2027 Entry Requirements & Interview Format
CUNY School of Medicine is a US MD program in New York, NY that takes 2027-entry applications through AMCAS. Its published class profile lists a median MCAT of 511 (range 506–517), a median GPA of 3.70, a 2.0% acceptance rate and a class of 72. The school holds a traditional interview: October 2026–February 2027. Decisions for 2027 entry: March 30, 2027 (AAMC standard).
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Step-by-step: entry requirements, MCAT prep, personal statement, interview format and the key deadlines.
Open the guide →Format breakdown, school-specific sample questions, FAQs and prep tips from tutors who interviewed here.
Read the guide →CUNY School of Medicine traces its origins to the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, founded in 1973. It became an independent LCME-accredited MD-granting school in 2015/2016. It is based at The City College of New York in Harlem. It is the only public medical school in New York City, and among the most affordable MD pathways in the state.
Its flagship route is an accelerated 7-year BS/MD program that admits students straight from high school, with no MCAT required at any stage. There is also a smaller graduate-entry MD track. The school emphasizes social justice, urban health, and primary care, and trains physicians committed to serving New York's diverse and often underserved communities.
Clinical training takes place at Harlem Hospital Center, Lincoln Hospital, and other New York Health + Hospitals facilities.
CUNY SOM offers a distinctive 7-year BS/MD program in partnership with The City College of New York. That makes it one of the most affordable routes to an MD in New York. The school's mission is to train physicians for medically underserved urban communities. It also has one of the highest proportions of underrepresented-in-medicine students of any US allopathic school.
Integrated curriculum. 4-year MD (or 3-year accelerated in the BS/MD pathway). Years 1–2 integrate basic and clinical sciences in a case-based, small-group format. Years 3–4 consist of clinical clerkships at New York Health + Hospitals affiliated sites throughout New York City. A longitudinal community health thread runs throughout all four years.
CUNY School of Medicine (MD) is strong in these research areas:
Format: Traditional panel interview — faculty and student interviewers in separate sessions
CUNY SOM typically conducts traditional one-on-one or small-panel interviews lasting approximately 30–45 minutes per session. Applicants meet with faculty physicians and a current student; interviewers review the full application beforehand and ask open-ended behavioral questions. Given the school's mission focus, interviews probe commitment to underserved communities and primary care.
The full interview day includes a campus tour and an information session highlighting the BS/MD accelerated pathway and the school's unique City College of New York affiliation.
Approximately 70–75 students per year.
CUNY School of Medicine was founded in 1973 and is based in New York, NY.
Programmes offered:
These are real recordings of the interviewers you would meet, from a panel of 21 photoreal faces. Speak your answers out loud, get pressed with follow-ups, and receive rubric-scored feedback about two minutes after you finish, with a replay of your answers.
Try the AI interviewer| MCAT / GPA (medians) | 511 · 3.70 (MCAT range 506–517) |
|---|---|
| Acceptance rate | 2.0% |
| Class size | 72 |
| In-state matriculants | 85% |
| Interview format | Traditional interview |
| Intake | Approximately 70–75 students per year |
| Decisions (2027 entry) | March 30, 2027 (AAMC standard) |
| Admission overview | The flagship route is the accelerated 7-year BS/MD (Sophie Davis) program, which admits students directly from high school via a City College undergraduate admissions pathway and requires no MCAT at any stage. A separate, smaller graduate-entry MD track requires a bachelor's degree and the MCAT, with prerequisite coursework in biology, chemistry, physics, and biochemistry and applications via AMCAS. The school strongly favors candidates with demonstrated commitment to serving medically underserved populations. |
|---|---|
| MCAT median | 511 (range 506–517) |
| GPA median | 3.70 overall / 3.65 science (BCPM) |
| Acceptance rate | 2.0% |
| Class size | 72 |
| In-state preference | Strong — primarily in-state |
| In-state matriculants | 85% |
| CASPer | Not required |
| AAMC PREview | Not required |
| Holistic review emphasis | Mission alignment with urban underserved care, socioeconomic diversity, community service, and primary care commitment. |
| BS/MD program | flagship seven-year BS/MD with The City College of New York, admitting from high school with no MCAT |
| Notes | Most matriculants enter via the no-MCAT 7-year BS/MD (Sophie Davis) route directly from high school; the MCAT median/range below reflects only the smaller graduate-entry cohort. Estimates from public AAMC FACTS / class-profile; verify current cycle. |
| Specialities offered | Urban Medicine, Primary Care, Community Health, Health Equity, Internal Medicine |
MCAT, GPA, acceptance-rate and class-size figures are taken from CUNY School of Medicine's published admissions data. Class profiles are republished each year — confirm which entering class these numbers describe before you rely on them.
Working towards the MCAT score CUNY School of Medicine (MD) expects? Build a week-by-week plan from your test date — free for the first two weeks.
| Format | Traditional panel interview — faculty and student interviewers in separate sessions |
|---|---|
| Interview window (2027 entry) | October 2026–February 2027 |
| Decision date (2027 entry) | March 30, 2027 (AAMC standard) |
| Post-interview chances | Approximately 15–25% of interviewed applicants receive an offer; post-interview acceptance rates are moderate given the school's mission focus and strong preference for applicants aligned with its urban health mandate. Estimates based on class size and interview volume; verify with school. |
CUNY SOM is a mission-driven school — your personal statement and interview must clearly articulate why you are committed to urban underserved medicine, not simply that you want to practice in New York. If you have shadowed or volunteered at a federally qualified health center, community clinic, or safety-net hospital, highlight this prominently. The school's BS/MD track is highly competitive for undergraduates; graduate-entry applicants benefit from differentiated narratives that distinguish their experiences from direct-entry students. The very low tuition means competition for seats is fierce relative to the class size — treat your secondary essay as critically as your MCAT preparation.
Two questions from our US bank that match CUNY School of Medicine (MD)’s panel format. Try answering them out loud, then open Prometheus for the model answers and follow-up tips.
Describe a time when a plan you had worked hard on fell apart unexpectedly. How did you respond in the moment, and what did that experience teach you about managing setbacks in a high-stakes environment like medicine?
Likely follow-up · How do you distinguish healthy perseverance from persisting in a direction that is no longer productive?
Critics say short-term 'medical mission trips' by pre-medical students displace local health workers, deliver substandard care and mainly serve the volunteers' applications; supporters say they expose students to genuine need. How do you weigh that debate, and how has it shaped your own service choices?
Likely follow-up · If you have done a short-term global health trip, how do you assess honestly whether it was more beneficial to you or to the community?
We've helped students into CUNY School of Medicine (MD) and other US medicine schools — get tailored support for each stage of the application.
Build an MCAT prep plan that hits the median score profile for CUNY School of Medicine (MD).
Learn morePractise the Traditional interview format with students who interviewed at CUNY School of Medicine (MD).
Learn moreGet your personal statement reviewed by successful applicants.
Learn moreChecked against CUNY School of Medicine's own website on 15 August 2026: our record for the school was reconciled with what it publishes there. For most US schools that is class size and interview format only, so MCAT, GPA and acceptance-rate figures remain unconfirmed.
We've helped students turn their MCAT, personal statement and interview prep into offers from CUNY School of Medicine (MD) and other US medicine schools.
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