuition, fees, housing, food, transportation, and other living expenses.
Admissions are need-blind, so your financial situation is only reviewed after admission.
The FlexMed Program is Icahn's early assurance pathway that lets college sophomores secure a spot in medical school without taking the MCAT. Students admitted through FlexMed can pursue any major, in the sciences, humanities, or arts, while still preparing for a medical career.
The program is designed to attract students with diverse academic interests and encourages applicants who want to combine medicine with fields like public policy, ethics, or technology.
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