Kaplan Survey: Almost All Medical School Admissions Officers Expect Fierce Competition to Continue, With a Strong MCAT® Score as Key to Success
A Kaplan survey of 56 accredited U.S. medical schools finds 94 percent of admissions officers expect the 2026-2027 admissions cycle to be at least as competitive as the prior year. The backdrop is rising applicant volume: 54,699 MD-school applicants (up 5.3 percent year-over-year) and 23,114 DO-school applicants (up 4.6 percent) for 2025-2026, per the AAMC and AACOM. Kaplan, a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC), positions test prep for the MCAT as a growth lever, with 44 percent of officers calling a low score the biggest application deal breaker.
Key figures
- Schools polled
- 56
- Do applicant growth yoy
- 4.6%
- Do applicants 2025 2026
- 23114
- Md applicant growth yoy
- 5.3%
- Md applicants 2025 2026
- 54699
- Mcat as deal breaker pct
- 44%
- Med schools expect competitive cycle pct
- 94%
AI analysis
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