The cost of medical school tuition is well known to be a huge burden on students. Averaging over $37,000 a year, this cost has only continued to rise with no sign of slowing down. Prior to paying tens of thousands of dollars for school, applicants must first pay to apply to these programs. Though programs aim to keep these costs low, in the most recent application cycle, the average American student applying to medical school will have spent over $7,500. With a success rate of about six percent, many students will see this cost double, maybe even triple, as they continue to apply again in future cycles. Some students incur this cost five times over, before getting accepted (that’s over $30,000 before the overwhelming tuition costs even begin).
Here is the breakdown of the costs:
| Item | Estimated Cost (2022-2023) |
|---|---|
| MCAT test | $3251 |
| MCAT prep course | $2,8992 |
| Initial AMCAS application | $1701 |
| Average # of schools applied: 163 | $43 per school1 |
| Secondary/Supplementary Application | $100 per school3 |
| Travel Cost to Attend Interviews | $1,000 per school4 |
| Altus Admissions Assessments | $85 (registration fee and score distribution to 8 programs) + $15 for each additional program distribution |
The breakdown of costs does not include items such as formal attire for interviews, travel costs to an MCAT testing center, medical school application tools and guidebooks, and college service fees, though these are often additional expenditures for the applicant.
Another considerable cost to applicants that are often neglected by programs is time. Medical school applicants are already under enormous pressure to succeed academically while also investing numerous hours into volunteering and other extracurricular activities. Additionally, many students must seek employment while juggling these other commitments, in order to afford the application costs. This burden creates a huge barrier for applicants from low socioeconomic (SES) backgrounds and mature students who may be bombarded with additional familial obligations. This is why it’s important to ensure that medical school applications do not take up an exorbitant amount of time from applicants, who are already trying to meet multiple demands.
Gathering information from pre-medical student forums, blogs, and articles, we provide a breakdown of the estimated time spent on each part of the application process:
| Item | Estimated Time (2022-2023) |
|---|---|
| MCAT test | 6-8 months (prep time) + 7.5 hours (test) |
| AMCAS application | 1-2 weeks |
| Secondary/Supplementary Application | 3-4 days per school |
| Letter of Recommendation | ~3 hrs |
| Interview | ~3 hours (prep time) + 6 hours (interview) per school |
| Altus Admissions Assessments | 0 hours (no prep time) + 2.5 hours for all assessments |
This does not include the potential travel time to attend an MCAT testing session and interviews, which can vary widely depending on the applicant’s location.
Medical school admissions are in dire need of reform, but any changes need to avoid further burdening students. Keeping time and financial resources low can also help widen access to medical education by opening the doors to applicants from low-SES backgrounds and mature students.
Altus Admissions Assessments is one way in which medical programs can revamp their admissions process while minimizing costs to applicants. Measuring social intelligence, professionalism, and value-alignment, the assessments — Casper (a situational judgment test), Snapshot (a 10-minute, standardized one-way video interview), and Duet (a value-alignment assessment) — require little to no preparation. Their aim is to assess the intrinsic values and the underlying belief system of incoming students, which cannot be readily changed with a short workshop or a preparation course. Research has also shown that Casper in particular is not susceptible to coaching effects. That said, Altus has prepared free resources to help applicants familiarize themselves with the format and technical requirements of each assessment and reduce test-day anxiety; these include practice tests after registering for an Altus account and a list of test prep tips.
Along with a negligible time commitment, the cost of the set of assessments is substantially lower than other application costs (see above) – $85 to take the assessments and distribute results to eight programs and a $15 distribution fee for each additional program – with no additional travel or prep costs. The cost and time commitment make Altus a step towards a more fair and equitable admissions process. After all, the primary goal of admissions is to select the best students, not the richest students.
Originally published on October 23, 2017 by Christopher Zou, Ph.D.
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