Medical School Application Cost, Fee by Fee

The medical school application cost is about $1,447 in fixed fees for a 20-school MD list: $355 for MCAT registration for 2026 testing dates and $1,092 in AMCAS fees for the 2027 cycle. For 15 to 30 schools, those fixed fees range from $1,207 to $1,927, based on IMA’s calculation from the fee schedule published by the AAMC. These figures exclude secondary application fees, PREview or Casper where required, transcripts, MCAT preparation and interview expenses.

Most of this bill can arrive within a few months, the number of schools directly changes the primary application charge and several payments cannot be refunded. Building your budget before submitting applications helps protect the rest of your cycle from an unexpected cash shortage. These are application expenses, not the separate cost of medical school after admission.

Application Costs at a Glance

• MCAT registration and AMCAS fees total $1,447 for a 20-school MD list before secondary applications and other variable expenses.
• For their stated cycles, AMCAS charges $180 plus $48 for each additional school, AACOMAS charges $198 plus $60 and TMDSAS charges a flat $235.
• Secondary fees are set by individual schools. Published Texas examples range from no fee at UT Southwestern to $100 at Baylor College of Medicine.
• For an approved 2026 Fee Assistance Program recipient, the MCAT fee is $145 and AMCAS fees are waived for one submission to as many as 20 schools.

MCAT Registration, Rescheduling and Cancellation Costs

For 2026 testing dates, standard MCAT registration costs $355. Registration through the Fee Assistance Program costs $145. Testing outside the United States, Canada or U.S. territories adds a $130 international fee, which is not refunded if you cancel. Applicable local taxes may also be collected when you schedule. The MCAT cost guide covers these charges and refund rules in more detail.

Changing your date or testing center costs $55 at least 60 days before the exam, $110 from 30 to 59 days before it and $210 from 10 to 29 days before it. Standard cancellation refunds are $175, $175 and $0 during those same windows. Fee Assistance Program rescheduling costs $25, $45 and $85, with cancellation refunds of $75, $75 and $0. No changes are permitted less than 10 days before the exam, although the AAMC provides an emergency refund request process for unexpected circumstances.

Registration for the entire 2027 testing year opens Oct. 20 to 22, 2026, based on testing center location. Follow the MCAT registration process and dates when you are ready to reserve an appointment. Because fees can change with a new testing year, confirm the amount shown by the AAMC before paying.

Official MCAT Preparation Costs

You can begin with two free AAMC full-length exams, Practice Exam 1 and the Unscored Sample Test. Practice Exams 2 through 6 cost $35 each, Section Bank Volumes 1 and 2 cost $45 each, individual science question packs cost $15 each and the Independent Question Bank costs $10. The new CARS Question Bank costs $70 for one year beginning Sept. 30, 2026, while the Online-Only Bundle returns that day at $336.15 for one year. The Khan Academy MCAT Collection is free. Before purchasing every product, decide which materials fit your study plan and use an MCAT score calculator to interpret your practice results.

AMCAS Primary Application Fees

The AMCAS fee for the 2027 cycle is $180, including one medical school designation, plus $48 for every additional school. Applicable tax is calculated at checkout. AMCAS accepts online payment by Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover rather than checks, money orders or other offline methods.

Your school count therefore has a direct effect on the primary application charge. The AAMC reported that 54,699 applicants submitted 1,066,896 applications to U.S. MD-granting schools in 2025-2026, or 19.5 applications per applicant, which is why 20 schools provides a useful cost illustration. Your own list is an individual decision, and the guide to how many medical schools to apply to addresses that question separately.

The table below presents IMA’s calculations from the AAMC fee schedule for the 2027 AMCAS cycle and the AACOM fee schedule for the 2026-2027 AACOMAS cycle. It shows how primary fees change at several list sizes.

The table above shows that AMCAS costs $1,092 for 20 designations. Adding the $355 MCAT registration fee produces the $1,447 fixed-fee example in the introduction. Every five additional AMCAS designations add $240.

AMCAS typically opens during the first week of May, with submission opening about one month later. Use the AMCAS timeline to plan when this charge will enter your budget. Once a submitted application has been successfully delivered, AMCAS does not issue refunds. It also does not refund fees because an application is unsuccessful or because you fail to meet a school’s requirements, including residency requirements. Check eligibility before designating each school.

AACOMAS and TMDSAS Primary Fees

If you apply to osteopathic medical schools, AACOMAS charges $198 for the first designated college and $60 for every additional designation in the 2026-2027 cycle. For example, IMA calculates that primary fees for 20 MD schools through AMCAS and 10 DO schools through AACOMAS total $1,830. The MCAT, secondary applications and other expenses sit outside that primary-fee illustration.

Texas uses a different structure. The AAMC states that applications to MD programs at public medical schools in Texas go through TMDSAS rather than AMCAS. As listed on Sept. 19, 2026, TMDSAS charges a flat $235 fee for any number of its participating schools. TMDSAS lists 14 medical schools, and its application fee is non-refundable. It does not offer an application fee waiver.

If you used all three services, the $235 TMDSAS fee and the $355 MCAT registration fee would bring that $1,830 to $2,420 before secondaries and interviews, again by IMA’s calculation. The figure illustrates the published schedules. It is not a recommendation about where or how broadly to apply.

Secondary Application Fees

The AAMC describes a secondary as an additional school-specific application completed after a school receives your primary. Most medical schools require one, and it will likely have its own fee paid directly to that school. Because each institution sets its own fee and required forms, the only accurate figure is the one you build from your own list.

The TMDSAS secondary application list shows the real spread among several Texas schools as listed on Sept. 19, 2026. UT Southwestern Medical School charges no secondary fee, the University of Houston’s Fertitta Family College of Medicine charges $60, the John Sealy School of Medicine charges $70, McGovern Medical School charges $80 and Baylor College of Medicine charges $100. These examples illustrate variation, but they should not be treated as a national range.

Build this part of your budget school by school. Visit each admissions page, record the published secondary fee and add the amounts for the schools you designate. Check refund terms at the same time. For example, TMDSAS lists a non-refundable $75 fee at both Texas A&M University Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine and Sam Houston State University College of Osteopathic Medicine. Other schools establish their own policies.

PREview and Casper Fees

Only include these assessments if a school on your list requires them. For the 2026 testing year, the AAMC PREview exam costs $105 to register, plus applicable taxes. That fee includes one appointment and unlimited score distribution if you choose to have the exam scored. Each reschedule costs $25.

Casper uses a different fee structure. Acuity Insights charges a base testing fee and a separate fee for every program receiving your score. Your program-specific amounts appear on its Dates and Fees information for the current admissions cycle. All Acuity Insights assessment fees are final, non-refundable and non-transferable to another cycle.

Check every school’s assessment requirement before registering or distributing a score. Doing so keeps you from paying for an exam or distribution that does not serve an application on your list.

Transcripts, Interviews and Acceptance Deposits

Transcripts and Letters

The AAMC says college registrars usually charge a small fee to transmit a transcript and may occasionally charge to transmit letters of recommendation. Ask each registrar for its amount rather than inserting a general estimate into your budget. Transcript problems are the leading cause of AMCAS processing delays and missed deadlines, so order early and request a copy for your own use when entering coursework. Reapplicants must resubmit official transcripts and letters of evaluation.

Interview Expenses

Interview costs depend on the format each school chooses. The AAMC identifies video, in-person one-on-one and multiple mini interviews among the possible formats. For in-person invitations, your budget may need to cover travel, overnight accommodation and professional attire. A video interview takes travel and lodging out of the budget for that school. Wait for the school’s invitation and instructions before estimating a trip.

Acceptance Deposits

An acceptance deposit holds your place after an offer. The application and acceptance protocols recommended by the AAMC say an MD school’s initial deposit should not exceed $100 and, except for Early Decision Program applicants, should remain refundable until at least April 30. If you enroll, the school should credit it toward tuition. These are recommendations, not rules that replace an individual school’s policy, so read the offer letter before paying.

Osteopathic schools set their own deposit amounts and follow the AACOMAS traffic guideline schedule. Applicants accepted before Nov. 15 have until Dec. 14, those accepted from Nov. 15 to Jan. 14 have 30 days, those accepted from Jan. 15 to April 30 have 14 days and those accepted on or after May 1 may be asked for an immediate deposit. Confirm the amount, due date and refund terms in each offer rather than assuming the MD recommendation applies.

Fee Assistance and Other Waivers

The 2026 AAMC Fee Assistance Program is for applicants who otherwise could not afford the MCAT or applications through AMCAS. You need a U.S.-based home address. Each household reported on the application, including your parents’ household when applicable, must have 2025 total family income at or below 400% of the 2025 national poverty level for its family size. You must also be preparing to apply rather than already accepted to, enrolled in or graduated from medical school.

Under the benefits listed for the 2026 award, approval reduces MCAT registration from $355 to $145 and waives AMCAS fees for one submission to as many as 20 schools, a $1,092 value. It also waives the first PREview registration fee, provides a 50% discount on later PREview registrations and includes the MCAT Official Prep Online-Only Bundle and PREview Scored Practice Exam. IMA calculates that these benefits reduce the fixed MCAT and AMCAS fees for a 20-school MD list from $1,447 to $145.

Apply before registering for the MCAT or submitting AMCAS, and allow time for the decision: the AAMC says its review takes about five business days. Benefits are not retroactive, so fees paid before approval are not refunded. A 2026 award lasts through Dec. 31, 2027. You can apply once per calendar year and receive no more than five awards during your lifetime.

The AAMC program does not directly pay secondary fees, although the AAMC says some schools waive their secondary fee for recipients. Acuity Insights may provide Casper without charge, including score distribution to selected programs, when an eligible U.S. applicant uploads approved fee-assistance documentation. Some programs also issue their own Casper fee-waiver codes.

AACOMAS offers a limited number of first-come fee waivers worth $198. The waiver covers the initial application fee only, so additional school designations remain your responsibility. TMDSAS grants no fee waivers. Once application costs are under control, treat financing attendance as a separate decision using the guide to paying for medical school without loans.

Complete Application Fee Checklist

The table below lists each application expense with the organization publishing the fee and the period to which it applies. The AAMC, which outlines these cost categories on its cost of applying to medical school page, publishes most of the fees. AACOM, TMDSAS and Acuity Insights publish the rest.

Use the table above as a worksheet rather than treating every row as mandatory. Start with expenses that apply to every part of your plan, then add school-specific tests and secondaries only after checking each requirement.

Record whether each payment is refundable, partially refundable or final. Place the due date beside it so you can see when several charges may arrive together. Leave variable expenses such as transcripts and interviews open until the responsible institution provides an amount.

Review the budget again before each non-refundable payment. Fees change by cycle, and removing an ineligible designation before submission is more useful than discovering afterward that the charge cannot be returned.

Build Your Application Budget Before You Submit

Begin with the fixed primary application and testing charges, then add each secondary, transcript, assessment and interview expense that applies to your actual school list. Keep the published period beside every amount so you do not mix fees from different cycles.

Before paying, confirm that you meet the school’s requirements and understand the refund policy. If you may qualify for the AAMC Fee Assistance Program, secure approval before registering or submitting. A line-by-line budget will not predict every interview expense, but it will show what is due, what can change and which payments become final as soon as you make them.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Much Does It Cost to Apply to Medical School?

The fixed published cost is $1,207 to $1,927 for a first-time MD applicant applying to 15 to 30 schools. IMA calculated that range using the $355 MCAT registration fee for 2026 testing dates and AMCAS fees for the 2027 cycle. Secondary fees, other required tests, transcripts, preparation and interviews are additional.

How Much Does It Cost to Apply to 20 Medical Schools?

Applying to 20 MD schools costs $1,092 in AMCAS fees for the 2027 cycle. With the $355 MCAT registration fee for 2026 testing dates, IMA calculates $1,447 in fixed fees. Each school’s secondary fee comes on top, so your full total will be higher.

How Much Is the AMCAS Fee?

The 2027 AMCAS application fee is $180 for the first school and $48 for every additional designation. Applicable tax is calculated at checkout. For example, 20 designations cost $1,092 based on the published schedule.

How Much Does the MCAT Cost?

Standard MCAT registration costs $355 for 2026 testing dates, while registration with Fee Assistance Program approval costs $145. Testing outside the United States, Canada or U.S. territories adds $130. Rescheduling can add $55, $110 or $210 depending on how close the change is to the exam.

Are Secondary Application Fees Refundable?

Refund policies depend on the school. For example, two Texas schools on the TMDSAS secondary list, Texas A&M and Sam Houston State, describe their $75 fee as non-refundable. Check each school’s policy before paying rather than assuming every secondary is refundable or non-refundable.

Does the Fee Assistance Program Cover Secondary Fees?

No, the AAMC Fee Assistance Program does not directly pay secondary application fees. The AAMC says some medical schools waive their secondary fees for recipients, but each school controls its own policy. Confirm the waiver with every school on your list.

Is the AMCAS Fee Refundable?

No, AMCAS does not issue a refund after your submitted application has been successfully delivered. It also does not refund fees if you do not meet a school’s admissions or residency requirements or if your application is unsuccessful. Check eligibility before adding a designation.

How Much Does It Cost to Apply to DO Schools?

AACOMAS charges $198 for the first osteopathic medical school and $60 for each additional designation in the 2026-2027 cycle. Applying to 10 DO schools therefore costs $738 in AACOMAS primary fees, based on IMA’s calculation. Supplemental applications, tests and interviews are separate.