How to Get Into Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons: The Definitive Guide (2026-2027 Cycle)

Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S) is the private MD-granting medical school of Columbia University, based at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in the Washington Heights neighborhood of upper Manhattan, New York City. Its roots go back to 1767, when Columbia, then called King’s College, created a medical faculty. In 1770 it became the first school in the American Colonies to grant the Doctor of Medicine degree.

This guide covers the 2026-2027 application cycle, which Columbia calls the 2027 application cycle. It is for students who want to start medical school in August 2027 as part of the Class of 2031. It explains who is eligible, what the published class numbers really mean, what VP&S costs in 2026-27 and how the Vagelos Scholarship Program meets financial need without loans. It also walks through the three-phase curriculum, the Columbia-Bassett track in Cooperstown, the MD-PhD and 3-year PhD-to-MD programs, research and service opportunities, the people who lead the school, and every question on the current MD secondary, with a full illustrative answer and analysis for each one.

Columbia is best known for research, but it is just as clear about patient care and community service. The school sits in the middle of a diverse, largely immigrant neighborhood, its students run free clinics for uninsured and homeless patients, and every student completes a Scholarly Project before graduation. Applicants who understand that balance, and can show real work in both service and inquiry, write stronger applications. Facts in this guide were checked on October 18, 2026.

Key Takeaways

• Everyone who applies gets a secondary. VP&S sends secondary invitations from July to October to all applicants who select it on AMCAS. There is no published screening cutoff.
• The academic bar is high, but there are no minimums. Applicants who received an offer in the 2026 application cycle had GPAs from 3.53 to 4.0 and MCAT scores from 508 to 528. For the 2025 entering class, the median accepted applicant had a 3.97 GPA and a 522 MCAT. Only your highest MCAT total is considered.
• The class is small. The Class of 2030 has 140 students, chosen from 7,591 applicants. For the 2025 entering class, 723 of 7,677 verified applicants (about 9.4%) were interviewed. The number of offers is not published.
• Deadlines for this cycle: AMCAS by October 15, 2026, the secondary by October 22, and supporting documents (the $110 secondary fee, MCAT score and letters) by October 29. Decisions are not rolling; all are released in early March.
• Costs for 2026-27: tuition is $76,336 a year for every student, and the first-year cost of attendance is $117,049. The Vagelos Scholarship Program meets 100% of demonstrated need with scholarships instead of loans.
• Mission fit matters. The school’s guiding mission is to “transform human health by driving discovery, advancing care, and educating leaders,” with service “both locally and globally.”
• Training is distinctive. An 18-month preclinical phase is followed by a 12-month Major Clinical Year and 14 months of electives and the required Scholarly Project. The Columbia-Bassett track moves students to rural Cooperstown, New York, after 18 months.
• Next step: check that your prerequisites were taken in person within 10 years, line up three letters (one from a science faculty member, teacher or research mentor), and start drafting the 300-word secondary essays before your invitation arrives.

Key Statistics About Columbia Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

The snapshot below collects the figures applicants ask about first. Class size and applicant figures marked Class of 2030 are for the class that entered in August 2026 after the 2025-2026 application cycle. Median GPA and MCAT, interviews and the in-state split are for the 2025 entering class, the newest year with those figures. The GPA and MCAT ranges cover applicants who received an offer in the 2026 cycle. Cost figures are for the 2026-27 academic year. The table lists the source and definition of each figure.

The number of applicants offered admission is not published, so any “Columbia acceptance rate” you see elsewhere is an estimate or a different measure. What is known is the interview step: for the 2025 entering class, 723 of 7,677 verified applicants were interviewed, about 9.4%, and 138 students matriculated. For the Class of 2030, the 140 matriculants are about 1.8% of the 7,591 applicants. That figure is a matriculation ratio, not an acceptance rate, because some admitted applicants choose other schools and the class is filled from the waitlist.

Residency barely matters at a private school like VP&S. In the 2025 entering class, 16 of the 138 matriculants were from New York and 122 were from other states, and 447 international applicants applied, though none matriculated that year.

The GPA and MCAT ranges are also easy to misread. A range of 508 to 528 means at least one person with a 508 received an offer. It does not mean a 508 is typical. Most of the class will sit well above the bottom of each range: the median accepted applicant in the 2025 entering class had a 522 MCAT and a 3.97 GPA. Treat the low end as proof that VP&S reads whole applications, not as a target.

How Columbia Is Ranked

Columbia Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons is consistently placed among the top research medical schools in the United States in national rankings, and its clinical departments are widely ranked as well. Ranking systems change their methods from year to year, so check the current edition of any ranking you rely on and read what it actually measures. A research ranking says a lot about funding and faculty output and very little about whether a school fits you.

For applicants, two published outcome numbers are more useful than any rank. In 2025, 99% of VP&S students passed USMLE Step 1 on the first try, against 93% nationally. For 2024-2025, the Step 2 Clinical Knowledge first-time pass rate was 99%, against 98% nationally.

Key Features at a Glance

• Location: Washington Heights in upper Manhattan, a diverse and largely immigrant neighborhood that shapes much of the school’s service and clinical training.
• Accreditation: Full accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME).
• Programs: The four-year MD, the Columbia-Bassett track, the MD-PhD, the 3-year PhD-to-MD and seven other dual-degree options that students apply to after enrolling.
• Facilities: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital as the major teaching hospital, plus research centers such as the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research and the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain.
• Community impact: Student-run clinics, school and community partnerships in Washington Heights and Harlem, and global health electives.

Mission and Educational Priorities

The guiding mission of VP&S reads: “We aspire to transform human health by driving discovery, advancing care, and educating leaders.” The school adds that it does this work “in service to others and our community, both locally and globally.” You can read the full statement, along with the MD program’s mission and values, on the VP&S Admissions FAQs.

The MD program adds several commitments to that mission. It aims to educate “the next generation of physician leaders who will serve neighboring, national, and global communities through the lens of health equity.” It promises an environment that values civility, acceptance, respect, ethics and support, which it calls CUIMC CARES. And it lists schoolwide values that every student is expected to master before graduation:

• Humanism and Collaboration: building real relationships with patients and teams through active listening and shared decision-making, and promoting health equity and structural competency.
• Inquiry and Transformation: using scientific investigation to expand understanding and applying new evidence to build high-quality, equitable health care.
• Growth and Wellness: reflective practice, awareness of your own limits, learning from people of different backgrounds, and seeking support when you need it, which the school calls “a professional strength.”

The Associate Dean for Admissions, Frederick Ehlert, MD, sums up the culture in three words in his welcome letter: Excellence, Respect and Equity.

What the mission means in practice

The school’s own descriptions of its priorities translate into four practical themes, and each one has a real program behind it.

Educational excellence. The curriculum combines foundational science with long clinical training, and the school reports first-time Step 1 pass rates of 98% to 100% every year since 2016. Applicants should be ready for a demanding, fast-moving program.

Community-based training. Students learn in Washington Heights, Inwood and Harlem, at sites such as Harlem Hospital Center, and in rural Cooperstown on the Columbia-Bassett track. The school describes Washington Heights as a chance “to work with underserved populations to help alleviate health care disparities afflicting minority, immigrant, and low-income populations.”

Research and innovation. Research is not optional. Every MD student except those in the PhD-to-MD program completes a Scholarly Project, and about 37% of the most recent graduating class took extra time for research or a dual degree.

Global health leadership. Students can join global health work after their first year through Global Pop, inside the Global and Population Health track of the Scholarly Project, during a research year or in a fourth-year international elective. In the Class of 2026, 12 students traveled on a global elective.

What this means for your application

Three points stand out.

First, Columbia wants both inquiry and service, and it wants them to be real. The Admissions Committee looks for students whose commitment extends “to one another, to the life of their school, to the advancement of the field, and to the world beyond medical school.” A long research record with no sustained contact with patients, or years of service with no curiosity about why problems exist, will look incomplete next to applicants who have both.

Second, equity is written into the curriculum, not added on. Terms like “structural competency” and “health equity” appear in the values students must master. If your experiences taught you how housing, language, insurance or immigration status affect care, write about what you saw and what you did. Do not just name the issues.

Third, wellness and reflection count. The values ask students to recognize their limits and seek help. An applicant who can describe a setback honestly, and what changed afterward, is showing a trait the school says it expects.

Educational approach

The VP&S approach integrates foundational sciences with clinical training from the start. First-semester students take Foundations of Clinical Medicine seminars on the doctor-patient relationship, medical interviewing, ethics, health care systems and narrative medicine alongside molecular biology and anatomy. Clinical training then takes place across NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and a network of affiliated sites, both urban and rural. The school’s community service work and its student-run clinics give students direct responsibility for underserved patients, under supervision, long before residency. The result is a program built to produce physicians who combine clinical skill with compassion and a commitment to equitable care.

Accreditation and Institutional Identity

VP&S holds full accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the national accrediting body for MD programs in the United States and Canada. The school’s last full site visit before the current review was in January 2018, and its next formal LCME site visit was scheduled for the 2025-26 academic year. Columbia University as a whole is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. The VP&S LCME accreditation page explains the status and what it means for students.

LCME accreditation matters in practical ways. Students must attend an LCME-accredited school to take the USMLE, and most state licensing boards require it. VP&S states that its MD program meets the academic requirements for licensure in all 50 states. Accreditation is a baseline, not a ranking: it confirms that a school meets national standards, not that it is the right fit for you.

Names and institutions to know

Columbia’s medical school has several names, and applicants often confuse them.

• Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S) is the medical school. It took its current name in 2017 after P. Roy Vagelos, MD, a 1954 graduate, and his wife Diana made a major gift. You will still see “P&S” and “College of Physicians and Surgeons” in older material.
• Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) is the academic medical center that includes VP&S, the Mailman School of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine and the School of Nursing. It was formerly called Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC).
• NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is a separate hospital system and the major teaching hospital for VP&S. Columbia and Presbyterian Hospital created the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in 1928, putting patient care, research and education on one campus.
• Bassett Healthcare Network is a large rural health system centered in Cooperstown, New York, and the home of the Columbia-Bassett track’s clinical years.

The school’s history explains some of its traditions. After its 1767 founding, the American Revolution closed King’s College, and the medical school reopened in 1791. In 1814 Columbia’s medical faculty merged with the College of Physicians and Surgeons, which had its own charter from 1807, and in 1891 the college became an integral part of Columbia University. Five VP&S graduates have received Nobel Prizes.

The academic calendar

The VP&S academic calendar is built around the phases of the MD curriculum rather than a simple two-semester year. Each year has set dates for the start and end of courses and clerkships, examinations, holidays and breaks, and the two weeklong Mechanisms and Practice intersessions of the Major Clinical Year. Orientation and classes for new students begin in early August. The school also publishes calendars for several years ahead, so students can plan research years, dual degrees and family commitments well in advance. The budgets reflect this structure: the first two years are budgeted at 10 months each, the third year at 12 months and the fourth at 10.5 months.

Medical Programs and Affiliations

Most VP&S students enter the four-year MD program. A smaller number apply through one of three special routes on the Columbia secondary: the Columbia-Bassett track, the MD-PhD program or the 3-year PhD-to-MD program. If one of those programs does not invite you to interview, your application moves automatically into the regular MD pool. You do not need to file a second application.

Four-year MD program

The MD program is the school’s flagship. Its stated goal is to train physicians “with compassion, a sense of self, and true grit.” The curriculum combines foundational medical sciences with extensive clinical training across NewYork-Presbyterian and affiliated sites, followed by a long period of electives and the Scholarly Project. The Class of 2030 has 140 students across all tracks.

Columbia-Bassett track

The Columbia-Bassett Program is a selective MD track for students who want deep training in health care systems and rural care. Students spend their first 18 months on the New York City campus. After Fundamentals they move to Cooperstown, New York, where they complete most of the Major Clinical Year at Bassett Healthcare Network, a large rural health system. Some required experiences during that year still take place at the main campus. All students then return to the shared Differentiation and Integration phase.

What makes the track different:

• Longitudinal integrated curriculum. During the clinical year in Cooperstown, Columbia-Bassett students follow their own panel of patients across many clinical events for the full year, instead of rotating through separate blocks.
• Rapid Inpatient Block. The clinical year begins with a 10-week inpatient block that exposes students to every part of the hospital and every core specialty.
• SLIM. The Systems, Leadership, Integration and Management curriculum teaches students how health care systems work and how to improve them.
• Life Experiences Curriculum. A thread on understanding and responding to the effects of trauma on patients, communities and the clinicians who care for them.
• Humanities and research. Reflection and community connection are built into all three phases, and a research program focuses on the track’s major themes.

To apply, select “Columbia-Bassett” on the Columbia secondary application. You will hear from the Columbia-Bassett admissions office about your interview status and separately from the NYC campus. Applicants interview first with the Columbia-Bassett admissions team and then with the VP&S admissions team. The Columbia-Bassett application page notes that its interview day is fully virtual. The school does not publish the current size of the Columbia-Bassett class or any guarantee about residency match results.

MD-PhD program

The MD-PhD Dual Degree Program trains physician-scientists. It admits about 13 to 16 students a year, whose PhD work ranges from epidemiology and neurobiology to cancer biology and immunology. Students come from 28 U.S. states and 48 U.S. undergraduate schools, and about half of current students took time off after college. More than 60% of graduates who have finished residency and fellowship are full-time faculty members. For the 2026-2027 cycle, the program lists MD-PhD interview dates from October 7 to December 15, 2026, and an initial round of acceptances in mid-February.

3-year PhD-to-MD program

This program is for scientists who already hold a PhD in the biological or related sciences from an accredited U.S. or Canadian school and plan careers as physician-scientists, mainly in fields such as internal medicine, pediatrics, neurology, psychiatry and pathology. The usual four-year curriculum is compressed into three years: 18 months of preclinical courses, a 12-month Major Clinical Year and 6 months of subinternship and electives. The Scholarly Project is waived. Students apply for residency in the middle of the clinical year, and the program is tied to a residency at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Eligibility is narrow. Applicants must have defended their thesis by April 30 of the year they enroll, and they need U.S. citizenship or permanent residency. Holders of F1 visas are not eligible, because the linked residency requires authorization to work in the United States. A supplemental committee reviews and interviews these applicants, and those invited to interview submit a CV and a one-page research proposal.

Dual degrees and special programs

Students can pair the MD with a second degree from VP&S or another Columbia school. You apply to these programs after you enroll in the MD program, not through AMCAS. The options are:

• MD-PhD Dual Degree Program
• 3-Year PhD-to-MD Program
• MD-OMFS Program (oral and maxillofacial surgery)
• MD-MS in Biomedical Sciences (VP&S)
• MD-MPH (VP&S and the Mailman School of Public Health)
• MD-MBA (VP&S and Columbia Business School)
• MD-MS in Biomedical Engineering (VP&S and Columbia Engineering)
• MD-MA in Biomedical Informatics (VP&S and the Department of Biomedical Informatics)

Daniel Noyes Brown Primary Care Scholars Program

For students interested in primary care, the Brown Scholars Program is a four-year longitudinal mentorship. It does not add coursework. Instead, scholars complete several foundational clinical experiences, including the first-year clinical practice clerkship, physical diagnosis, the primary care clerkship and the outpatient block of pediatrics, at the same community site with the same small group of primary care faculty from family medicine, pediatrics and internal medicine. The program is funded by an endowment honoring Daniel Noyes Brown, MD, a 1932 VP&S graduate. A 2012 gift from the estate of Judith Sulzberger, MD, also a VP&S graduate, doubled its size.

Other academic programs at VP&S

VP&S is home to a wider set of health professions programs that are separate from the MD:

• Program in Genetic Counseling, training counselors who work with patients and families on genetic conditions.
• Programs in Human Nutrition, focused on nutrition’s role in health and disease.
• Programs in Occupational Therapy, with doctoral and master’s degrees.
• Programs in Physical Therapy, including the Doctor of Physical Therapy, residencies and fellowships.
• PhD programs in the biomedical sciences through the Vagelos Institute for Biomedical Research Education.
• Additional master’s degrees in bioethics, biomedical informatics, genetic counseling and narrative medicine.
• Educational opportunities such as summer and youth programs, a visiting student program for medical students, certificates and continuing medical education.

Residency, fellowship and training programs

VP&S and Columbia University Irving Medical Center sponsor graduate medical education with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital across the school’s clinical departments. These are training programs for doctors who have already finished medical school, not options for applicants. They include residencies in fields such as general surgery, psychiatry, emergency medicine, neurology and obstetrics and gynecology, and fellowships in subspecialties such as cardiology, anesthesiology, dermatology, neurology and pediatrics. Psychiatry training also has public psychiatry and research fellowship tracks. Many VP&S graduates stay: 32% of the most recent graduating class matched at Columbia for part or all of their postgraduate training, and 48% will remain in New York.

Physician assistants at Columbia

VP&S does not list a physician assistant (PA) degree among its academic programs. Physician assistants do work alongside physicians, residents and medical students on clinical teams at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, including inpatient medicine teams. If you want to become a PA rather than a physician, you will need to look at PA programs at other schools. Hands-on patient care experience is central to PA admissions, and pre-PA internships are one way some students build it. For physician applicants, working beside PAs is also good preparation: much of the clinical year at VP&S is team-based.

Clinical affiliations

Through its network of affiliated hospitals, VP&S students learn at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, the school’s major teaching hospital; see rural care at Bassett Healthcare in Cooperstown; learn about global health through a partnership with Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; and train at many other sites. The full list of rotation sites appears in the clinical rotations section below.

Curriculum Overview

The VP&S MD curriculum has three phases: Fundamentals (18 months of preclinical coursework), the Major Clinical Year (12 months of clerkships) and Differentiation and Integration (14 months of electives and the Scholarly Project). The school describes its curriculum on the MD curriculum page.

Phase 1: Fundamentals (18 months)

Fundamentals is the preclinical phase. Its major courses are:

• Molecular Mechanisms and Disease (semester 1): biomolecules and cells, healthy and diseased tissues, pharmacology, developmental biology and genomics.
• Histology and Pathology (semester 1): the microscopic structure of major tissues and organ systems and the basic processes of inflammation, repair and neoplasia.
• Clinical Gross Anatomy (semester 1): structure and radiologic correlation of the head, neck, thorax, abdomen, pelvis and extremities.
• Foundations of Clinical Medicine Seminars (semesters 1 to 3): the doctor-patient relationship, medical interviewing, ethics, health care systems, health promotion, narrative medicine and evidence-based medicine.
• Foundations of Clinical Medicine Tutorials (semesters 2 and 3): physical examination and an introduction to clinical skills and reasoning.
• The Body: In Health and Disease (semesters 2 and 3): an organ-system sequence covering microbiology and infectious disease, immunology, cardiology, pulmonology, nephrology, endocrinology, neural science, gastroenterology and hepatology, hematology, oncology and rheumatology.
• Psychiatric Medicine (semester 2): psychiatric syndromes, treatment and interviewing.

Two features are worth noticing. Clinical skills start in the first semester, not after the science. And narrative medicine appears in the core seminar series, which reflects a long Columbia tradition of teaching students to listen to patients’ stories.

Phase 2: Major Clinical Year (12 months)

The Major Clinical Year (MCY) is made up of clerkships in major clinical areas. Clerkships are paired to improve continuity; for example, obstetrics and gynecology shares an eleven-week block with pediatrics. The clerkships are:

• Internal medicine (with emergency medicine and ophthalmology)
• Neurology
• Obstetrics and gynecology
• Pediatrics (with otolaryngology)
• Primary care
• Psychiatry
• Surgery (with anesthesiology)
• Orthopedics
• Urology
• Neurosurgery

The clerkships are divided by two weeklong intersessions called Mechanisms and Practice. Students return to the classroom for small-group teaching on themes that cross specialties, such as the patient-physician relationship and how to find and use the medical literature. These breaks give students time to step back and reflect on what they are seeing on the wards.

Phase 3: Differentiation and Integration (14 months)

Differentiation and Integration (D&I) is the final phase. Students “differentiate” by exploring the specialties they are considering and “integrate” by bringing together the themes that shape their professional identity. D&I includes acting internships, electives, the Scholarly Project, residency applications and interviews. Students may also spend up to three months on full-time research electives during D&I.

The Scholarly Project

Every MD student, except those in the PhD-to-MD program, completes a Scholarly Project through the Scholarly Projects Program (SPP). Students who complete a research year or a second degree during medical school may choose to waive it. The SPP links each student with a faculty mentor “to explore an area of medical practice or research with the aim of creating new knowledge.”

Students choose one of five tracks, each led by senior faculty:

• Basic and Translational Science
• Clinical Research
• Global and Population Health
• Medical Education
• Narrative and Social Medicine

Students spend four or more months of full-time effort on the project during D&I. The work may start at the beginning of D&I and must be finished by the end of March before graduation. Milestones include choosing a mentor and track, a project proposal, a progress report, and a final written Capstone and poster. Each student can receive up to $500 for project expenses, and more is available through the Sara and Arnold P. Friedman Awards program. Students who want a project longer than four months can build an individualized learning plan for approval.

Curricular threads

Several themes run through all four years rather than sitting in a single course. The school lists threads in biomedical informatics, medical decision-making, public health, and Systems, Leadership, Integration and Management (SLIM). SLIM also exists as a student committee in the VP&S Club for students who want to learn more about the business and policy side of health care.

Educational support

Students have several layers of academic support. The Student Success Network is a peer-based teaching program that supports long-term study methods, clinical correlations and exam preparation. The Big Sibs Program pairs students with upperclassmen. Faculty mentors guide students through the Scholarly Project and career planning, and the Office of Student Affairs and the Associate Dean for Student Career Development support students through residency applications.

Global health in the curriculum

VP&S students can take part in global health clinical and research work at several points: after the first year through Global Pop, as part of the Global and Population Health track of the Scholarly Project, during a research year, or in a fourth-year international elective. VP&S also hosts visiting medical students from more than 20 international medical schools that have formal exchange agreements, so students learn about other health systems on the wards at home too. If you are building international experience before medical school, medical internships abroad can give you supervised clinical work in a different health system to reflect on.

How the tracks differ

• Columbia-Bassett students share Fundamentals and D&I with their classmates but complete most of the Major Clinical Year in Cooperstown through a longitudinal integrated curriculum, with added threads in health systems and trauma-responsive care.
• PhD-to-MD students follow 18 months of preclinical courses, the 12-month MCY and 6 months of subinternship and electives, with the Scholarly Project waived.
• MD-PhD students complete the MD curriculum in two parts around their PhD research. The medical training for the PhD-to-MD program is identical to the medical training in the standard MD-PhD program.

Preparing for residency

The structure prepares students for residency in a direct way. By the time they reach D&I, students have finished every core clerkship and can use acting internships and electives to test specialties before applying. Outcomes reflect that preparation: the school reports first-time Step 1 pass rates of 98% to 100% every year since 2016 and a 99% Step 2 Clinical Knowledge first-time pass rate in 2024-2025.

Admissions Requirements and Application Process

VP&S looks for applicants who show strong academic promise and real professional potential. This section separates what is required from what is typical. Requirements can change from one cycle to the next, so the school recommends checking its application requirements page before you apply.

Academic requirements

At the time you apply, you must have completed at least three full academic years at a regionally accredited college in the United States or Canada. You must earn a bachelor’s degree before you matriculate. Applicants from all majors are considered.

The required courses are:

A writing-intensive course counts toward the English requirement if at least 70% of the grade comes from essays, you submit at least four essays, and the course meets a writing requirement at your college. Applicants for the 3-year PhD-to-MD program must also have defended their thesis by April 30 of the year they enroll.

Course policies

• Missing prerequisites. You may apply if you are missing one or two required courses, but you must finish them before you enroll.
• Online courses. Prerequisite courses must be taken in person. The only exceptions are courses taken during the 2020 academic calendar and the Spring and Summer 2021 semesters.
• Pass/fail. Prerequisites should carry letter grades, except for 2020 and Spring/Summer 2021, when pass/fail grades are accepted. You may take a few non-required courses pass/fail.
• Grade floor. A final grade below C- in a required course does not satisfy the requirement. You must retake the course or take an acceptable substitute with a higher grade.
• Course age. All prerequisites must be completed within 10 years of application, and the school prefers biology within five years.
• Community college. Community college credits are accepted for prerequisites.
• Accelerated courses. If your college condenses a year-long requirement into one semester, your pre-health advisor or department should send the admissions office a letter on letterhead describing what the course covered.
• AP and advanced standing. Questions about AP credit or advanced standing go to the admissions office by email, with the syllabus of the course you want to substitute.

On grades, VP&S is direct: the committee looks for As and Bs in science courses, with more As than Bs, while recognizing that such grades are not possible in every circumstance. If you failed a course, explain it in your application. The committee will also consider graduate school performance and improvement if your undergraduate record was weaker.

MCAT

The MCAT is required. For the 2027 application cycle, your score may be up to three years old, and September 2026 is the last month you can take the test. If you have taken the MCAT more than once, the committee looks only at your highest total score. If you plan to retake the exam in September, you can email the admissions office to put your application on hold until the new score arrives, but every score must be in by October 29.

There is no published minimum MCAT or GPA, and no screening cutoff for either. For the 2026 application cycle, offer recipients had GPAs from 3.53 to 4.0 and MCAT scores from 508 to 528. For the 2025 entering class, the median accepted applicant had a 522 MCAT and a 3.97 overall GPA. The committee accepts MCAT scores from January 2023 through September 12, 2026 for this cycle and considers postbaccalaureate and graduate coursework when an undergraduate GPA is lower. Our guides to MCAT score requirements and GPA requirements for med school explain how to read numbers like these.

Citizenship, residency and international applicants

VP&S is a private school with one tuition rate for every student, wherever they live. The Class of 2030 came from 30 U.S. states. International applicants face real limits. VP&S rarely admits applicants from foreign universities because the committee cannot evaluate premedical education outside the United States and Canada, and it requires premedical training at a U.S. institution plus the MCAT. Applicants who are not U.S. residents are not eligible for federal financial aid. The 3-year PhD-to-MD program requires U.S. citizenship or permanent residency.

Transfers, reapplicants and former medical students

VP&S accepts reapplicants. It does not accept transfer students, and students who were previously enrolled in any medical school are not eligible to apply.

Experience

VP&S does not publish a minimum number of clinical, shadowing, research or service hours. Its mission, required Scholarly Project and service programs make clear what it values: real clinical contact, curiosity and sustained service. Most strong applicants have a mix of patient-facing work, research and community involvement, with depth in at least one area. Students who have little direct patient contact sometimes add structured clinical internships for pre-med students that include supervised hands-on work, alongside steady local volunteering.

Letters of recommendation

VP&S requires three letters of recommendation and accepts up to seven. One must come from a science faculty member, teacher or research mentor. A letter from a physician is not required. The school welcomes letters from individuals and from premedical advisory groups (committee letters), but a committee packet is not mandatory. Letters should come from people who know you personally and can say more than routine praise; letters from people who do not know you “cannot be given serious consideration.”

If you have been out of school for more than five years, VP&S encourages at least one academic reference from a faculty member at your most recent institution, along with letters from people you have worked, volunteered, researched or been mentored with in recent years. Letters go through the AMCAS Letter Service. If a writer needs to send a letter after the supporting-documents deadline, it can be emailed directly to the admissions office on official letterhead with your AMCAS ID.

Situational judgment tests

The official requirement pages do not list CASPer, PREview or any other situational judgment test for VP&S applicants.

Application steps

1. Review the requirements. Read the prerequisites, course policies and technical standards before you apply.
2. Submit AMCAS. The primary application opens in May through the American Medical College Application Service. The VP&S deadline is October 15, 2026. Our Guide to AMCAS walks through each section.
3. Complete the secondary. VP&S sends a secondary to every applicant who selects the school on AMCAS, from July to October. The secondary is due October 22, 2026. If you are applying to the Columbia-Bassett, MD-PhD or PhD-to-MD program, you select it on the secondary.
4. Pay the fee. The secondary fee is $110 and nonrefundable. It is waived for applicants approved for the AAMC Fee Assistance Program (FAP), and for no other reason. Email the admissions office with your AMCAS ID if you have an FAP waiver.
5. Send supporting documents. The secondary fee, MCAT score and letters are due by October 29, 2026.
6. Interview if invited. Invitations go out by email from mid-August through January.
7. Attest to accuracy. All applicants must attest that everything they submit is accurate and authentic.

Updates, corrections, letters of interest and thank-you notes go into the secondary portal as Applicant Updates in PDF format, through the “Status” tab. You may upload unofficial transcripts the same way; official transcripts are only required from students who enroll. The admissions office does not offer tours or premedical advising, and it suggests that applicants use their own premedical advisors.

Timeline for the 2026-2027 cycle

The school advises applicants to start preparing about a year before they plan to matriculate. If your clinical hours are thin, plan them early; summer is often the best window, and pre-med summer internships are one way to fit concentrated, supervised clinical work into the year before you apply.

Decisions, deposits, deferrals and the waitlist

Columbia does not use rolling admission. Decisions are made at the end of interview season, and all applicants receive their decisions in early March. The full Admissions Committee makes every final decision.

After an offer:

• No deposit. VP&S does not require a deposit to hold your seat, and the offer is not binding.
• Enrollment steps. You must select “Plan to Enroll” by April 30 and “Commit to Enroll” by June 15, finish your degree and all required courses, send an official final transcript, complete health forms and clear a background check before June 1.
• Deferrals. Deferrals are granted case by case for applicants accepted in the first round, usually for one or two years. You request one by uploading a letter with your reason and the length requested, by April 30. Applicants admitted from the waitlist cannot defer.
• Waitlist. The waitlist opens in early March and stays open until early August. Waitlist offers are made to fill vacancies in the incoming class. The waitlist is not ranked, and its size varies from year to year.
• Responding to an offer. Admitted applicants have up to two weeks to respond to an offer. There is no Early Decision Program.
• Housing. Incoming students are guaranteed housing at 50 Haven Avenue, but they may choose other options.

Financial aid at a glance

VP&S awards need-based aid, and the Vagelos Scholarship Program meets 100% of demonstrated need with scholarships rather than loans. The full details are in the next section.

Tuition, Cost of Attendance and Financial Aid

VP&S is expensive on paper and generous in aid. Understanding both numbers is essential before you decide whether to apply. VP&S appears on our list of the 10 most expensive medical schools in the United States, yet a student with high financial need can graduate without need-based loans.

2026-27 budget, NYC standard track

The school’s 2026-27 estimated budget for a single student on the New York City track is shown below. All items are tentative, and tuition and fees are subject to approval by Columbia’s trustees. You can find the current budgets on the VP&S student budgets page.

Adding the four yearly totals at 2026-27 rates gives about $476,700. That sum is our own arithmetic, not a figure the school publishes, and future years will likely cost more.

Because VP&S is private, every student pays the same tuition. The budget is labeled “Single Resident Student,” but that refers to a single student living in New York, not to state residency.

Columbia-Bassett track budget

Columbia-Bassett students pay the same tuition and fees, but their costs shift in the years they spend partly in Cooperstown. The 2026-27 Bassett budget includes extra transportation between Cooperstown and New York City and lower housing and food estimates. Its yearly totals are $117,049, $115,633, $119,994 and $117,259.

The Vagelos Scholarship Program

In 2017, VP&S announced a scholarship program that made it the first medical school in the nation to meet 100% of demonstrated financial need with scholarships for all students who qualify. It started for new and continuing MD students in the 2018-19 academic year. The fund is supported by an endowment established by P. Roy Vagelos, MD, and Diana Vagelos, who have committed more than $300 million to Columbia, $150 million of it to the scholarship endowment, with additional support from alumni, faculty and friends.

How it works:

• Need formula. Cost of Attendance minus Resources equals Need. Once your need is calculated, the school offers scholarship funds to meet it, and the need-based package does not include loans.
• Resources. Family resources are assessed from the FAFSA and the CSS Profile. Total family income and assets count. Parents’ retirement accounts and the parents’ primary home are not included in the parent contribution. All of the student’s own assets, and a spouse’s, are included.
• Income threshold. Since 2019-2020, families with total annual income under $125,000 are assessed a zero contribution from income. A parental contribution may still be assessed on assets. Married students have a spouse’s income considered even if it is under $125,000.
• Automatic consideration. Students who submit complete financial aid applications are automatically considered for a Vagelos Scholarship award.

The program is not “free tuition for everyone.” Students whose family resources cover the cost still pay. But for students with need, the gap is filled with grants, so specialty choice does not have to be driven by debt. The school says this lets graduates choose fields like primary care, pediatrics and research, where pay is lower.

Aid reaches most of the student body. In 2024-2025, 89% of VP&S students received financial aid, and the average medical school debt of graduates was $104,024. That average includes students who borrowed for costs outside the standard budget or whose families were expected to contribute, so your own figure depends on your need calculation.

Applying for financial aid

Financial aid includes any grant, scholarship, loan or work-study award that helps with education costs. It may come from the school, federal or state agencies, foundations, corporations and other sources. The school’s view is that the primary responsibility for paying for medical school rests with the student and family, with aid filling the gap.

To be considered, incoming students submit the FAFSA (for federal aid) and the CSS Profile (for institutional need-based aid), along with the school’s own aid forms and any supporting tax documents requested. Students who receive aid must keep up satisfactory academic progress and tell the financial aid office about any change in family finances or any new outside aid, which replaces part of the standard aid package. Non-U.S. residents are not eligible for federal aid programs.

Federal student loans for 2026-27

Students who choose to borrow, or who do not qualify for full need-based scholarships, can use federal student loans. Federal aid for 2026-27 is based on the FAFSA for that year. Check the financial aid office’s current instructions each spring, since federal programs and deadlines change.

Budget adjustments and other costs

The standard budget assumes rent of $1,475 a month. If your real costs are higher, talk with a financial aid officer before you commit to them. Costs above the standard budget can usually be covered only by family help, personal funds or added loans, and only for approved items. Students also plan for costs tied to particular stages, such as travel for away electives in the fourth year and residency application expenses.

Research and conference funding

Several internal awards offset research costs:

• NIH Summer Grants (T35) for first-year students: about $5,400 for living and research expenses.
• Global Pop Summer Grants and the Varmus Global Scholars Fund for first-year students: about $5,000 for travel, living and research.
• Scholarly Project stipend: up to $500 for project expenses.
• Friedman Award: up to $1,000 for Scholarly Project expenses after the $500 stipend is used.
• Dean’s Research Fellowship: $20,000 to $32,000 for a 12-month research year, covering living expenses, health insurance and university fees.
• Dean’s Conference Funds: 50% of conference expenses up to $1,500 (a maximum of $750 reimbursed) for students who are first author and presenter, plus up to $55 for poster printing.

Outside sources, such as national fellowships, can also fund a research year. IMA’s Fulbright scholarship guide for pre-med and medical students covers one well-known option.

Contact

The Office of Student Financial Aid and Planning serves VP&S along with the College of Dental Medicine, the Institute of Human Nutrition and the programs in occupational therapy, physical therapy and genetic counseling. It can be reached at [email protected] and also offers resources for long-term financial planning.

Campus Facilities and Student Life

VP&S students live and train on Columbia’s medical center campus in Washington Heights, about 50 blocks north of Columbia’s main Morningside Heights campus. Student life is busy and organized, and the school is proud of it.

Facilities

• NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, the major teaching hospital, on the same campus as the medical school.
• Research laboratories across basic science and clinical departments, supporting molecular biology, biochemistry and clinical research.
• The Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library, the campus’s medical library, for research and study.
• Research centers and institutes, including the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, the Institute for Genomic Medicine and the Taub Institute.
• Core and shared facilities for research, such as sequencing, imaging, flow cytometry and bioinformatics services, which students can use through their mentors’ labs.

The VP&S Club

The VP&S Club is the umbrella student activities organization. It sponsors more than 70 clubs, which the school calls the most comprehensive student activities group in American medical education. The clubs fall into eight categories. A sample of current groups:

• Academic and professional associations: American Association of Neurological Surgeons, American Medical Women’s Association, Association of Women Surgeons, Socially Responsible Surgery Organization, Innovative Medicine, the SLIM Committee, and the Space and Extreme Environmental Medicine Interest Group.
• Advocacy, community service and public awareness: APOYO (support for pregnant adolescents in Washington Heights), Dígame Más (language, cultural and health education for the community), the First-Generation and Low-Income Partnership, Food for Thought, the Global Health Organization, Health Students for a Sustainable Future, the Lang Youth Medical Program (mentoring Washington Heights middle school students), Medical Students for Choice, Pick-Up Sports and Health, Students for a National Health Program and The Companionship Project.
• Arts, literature and entertainment: the CUIMC Symphony Orchestra, the CUIMC Latin Dance Club, Coffeehouse open mic, Dance Haven, Diversions! Games and Movie Club, the literary and art journal Reflexions, The Broadway Haven Players theater group, the VP&S Musicians’ Guild and the Walker Percy Literary Society.
• Recreation and athletics: Chess Club, Columbia Crafts, Free Weight Club, the P-SOOP Outdoor Orientation Program, the VP&S Bouldering Club and the VP&S Flag Football Club.
• Cultural and spiritual organizations and specialty interest groups for nearly every field of medicine.
• Programs overseen by the VP&S Club or Student Affairs: Big Sibs, Class Council, the Honor Code Committee and the Student Success Network.

Dígame Más and the clinics that serve Spanish-speaking patients are a reminder that clinical Spanish is useful in Washington Heights. Some applicants build it before medical school through language study or a medical internship in Peru, where clinical work happens in Spanish.

Student-run clinics and service

Service is one of the most visible parts of student life. Student-run clinics include:

• Columbia Student Medical Outreach (CoSMO), a free clinic for uninsured patients in Washington Heights that also trains VP&S students.
• Columbia-Harlem Health and Medical Partnership (CHHMP), a student-run clinic providing free medical care in Harlem, historically focused on homeless and uninsured patients.
• Columbia Human Rights Initiative Asylum Clinic (CHRIA), in which students and faculty provide medical evaluations and documentation for asylum seekers.
• Columbia University Care Access Project (CCAP), a harm reduction organization run by medical students.
• Q Clinic, free primary care for the LGBTQ+ community.

Other service programs include the Washington Heights Initiative, the Lang Youth Medical Program and APOYO, an adolescent pregnancy program.

Campus resources

• Disability services coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities.
• Health and wellness services offer primary care, mental health care and wellness programs. Student Health Service and medical insurance are built into the budget.
• Housing. Incoming students are guaranteed housing at 50 Haven Avenue, a short walk from campus, and can choose other options during the selection process. Apartments come furnished or unfurnished.

Recreation and athletics

Students have access to fitness facilities on the medical center campus, including the athletic center in the 50 Haven Avenue residence building, as well as Columbia’s Dodge Fitness Center on the Morningside campus and the Baker Athletics Complex, where Columbia’s varsity teams compete. Fort Tryon Park, home of The Met Cloisters, and the Hudson River waterfront are close by for running and walking.

Transportation

Columbia Transportation runs an intercampus shuttle between the medical center and Columbia’s other campuses. The A, C and 1 subway lines serve the neighborhood, and the budget includes an allowance for travel to clinical sites.

Community

Washington Heights and Inwood have a rich cultural life, with museums, historic sites, restaurants and large parks such as Fort Tryon Park and Inwood Hill Park. The area’s history runs from Native American settlement to colonial farmhouses and Revolutionary War sites. For medical students, the neighborhood is also a patient community: much of their clinical and service work happens with the people who live there.

Clinical Rotations and Research Opportunities

Clinical rotation sites

VP&S lists these sites where students rotate:

• Bassett Healthcare (Cooperstown, New York)
• Creedmoor Psychiatric Center
• Harlem Hospital Center
• Helen Hayes Hospital
• Indian Health Services in Arizona and New Mexico
• James J. Peters VA Medical Center
• New York State Psychiatric Institute and Hospital
• NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, the major teaching hospital
• NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester Hospital
• NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital
• The Stamford Hospital

The partnership with Ben-Gurion University of the Negev adds a global health dimension, and the school’s affiliated hospitals page describes the full network. For the core clerkships, most students train at NewYork-Presbyterian and nearby city sites, while Columbia-Bassett students do most of their clinical year in Cooperstown. Clinical departments that teach students include anesthesiology, dermatology, emergency medicine, medicine and its divisions, neurological surgery, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology, orthopedic surgery, otolaryngology, pathology and cell biology, pediatrics, psychiatry, radiation oncology, radiology, rehabilitation and regenerative medicine, surgery and urology.

Student research programs

Student research at VP&S spans the whole MD timeline:

• Summer research (optional). Rising second-year students can spend their first summer on research. Most do so through the VP&S Summer Research Program, an 11-week, full-time, in-person program funded by NIH T35 grants, or through Global Pop, the Program for Education in Global and Population Health, which offers first-year students 11 weeks of immersion experiences and research projects. Both programs match students with mentors, provide funding and usually take applications by early February.
• Scholarly Project (required, third and fourth years). Four or more months of full-time work with a faculty mentor in one of five tracks, described in the curriculum section.
• Research electives (D&I). Students may take up to three months of full-time research electives. Proposals must be approved in advance by the Electives subcommittee, and students write a two-page paper at the end.
• Research year (optional). Some students take a year away from the core curriculum, usually during D&I, for full-time research. The Dean’s Research Fellowship and other fellowships fund selected students.

Research is common. About 37% of the most recent graduating class took extra time for research or a dual degree. Applicants who arrive with research experience can build on it, and those without it will find a structured path in.

Before medical school, research and clinical exposure can start early. Many applicants combine a campus lab position with summer clinical work, and some choose medical internships for undergraduates that place them in supervised clinical settings abroad, which can also give them real material for the Global and Population Health discussions that come up at VP&S.

Centers, institutes and departments

VP&S research is organized across basic science departments, clinical departments and interdisciplinary centers.

Basic science departments (nine): Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics; Biomedical Informatics; Genetics and Development; Medical Humanities and Ethics; Microbiology and Immunology; Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics; Neuroscience; Physiology and Cellular Biophysics; and Systems Biology.

Centers and institutes include the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, the Institute for Cancer Genetics, the Institute for Genomic Medicine, the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center, the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, the Kavli Institute for Brain Science, the Motor Neuron Center, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center for Precision Psychiatry and Mental Health, the Columbia Stem Cell Initiative and the Wu Family China Center for Health Initiatives, among others.

A few that applicants often ask about:

• Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center: Columbia’s cancer center, which brings together cancer research and multidisciplinary care, including immunotherapy and precision medicine.
• Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research: the hub for clinical and translational research, with training programs, community engagement in Northern Manhattan and resources for precision medicine.
• Institute for Genomic Medicine: research on the genetic basis of disease using modern sequencing.
• Neuroscience at Columbia: the Department of Neurology, the Taub Institute and Columbia’s Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute study the nervous system and diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
• Biomedical engineering: the MD-MS in Biomedical Engineering connects VP&S with Columbia Engineering for students interested in devices, imaging and regenerative medicine.
• Public health: the Mailman School of Public Health, also part of CUIMC, leads Columbia’s public health research and offers the MD-MPH.

Faculty initiatives include the Virginia Apgar Academy of Medical Educators, the Virginia Kneeland Frantz Society for Women Faculty and the Academy of Clinical Excellence.

Global collaborations

The Wu Family China Center for Health Initiatives creates research collaborations between VP&S and institutions in Greater China, mainly through a postdoctoral fellowship program and scientific exchange such as symposia, including a 2019 symposium in Hangzhou, the home of Zhejiang University. The center has also supported SARS-CoV-2 research at the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, which merged with VP&S in January 2020. The partnership with Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and exchange agreements with more than 20 international medical schools give students other routes to global medicine.

Community programs and service learning

VP&S has been part of the Washington Heights and Inwood community for generations. The school describes the neighborhood as a place where students can work “with underserved populations to help alleviate health care disparities afflicting minority, immigrant, and low-income populations.” Service-learning programs include the student-run clinics described above (CoSMO, CHHMP, CHRIA, CCAP and Q Clinic), the Washington Heights Initiative, the Lang Youth Medical Program and APOYO. The Irving Institute adds community engagement programs that study and address the health needs of Northern Manhattan.

These programs are supervised and student-run, which means students carry real responsibility early. Applicants who have done similar work, such as intake at a free clinic or health education in a language other than English, will find direct continuations here.

Notable Alumni, Faculty, Leadership and Admissions Staff

The people below were checked against Columbia’s own pages and other official profiles in October 2026. Titles change, so confirm a person’s current role before you mention them in an essay or interview. Naming a faculty member does not mean they take students or play any part in admissions decisions.

School leadership

James McKiernan, MD, Interim Dean. Dr. McKiernan is interim dean of VP&S and CEO of ColumbiaDoctors, the faculty practice of Columbia’s medical center. He is also a 1993 graduate of VP&S, so he went through the medical school he now leads, and he welcomed the Class of 2030 at the August 2026 White Coat Ceremony. His dual role shows how closely Columbia ties education to its clinical enterprise: the physicians who run the faculty practice are the same people who teach and supervise students on the wards.

Monica L. Lypson, MD, MHPE, Vice Dean for Education. Dr. Lypson is Vice Dean for Education and the Rolf H. Scholdager Professor of Medicine. Her office oversees the MD curriculum, and her welcome message on the MD program’s About page describes a curriculum the school is committed to evolving “to meet tomorrow’s health care needs.” Applicants who want to understand how Fundamentals, the Major Clinical Year and D&I fit together should start with the material her office publishes.

Jean-Marie Alves-Bradford, MD, Associate Dean for Student Affairs. Dr. Alves-Bradford is a professor of psychiatry and leads Student Affairs, the office behind much of the student support described in this guide, including the VP&S Club and peer programs such as Big Sibs and the Student Success Network. She led the Class of 2030 in reciting their oath at the 2026 White Coat Ceremony.

Salila Kurra, MD, Associate Dean for Student Career Development. Dr. Kurra is an associate professor of medicine who leads career development. Her work matters most in D&I, when students choose electives, finish the Scholarly Project and apply to residency. With 32% of the most recent class matching at Columbia for some or all of their training, career advising and strong letters from Columbia faculty go hand in hand.

Henry Weil, MD, Senior Associate Dean for the Columbia-Bassett Program. Dr. Weil leads the Columbia-Bassett track. The program’s published ethos is unusually direct: it says the U.S. health system is “under terrible duress” and builds four years of teaching in health systems improvement and trauma-informed education around that view. Applicants considering Columbia-Bassett should read his welcome message and the program’s mission before writing the secondary, because the track’s priorities are specific and clearly stated.

Admissions leadership and staff

Frederick Ehlert, MD, Associate Dean for Admissions. Dr. Ehlert heads the Office of Admissions. His welcome letter names the school’s core values as Excellence, Respect and Equity, and it emphasizes three things: the clinical experience, research for every student through the Scholarly Project, and the New York City setting, including Washington Heights, Inwood and Harlem. He writes that the school is committed to considering each applicant “in a fair and personal manner.” His letter is the best short statement of what the admissions office chooses to stress.

Taylor Sewell, MD, MBA, Assistant Dean for Admissions. Dr. Sewell is the second physician dean on the admissions team. His combination of an MD and an MBA fits a school that offers an MD-MBA with Columbia Business School and teaches health systems through threads such as SLIM.

Wendy Hernández-Quiñones, Senior Director of Admissions, and Keyauna Ramos, Assistant Director of Admissions, lead the administrative side of the office, supported by three Specialists in Admissions and Recruitment. This is the team that runs secondary invitations, document deadlines, interview scheduling and enrollment steps. The office does not offer tours or premedical advising and says that all of its information is on the website, so read the FAQ before emailing. Questions go to the general admissions address, not to individual deans.

Faculty

Rita Charon, MD, Narrative and Social Medicine track director. Dr. Charon directs the Scholarly Project track for students who want to explore “the personal, cultural, and meaning-making dimensions of health and health care,” from how patients experience suffering to questions about poverty and justice. Columbia also offers a master’s degree in narrative medicine. Applicants whose writing or humanities work shaped their path to medicine can see a real home for that interest here.

Michael T. Yin, MD, MS, Global and Population Health track director. Dr. Yin directs the track for students interested in the “medical, social, cultural, political, economic, and legal” forces that shape population health in the United States and abroad. Students can build on summer work through Global Pop.

Utpal Pajvani, MD, PhD, Basic and Translational Science track director. Dr. Pajvani directs the track for bench research. Its description notes that more than four hundred federally funded basic science laboratories at Columbia are probing basic questions in biology, chemistry and physics. Applicants with lab experience can continue it inside the MD curriculum without committing to an MD-PhD.

Two other track directors round out the program: Benjamin Lebwohl, MD, and Marcella Walker, MD, co-direct the Clinical Research track, and Marina Catallozzi, MD, directs the Medical Education track. In 2026 the program’s Mentor of the Year award went to Nathalie Moise, MD, an associate professor of medicine who directs implementation science research at the Center for Behavioral and Cardiovascular Health.

Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, and Steven L. Reiner, MD, MD-PhD Program Co-Directors. Dr. Vyas is Professor of Medicine, Associate Dean for Academic Innovation and Director of Physician-Scientist Programs at the Vagelos Institute for Biomedical Research Education. His lab studies innate immune responses to fungal pathogens, and before Columbia he directed the internal medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Reiner is the Charles H. Revson Professor of Microbiology and Immunology and Pediatrics. His lab studies how lymphocytes generate different cell fates, and he joined the MD-PhD program as director in 2014 after years of mentoring MSTP trainees at the University of Pennsylvania.

Heather Paladine, MD, Brown Scholars co-director. Dr. Paladine co-directs the Daniel Noyes Brown Primary Care Scholars Program and directs the NewYork-Presbyterian/CUIMC Family Medicine Residency Program. Her fellow program directors include M. Christine Krause, MD, a pediatric clinician-educator at the Charles B. Rangel Community Health Center, Natasha Mehta, MD, of General Internal Medicine, and Daniela C. Diaz, MD, a VP&S graduate who works at the Herman “Denny” Farrell Jr. Community Health Center.

Notable alumni

VP&S graduates have built careers across research, industry, public health and clinical care. The school names five graduates who have received Nobel Prizes. Among the alumni it highlights in its history are Virginia Apgar, who created the Apgar Score for newborns; Benjamin Spock, the pediatrician known to generations of parents as “Dr. Spock”; Burrill Crohn, for whom Crohn’s disease is named; Allen Oldfather Whipple, who developed the Whipple procedure; novelist Walker Percy; astronaut Story Musgrave; author Robin Cook; and Olympic swimming medalist Jenny Thompson.

P. Roy Vagelos, MD (1954). Dr. Vagelos became one of the best-known physician leaders in the pharmaceutical industry, retiring as chairman and CEO of Merck & Co. In 2015-2016 the MD-PhD program listed him as chairman of the board of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. He and his wife Diana committed more than $300 million to Columbia, including $150 million for the scholarship endowment that now lets VP&S meet 100% of demonstrated need without loans. The college carries his name.

George D. Yancopoulos, MD, PhD (1987). Dr. Yancopoulos earned his MD-PhD at Columbia. In 2026 the VP&S Alumni Association gave him its Gold Medal for Outstanding Achievements in Medical Research, recognizing pioneering work in biotechnology and “the development of numerous life-changing therapies through Regeneron.” He has twice returned to speak to MD-PhD students, including a talk titled “Building a Better Biotech: The Story of Regeneron.”

Jonathan Licht, MD (1982). Dr. Licht received the 2026 Gold Medal for Outstanding Achievements in Medical Research for contributions to cancer biology, epigenetics and physician-scientist leadership. His career is one model of the physician-scientist path the school supports through research years and the Scholarly Project.

Angela Diaz, MD (1981). Dr. Diaz received the 2026 Virginia Kneeland Frantz 1922 Award for Distinguished Women in Medicine for leadership in adolescent medicine, public health and health equity. The award is named for a 1922 graduate and pioneering surgical pathologist. Applicants drawn to youth health, or to Washington Heights programs such as APOYO, will see a long VP&S tradition in her work.

Amit Etkin, MD (2006). Dr. Etkin received the 2026 Transformational Research Award for advancing the neuroscience of mental health and new approaches to precision psychiatry. He is one of the more recent graduates the alumni association has honored.

Michael Curci, MD (1967). Dr. Curci received the 2026 Gold Medal for Excellence in Clinical Medicine for decades of pediatric surgical leadership and humanitarian service in Haiti, Tanzania and Rwanda, an example of how surgery and global health fit together over a long career.

Mary T. Bassett, MD, MPH. Dr. Bassett earned her MD at Columbia’s College of Physicians and Surgeons and trained at Harlem Hospital. She served as New York City’s health commissioner from 2014 to 2018, where her work centered on health equity. She has also directed the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard, where she holds the title FXB Professor of the Practice of Health and Human Rights. Her career is a strong example for applicants drawn to public health and health equity.

MD-PhD alumni. Each year the MD-PhD program invites a distinguished graduate to present research to current students. Speakers have included Hal Blumenfeld, MD, PhD (1992), on the neural mechanisms of consciousness; Elliott Sherr, MD, PhD (1995), then a UCSF neurology professor and director of the UCSF Comprehensive Center for Brain Development, on a genetics-first approach to autism; Paul J. Maddon, MD, PhD (1988), founder of Progenics Pharmaceuticals and then a Columbia University Trustee; and Sydney Cash, MD, PhD (2000), then a neurologist at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, on brain recordings in epilepsy. The alumni network stays active: graduates return to mentor and speak, and the alumni association honors classmates every year at reunion.

Physicians connected to Columbia who did not attend VP&S

Two pioneering physicians are often listed as VP&S alumnae, but neither earned her medical degree there.

Patricia Bath, MD, earned her MD at Howard University College of Medicine. She did a fellowship in ophthalmology at Columbia from 1969 to 1970, where she noticed that patients at the Harlem eye clinic had far higher rates of blindness than patients at Columbia’s own clinic. That observation shaped her career in blindness prevention. She later invented laserphaco, a laser device and technique for cataract surgery, and in 1977 co-founded the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness.

Vivian Pinn, MD, earned her MD at the University of Virginia School of Medicine in 1967. She later directed the National Institutes of Health Office of Research on Women’s Health, where she pushed for women to be included in clinical research.

Both careers are worth knowing about, and Dr. Bath’s Columbia fellowship is a real part of the school’s history. But only graduates of the medical school are VP&S alumni.

Admissions Statistics and Class Profile

Here is the admissions data available for recent VP&S classes and how to read it.

The Class of 2030

• Applicants: 7,591
• Entering class: 140 students
• Gender: 73 men and 67 women
• Geography: 30 U.S. states

The class entered in August 2026 after the 2025-2026 application cycle. Dividing 140 by 7,591 gives about 1.8%, but that is a matriculation ratio. It is not an acceptance rate, because Columbia makes more offers than it has seats, and some admitted students go elsewhere. The number of offers is not published.

The 2025 entering class

The 2025 entering class is the newest class with full application, interview and matriculant counts.

About 9.4% of verified applicants were interviewed (723 of 7,677). That is an interview ratio, not an acceptance rate. Interviews are virtual and one-on-one.

Other facts about the 2025 entering class:

• Gender: 66 men, 71 women and 1 student of another gender identity.
• Age: 82 students were 19 to 23, 54 were 24 to 29 and 2 were 30 to 39 at entry.
• Background: 18% reported disadvantaged status, 20% came from medically underserved areas, 9% held a graduate degree, 75% were science or math majors and 36 entered from postbaccalaureate programs.
• Premedical experience: 99% reported research or lab work, 97% physician shadowing or clinical observation, 90% clinical volunteering, 89% community service and 51% paid clinical employment.
• Geography: students came from 28 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and the class included students from Canada.

Total enrollment across all years of the MD program is 644 students.

GPA and MCAT ranges and medians

For the 2026 application cycle, applicants who received an offer had:

• GPA: 3.53 to 4.0
• MCAT: 508 to 528

For the 2025 entering class, accepted applicants had these averages:

The ranges are not minimums. They show that the committee has admitted applicants with numbers well below the typical admitted student when the rest of the application was strong. The medians show the typical admitted student: a 522 MCAT and a 3.97 GPA. If your numbers sit below the median, the rest of your application has to carry more of the weight. Our page on average GPA and MCAT scores for every medical school puts Columbia’s numbers alongside other schools.

No screening cutoff

Every applicant who selects VP&S on AMCAS receives a secondary invitation. The school does not publish a GPA or MCAT screening cutoff, and its admissions FAQ describes a committee that considers the entire application, including improvement in graduate school.

Special programs

• MD-PhD: about 13 to 16 students admitted per year, from 28 states and 48 U.S. undergraduate schools; about half took time off after college.
• 3-year PhD-to-MD: two spots each year.
• Columbia-Bassett: Columbia does not publish the current class size for this track.

Diversity and demographics

VP&S states that it is committed to being “a place where students of any background or identity will thrive.” For the Class of 2030, the published profile covers gender (73 men, 67 women) and geography (30 states). The school does not publish a racial and ethnic breakdown of the class on its own pages. The VP&S Club includes a full category of cultural and spiritual organizations, and the First-Generation and Low-Income Partnership supports first-generation and low-income students.

Outcomes

Specialty plans are spread widely. In the 2025 graduating class, the most common intended specialties were internal medicine (16.3%), pediatrics (11.2%), neurology (8.2%), psychiatry (8.2%), orthopaedic surgery (7.1%), dermatology (6.1%) and emergency medicine (6.1%). Family medicine accounted for 2.0%. These are stated intentions near graduation, not final match results.

Tips and Strategies for Admission

Columbia’s published priorities give you a clear map. The work is turning them into an application that shows what you have done, not what you admire.

1. Show inquiry and service, with depth in both

Every VP&S student completes a Scholarly Project, and the school’s values include both “inquiry and transformation” and “humanism and collaboration.” Applicants with research and no sustained patient contact, or service with no curiosity, look incomplete. If you have one strength, build the other. A research applicant might add a year of weekly free-clinic work. A clinical applicant might take on a quality-improvement project, measure something and report what changed.

2. Get real clinical responsibility

VP&S students take on real responsibility early, in student-run clinics and in a demanding clinical year. Experiences where you took vital signs, ran intake, triaged or helped with care under supervision will serve you better than hours spent only watching. Medical assistant, scribe, EMT and patient care technician jobs are common routes. Structured pre-med internships can add supervised hands-on work, especially if you can then reflect on how the health system you saw differs from the one you know.

3. Write about equity through action

The curriculum asks students to master “structural competency.” In your activities and essays, show the moment you saw a structural barrier, such as language, cost, transportation or immigration status, and what you did about it. Measured outcomes help. “We added a phone check at intake and 14 of 21 patients returned on time” says more than “I am passionate about health equity.”

4. Read the secondary as a portrait

The current secondary asks about paid work, what you have done since graduating, leadership, the experiences and perspectives you bring, and anything else. Together those questions describe someone who works hard, uses their time well, leads, and brings something particular to a class. Plan your five answers together so they show different parts of you and do not repeat your personal statement. Our guides to writing a medical school personal statement and to secondary applications explain how primaries and secondaries fit together.

5. Choose letters for depth

You need three letters, and one must come from a science faculty member, teacher or research mentor. Columbia accepts up to seven, but more is not better if they say the same thing. Pick writers who can describe specific work, such as a research mentor who saw you troubleshoot an experiment or a clinic supervisor who saw you with patients. If you have been out of school more than five years, include an academic reference if you can.

6. Know the program you are choosing

Selecting Columbia-Bassett, MD-PhD or PhD-to-MD on the secondary changes your interview path. Do it only if you mean it. Columbia-Bassett applicants should be ready to explain why rural, longitudinal, systems-focused training fits their goals. If the special program does not invite you, you move into the regular MD pool automatically.

7. Respect the deadlines and the format

The secondary is due October 22, and supporting documents are due October 29. Because Columbia’s deadlines are fixed and decisions all come in March, there is no advantage in rushing a weak essay. There is a real cost to missing a document. Send updates, letters of interest and thank-you notes only through the portal, as PDFs.

8. Plan for gaps and reapplication

About half of current MD-PhD students took time off after college, and the secondary asks every applicant who has graduated to account for that time. A gap year spent working in clinical research, as a medical assistant or in service is a strength if you can describe what you learned. If you are reapplying, show what changed: new clinical responsibility, stronger grades or a clearer reason for medicine. Some students use pre-med gap year programs to add supervised clinical work. Our guide on improving your med school application covers the most common fixes.

9. Prepare for a demanding MCAT standard

There is no minimum, but the range of offer recipients reached 528. Take the MCAT when you are ready, and remember that only your highest total counts and that the test must be taken by September of the application year. Our MCAT Sections Guide, our advice on how to study for the MCAT, our list of free MCAT questions and our guide to retaking the MCAT can help.

10. Get honest feedback

Columbia’s admissions office does not advise applicants. Your premedical advisor is the first place to go. Some applicants also work with an admissions consultant; our article on how medical school admissions consulting can help explains what that involves. It also helps to understand the competencies admissions committees use to evaluate readiness.

Useful resources

These IMA resources cover the parts of the process that apply to Columbia and every other MD school:

• Guide to AMCAS: how to complete the primary application.
• MCAT Sections Guide: what each section tests.
• How to Study for the MCAT: seven study strategies.
• MCAT Score Requirements: what scores schools expect.
• GPA Requirements for Med School: how GPA is read.
• Med School Admissions Consulting: when a consultant helps.
• Writing a Medical School Personal Statement: compelling versus average statements.
• Secondary Applications Guide: how primaries and secondaries differ.
• Medical School Interview Guide: questions to ask your interviewers.
• Improving Your Med School Application: practical ways to strengthen a profile.
• Free MCAT Questions: where to find practice material.
• GPA and MCAT by School: averages for every U.S. medical school.
• Medical School Admissions Guide: the full process from start to finish.
• Retaking the MCAT Guide: when and how to retake.

Secondary Application Questions, Example Responses and Analysis

VP&S sends its secondary to every applicant who selects the school on AMCAS, from July to October. For the 2026-2027 cycle, secondaries began arriving in mid-July 2026. The secondary is due October 22, 2026, and the $110 fee, MCAT score and letters are due October 29.

The 2026-2027 MD secondary has six questions plus a CV upload:

The current secondary has no separate “Why Columbia” essay and no separate questions about prior applications or time off during college. VP&S accepts either a CV or a resume and has no preference, except that PhD-to-MD applicants must submit a CV. After you submit, send any corrections or a new CV as an Applicant Update in PDF through the portal’s Status tab.

MD-PhD and Columbia-Bassett prompts. MD-PhD applicants receive their own secondary, and Columbia-Bassett applicants select the track on the Columbia secondary. The program-specific essay prompts for both were not published for the 2026-2027 cycle. If you are applying to either program, answer exactly what appears in your portal, and use the guidance below on research goals and on the Columbia-Bassett track to plan.

Before you write, make an inventory: every job with hours, everything you have done since graduation, two or three leadership roles, the perspectives you bring, and anything the committee would otherwise misread. Most strong answers come from experiences you already have. If your inventory shows very little hands-on patient care, consider what you can still add before interviews, such as weekly clinic volunteering or internships for pre-med students that include supervised clinical work. Do not add anything to an essay that has not happened yet.

The examples below are original teaching material written for this guide. Each is labeled. Do not copy them. Use them to see how an answer can meet every part of a question within the limit.

1. Did you work for compensation during your undergraduate studies (either during the academic year or summers)? (Yes or no)

What it asks. This is a gate question. Your answer decides whether the follow-up appears.

Approach. Answer honestly. Paid work of any kind counts: campus jobs, scribing, tutoring, retail, research paid by wage or stipend. Working during college is not a weakness, and many committees read it as evidence of time management and responsibility. Not working is also fine and needs no explanation.

Worked response pattern. Select Yes if you held any paid job during the academic year or summers of college. Select No if you did not.

Mistakes to avoid. Answering No because a job seems unrelated to medicine. A summer job at a grocery store still counts, and it still tells the committee something about you.

2. Optional: What did you do? How many hours a week did you work? (Answer briefly; check your portal for the limit)

What it asks. Two facts: the job and the weekly hours. The question is optional, but if you worked, answer it. It is the only place on the secondary where your work history is laid out plainly.

Limit. The written questions on this secondary are 300 words each except the optional items, and the limit for this follow-up is not stated. Write a brief answer of about 100 to 150 words and follow the limit shown in your portal.

Approach. List each job with its role, its weekly hours during the semester and in summer, and two or three concrete duties. End with one sentence on what the work meant, if it adds something.

Why this example works. It answers both parts in its first three sentences: the jobs (patient care technician and chemistry tutor) and the hours (about 16 a week during the semester, about 32 in summers, 4 for tutoring). The duties show real clinical contact, such as vital signs, intake and output, mobility and phlebotomy, without exaggeration. The last sentence explains why the job mattered, both financially and professionally, in plain terms.

Mistakes to avoid. Vague hours such as “part time.” Leaving out non-clinical jobs. Turning a factual question into a second personal statement. Complaining about how hard it was to work and study.

3. Please briefly summarize what you have done since graduating from your undergraduate institution: (300 words)

What it asks. An account of your time since college. The committee wants to know that you used it well and what you learned.

Approach. Lead with your main role and dates. Add a short story that shows judgment or growth, ideally with a measured result. Account for the rest of your time (volunteering, coursework, family responsibilities) so there are no unexplained gaps. If you spent part of the year abroad, for example with a humanitarian organization like Médecins Sans Frontières or another global health program, describe what you actually did and learned, not just where you went. If you are still in college, follow the instructions in your portal.

Why this example works. The first sentence answers the question directly: a full-time clinical research coordinator role since May 2025. The duties show patient contact. The second paragraph turns a job description into evidence of judgment with a specific patient and a measured change, from about one in five missed visits to about one in ten. The third paragraph accounts for the rest of the year, including an in-person retake of a prerequisite, which matters because VP&S does not accept online prerequisite courses outside the COVID-era exceptions. The closing links the year to two real parts of VP&S, the Global and Population Health track of the Scholarly Project and the student-run clinics in Washington Heights, in one sentence.

Mistakes to avoid. A list of activities with no reflection. Gaps in the timeline. Spending half the space on why you want Columbia. Describing a gap year as a waiting period rather than a period of work and growth.

4. Please describe your most meaningful leadership position(s): (300 words)

What it asks. The leadership role that mattered most, and what you did in it. The word “meaningful” invites reflection, not a list of titles.

Approach. Choose one role, or two closely related roles. Define your responsibility. Describe a real problem, what you personally did and what changed. Include one moment that shows judgment or integrity. Close with what you learned and how it carries into medicine.

Why this example works. It picks one role and goes deep. It defines the responsibility (a crew of three, roles on every call, transport decisions), names a problem the applicant inherited, and shows the applicant’s own action: six mock calls and ten written scenarios, run for two semesters. The result is measured (19 of 23 new members still active, compared with about half the year before). The documentation-error paragraph shows integrity and respect for protocol, which is leadership without a title. The final line connects the lesson to the team-based Major Clinical Year in one sentence.

Mistakes to avoid. A resume-style list of offices. Taking credit for a team result without saying what you did. Choosing the most impressive title instead of the role where you actually changed something. Writing only about success; how you handled a problem is often more revealing.

5. The Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons values a wide array of experiences and perspectives. How will you contribute to this important value of our institution, and how will it inform your future role as a physician? (300 words)

What it asks. Two things: what experiences and perspectives you will bring to the VP&S community, and how they will shape the kind of physician you become.

Approach. Name a specific perspective that comes from your life: where you grew up, your family, your work, your languages, your faith, a disability, a career before medicine. Then show it in action, such as a time it changed a conversation or a decision. Add a second, balancing lesson if you have one. For the second half, state a concrete practice goal and connect it to something real at VP&S. Keep the focus on what you will do, not only on what you have experienced.

Why this example works. For the first question, it names a specific perspective (growing up where care is far away) and shows it changing a real class discussion from blame to logistics. It then adds a balancing lesson from being the outsider in a city setting, which shows humility. For the second question, it states a practice goal (care where distance shapes access) and ties it to the real structure of the Columbia-Bassett track: following a panel of patients for a full year in Cooperstown and training in health systems. It ends by committing to contribute wherever the applicant trains, which matters because applicants not invited by Columbia-Bassett move to the regular MD pool.

Mistakes to avoid. Describing your background without showing what you do with it. Writing only about hardship. Answering only one of the two questions. Using the essay to list buzzwords. If you are not applying to Columbia-Bassett, do not borrow this angle; connect your goal to the program you are actually applying to.

6. Is there anything else you would like us to know? (400 words, optional)

What it asks. Anything important that the rest of your application does not show. It is optional.

Approach. Use it for something new: context for a grade dip or a gap, a responsibility that limited your activities, an experience that did not fit anywhere else, or a specific connection to VP&S that you have not already explained. Be direct, take responsibility where it applies, and show what changed. If you write about Columbia, name real programs and say why they fit you. If you have nothing new to add, you can leave it blank.

Why this example works. It explains a weak semester plainly, with the exact grades and the reason, and takes responsibility (“I should have”). It shows recovery with evidence (an A and an A- in the next courses and a GPA of 3.8 or higher every semester since). It then turns the same experience into motivation, and connects that motivation to two real VP&S programs, the Narrative and Social Medicine track of the Scholarly Project and the Daniel Noyes Brown Primary Care Scholars Program. The ending is short and concrete.

Mistakes to avoid. Repeating your personal statement. Writing a generic “why Columbia” essay with nothing new in it. Making excuses. Filling the space just because it exists. Raising a sensitive issue without saying what you learned or what changed.

MD-PhD applicants

The MD-PhD secondary prompts for 2026-2027 were not published. In recent cycles the program has asked MD-PhD applicants about academic honors, major research interests, PhD goals and any other information for the committee. Treat that as background only and answer exactly what your portal shows. Whatever the wording, prepare to explain your research clearly: the question you worked on, your own role, what you found and what you would ask next. Know which Columbia graduate programs and labs fit your interests, and name faculty only if you have read their work. MD-PhD interviews for this cycle are scheduled from October through December 2026.

Columbia-Bassett applicants

The Columbia-Bassett essay prompt for 2026-2027 was not published. If your portal shows an added question after you select Columbia-Bassett, answer it directly. Before you write, read the program’s mission and curriculum. It focuses on healthcare systems, trauma-responsive care, a longitudinal integrated clinical year in Cooperstown and relationships at the center of care. Your answer should show why that kind of training fits your goals, using your own experience, for example with rural communities, health system problems or long-term relationships with patients.

General tips for the Columbia secondary

• Plan the set together. The interim, leadership, perspectives and optional essays should each show something different.
• Use numbers. Hours, patients, results and dates make answers believable.
• Stay within limits. Write to the stated limit, and for the optional work question, keep it brief and follow the portal.
• Name only verified programs. If you mention a Columbia program, make sure it exists and that you understand what it does.
• Submit well before October 22. Fixed deadlines and March decisions mean there is no need to rush a weak essay, but there is no benefit in waiting until the last day either.

Interview Format and Preparation

What is confirmed

• Format: Interviews for the 2026-2027 cycle are virtual. Details of the interview day are provided through the secondary application portal.
• Timing: Invitations go out by email from mid-August through January.
• Special programs: Columbia-Bassett, MD-PhD and PhD-to-MD interviews start later, usually in October. If a special program does not invite you, you are placed in the regular MD pool.
• Columbia-Bassett: Applicants interview first with the Columbia-Bassett admissions team and then with the VP&S admissions team. Interviewers include faculty from Cooperstown and New York City, and the Columbia-Bassett interview day is fully virtual.
• PhD-to-MD: Invited applicants submit a CV and a one-page research proposal, and a supplemental committee focused on scientific achievement interviews them.
• Scheduling: If none of the offered dates work, email the admissions office, and the interview coordinator will try to accommodate you. If you will be abroad, tell the office so your interview can be scheduled at a workable time.

The school does not publish whether it uses traditional one-on-one interviews, multiple mini interviews or another structure. Wait for the details in your portal, and prepare for conversational interviews that explore your application.

How to prepare

Know your own file. Columbia’s secondary covers your work, your time since graduation, your leadership and your perspectives. Expect interviewers to ask about any of it. Reread everything you submitted.

Understand Columbia’s mission. Be ready to talk about discovery, care and leadership, and about service in Washington Heights and beyond, with your own examples. Know the three phases of the curriculum and the Scholarly Project tracks that interest you.

Share your story. Be able to explain your academic path, your research, your clinical work and why you want to be a physician, clearly and in a few minutes. Connect your goals to Columbia without reciting its website.

Practice on camera. Test your connection, camera, lighting and sound. Use a quiet room and a plain background. Look at the camera when you speak.

Be professional at every step. Be on time, communicate clearly and treat every staff member with courtesy.

Prepare questions. Ask about things you genuinely want to know, such as how students choose a Scholarly Project mentor or what student-run clinic work looks like in the first year. Our guide to questions to ask during your medical school interview has more ideas.

Get practice with feedback. Mock interviews help most when someone gives honest feedback. IMA’s admissions consulting services include interview preparation.

After the interview

Thank-you notes are welcome. Send them to the admissions office email and also upload them through the secondary portal as an Applicant Update in PDF. The school will not share interviewers’ contact details. Letters of interest also go through the portal as PDFs. All decisions are released in early March, so there is no need to send repeated updates. Send one only when you have real news, such as a new publication or a completed degree.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Columbia University Medical School debt free?

For students with financial need, largely yes. Through the Vagelos Scholarship Program, VP&S meets 100% of demonstrated financial need with scholarships, and the need-based package includes no loans. It is not free for everyone: families whose income and assets cover the cost still pay, and students may still borrow for costs outside the standard budget. Families with total income under $125,000 are assessed no contribution from income, though assets can still count. Submit the FAFSA and CSS Profile to be considered. In 2024-2025, 89% of students received financial aid, and the average medical school debt of graduates was $104,024.

What is the Columbia University Medical School acceptance rate?

The number of offers is not published, so no exact acceptance rate exists. For the 2025 entering class, 723 of 7,677 verified applicants were interviewed (about 9.4%) and 138 matriculated. For the Class of 2030, 7,591 people applied and 140 enrolled, a matriculation ratio of about 1.8%. The share of applicants who receive offers is somewhat higher, because some admitted students choose other schools. Either way, VP&S is one of the most selective medical schools in the country. Focus on the parts of your application you control.

What is Columbia University Medical School’s ranking?

Columbia is consistently placed among the top research medical schools in the United States, and many of its clinical departments are highly ranked. Ranking methods change, so check the current edition of any ranking you use. For applicants, published outcomes are often more useful: a 99% first-time pass rate on USMLE Step 1 in 2025, and 32% of the most recent class matching at Columbia for some or all of residency.

What are the Columbia University Medical School requirements for admission?

You need at least three years at a regionally accredited U.S. or Canadian college when you apply and a bachelor’s degree before you enroll. Required courses are one year each of English (or writing-intensive courses), biology with labs and physics with one semester of lab; two years of chemistry with labs, including organic; and one semester of biochemistry. Courses must be taken in person, with COVID-era exceptions, within 10 years, with no grade below C-. You also need the MCAT, three letters and the AMCAS and VP&S secondary applications.

How much is Columbia University Medical School tuition?

Tuition for 2026-27 is $76,336 a year, the same for every student. With fees, including $5,823 for medical insurance and $1,788 for Student Health Service, the first-year tuition and fees total $85,013. The full first-year cost of attendance, including living expenses, is $117,049. Rates are tentative until approved by Columbia’s trustees.

What is the connection between Columbia University Medical School and Columbia University Irving Medical Center?

The medical school, VP&S, is one of the schools of Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), the university’s academic medical center in Washington Heights. CUIMC also includes the Mailman School of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine and the School of Nursing. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, a separate hospital system, is the school’s major teaching hospital on the same campus. This arrangement gives medical students wide clinical and research opportunities in one place.

What is the Columbia University Medical Center?

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) is the former name of Columbia University Irving Medical Center. It is the campus in Washington Heights that includes VP&S, the Mailman School of Public Health and other health sciences schools, alongside NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. You will still see the older name, and the old cumc.columbia.edu email domain, in many places.

What are the requirements for Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons?

Beyond the prerequisite courses and MCAT, VP&S requires three letters of recommendation (one from a science faculty member, teacher or research mentor; up to seven accepted), the AMCAS application, the VP&S secondary and the $110 secondary fee. There are no published minimum hours for clinical or research experience, but strong applicants show real patient contact, research and service. Admitted students must also clear a background check and submit an official final transcript.

What is the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons acceptance rate?

There is no published acceptance rate, because the number of offers is not published. For the 2025 entering class, about 9.4% of verified applicants were interviewed (723 of 7,677). For the Class of 2030, 140 students enrolled from 7,591 applicants, about 1.8%, which is a matriculation ratio rather than an acceptance rate. Offer recipients in the 2026 cycle had GPAs from 3.53 to 4.0 and MCAT scores from 508 to 528, and the median accepted applicant in the 2025 entering class had a 3.97 GPA and a 522 MCAT.

What is the cost of Columbia University Medical School, and how is financial aid determined?

The 2026-27 cost of attendance for a single student on the NYC track ranges from $117,049 in the first year to $124,324 in the 12-month third year. Need is calculated as cost of attendance minus resources from the student, spouse and a calculated parent contribution, based on the FAFSA and CSS Profile. Parents’ retirement accounts and primary home are excluded from the parent calculation. Need is then met with scholarships rather than loans.

Does Columbia have a PA program?

No. VP&S does not list a physician assistant degree among its programs. Its health professions programs outside the MD include genetic counseling, human nutrition, occupational therapy, physical therapy, biomedical PhDs and several master’s degrees. Physician assistants do work on clinical teams at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. If you want to become a PA, look at PA programs at other schools.

How can I learn more about Columbia University Medical School admissions?

Start with the VP&S Office of Admissions website, which has the requirements, timeline, FAQ and admissions team. The office does not offer tours or premedical advising, so read the site carefully and take questions about your own profile to your premedical advisor. You can contact the office at [email protected] with questions the website does not answer, and include your AMCAS ID if you have applied.

Does Columbia use rolling admission?

No. Columbia does not have rolling admissions for its MD program. Decisions are made at the end of interview season, and all applicants receive their decisions in early March. Applying early still helps you finish the secondary and interviews without a rush, but an early application does not mean an early decision.

Do I need a letter from a physician?

No. VP&S requires three letters, and only one type is mandatory: a letter from a science faculty member, teacher or research mentor. A physician who has supervised your clinical work can be a strong writer, but a physician letter is not required. Committee letters are welcome but not mandatory.

Does Columbia screen applicants before sending secondaries?

No. VP&S sends a secondary invitation to every applicant who selects it on AMCAS, from July to October. There is no published GPA or MCAT cutoff. The real selection happens at the interview stage and in final committee review.

Can I apply with online or community college prerequisites?

Community college courses are accepted for prerequisites. Online courses are not, except for courses taken during the 2020 academic calendar and the Spring and Summer 2021 semesters. If you took a prerequisite online at another time, plan to retake it in person before you enroll.

Does Columbia accept international students?

Rarely from foreign universities. The committee requires premedical training at a U.S. institution plus the MCAT, because it cannot evaluate premedical education outside the United States and Canada. Non-U.S. residents are not eligible for federal financial aid, and the PhD-to-MD program requires U.S. citizenship or permanent residency.

How much clinical experience do I need for Columbia?

VP&S does not publish a minimum. What matters is real, sustained patient contact and what you learned from it. Strong applicants usually have at least one long-term clinical role, such as scribing, medical assistant or EMT work, or a free clinic, where they took on responsibility under supervision. Shadowing helps you understand a physician’s day, but hands-on experience is more convincing. Supervised pre-health internships that include vitals, intake and triage are one way to add direct experience, best combined with steady local work.

Can I defer my admission to Columbia?

Sometimes. Deferrals are granted case by case to applicants accepted in the first round, usually for one or two years. Upload a letter with your reason and the length requested by April 30. Applicants admitted from the waitlist cannot defer.

What is the Columbia-Bassett track and how do I apply?

Columbia-Bassett is an MD track that spends the first 18 months in New York City and most of the Major Clinical Year in Cooperstown, New York, at Bassett Healthcare Network, with a longitudinal integrated curriculum and added teaching in health systems and trauma-responsive care. Select Columbia-Bassett on the Columbia secondary. You will interview with the Columbia-Bassett team and then the VP&S team. If you are not invited by Columbia-Bassett, you remain in the regular MD pool.

Do I need a deposit to hold my seat?

No. VP&S does not require a deposit, and an offer of admission is not binding. You must select “Plan to Enroll” by April 30 and “Commit to Enroll” by June 15 in the AAMC Choose Your Medical School tool.

How many students take a research year?

About 37% of the most recent graduating class took extra time for research or a dual degree. Research years usually fall during the final D&I phase and can be funded by the Dean’s Research Fellowship, which provides $20,000 to $32,000 for 12 months, or by outside fellowships.

What MCAT and GPA do I need for Columbia?

There is no minimum. For the 2025 entering class, the median accepted applicant had a 522 MCAT (mean 521.6) and a 3.97 overall GPA (mean 3.94), with a 3.97 median science GPA. In the 2026 cycle, offer recipients ranged from 508 to 528 on the MCAT and from 3.53 to 4.0 in GPA. If you have more than one score, the committee uses your highest total.

How many applicants does Columbia interview?

For the 2025 entering class, Columbia interviewed 723 of 7,677 verified applicants, about 9.4%. Of those interviewed, 105 were New York residents and 618 were from other states. Interviews are virtual and one-on-one, and invitations go out by email from mid-August through January.

How much debt do Columbia medical graduates have?

The average medical school debt of VP&S graduates was $104,024 in 2024-2025, and 89% of students received financial aid that year. Because the Vagelos Scholarship Program meets demonstrated need with scholarships instead of loans, graduates with high need can finish with little or no need-based debt. Students whose families are expected to contribute may borrow to cover that share.

Related Medical School Guides

Most Columbia applicants apply to a broad list. These guides cover schools that share something useful with VP&S, such as location, degree type or a program feature. None of them is a “safety” school.

• NYU Grossman School of Medicine (Manhattan): another highly selective private MD program in Manhattan, worth comparing with Columbia on curriculum length and how each school approaches cost.
• NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NYU Langone Health: a broader look at NYU’s MD options, including its Manhattan and Long Island campuses, for applicants comparing New York City programs.
• Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai: a research-intensive Manhattan MD school, useful for applicants who want New York City training with a strong research culture.
• Weill Cornell Medicine: an Ivy League MD program on the Upper East Side that also partners with NewYork-Presbyterian, a natural comparison for Columbia applicants.
• New York Medical College: a private MD school in Valhalla, Westchester County, for applicants who want to train in the New York metro area outside Manhattan.
• SUNY Upstate Norton College of Medicine: a public MD school in Syracuse with rural training options, a useful comparison for applicants drawn to upstate and rural medicine like the Columbia-Bassett track.

For a second take on Columbia, including additional detail on its programs and admissions, see our companion Columbia medical school admissions guide. For every MD and DO option in the state, see our guide to medical schools in New York.

Exploring medical education beyond Columbia

Columbia is not the right fit for every future physician, and some readers are weighing other health careers entirely. IMA publishes detailed guides to MD and DO programs across the United States. Each one covers requirements, costs, curriculum and secondary essays in the same depth as this guide.

• Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Tufts University School of Medicine
• University of Louisville School of Medicine
• Michigan State University College of Human Medicine
• University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine
• University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine
• Carle Illinois College of Medicine
• Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
• Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University
• Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
• Rush Medical College of Rush University Medical Center
• Central Michigan University College of Medicine
• Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
• University of Minnesota Medical School
• Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
• Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine
• University of Oklahoma College of Medicine
• Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine
• Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
• Georgetown University Medical School
• Yale School of Medicine
• West Virginia University School of Medicine
• West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine
• Indiana University School of Medicine
• Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine
• University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine
• Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Meharry Medical College
• Howard University College of Medicine
• University of Kansas School of Medicine (KUMC)
• Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science College of Medicine
• Loma Linda University School of Medicine
• John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM)
• Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (KansasCOM)
• UC Irvine School of Medicine
• Nova Southeastern University College of Allopathic Medicine
• Touro University Nevada College of Osteopathic Medicine
• University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
• Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (ARCOM)
• University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS)
• Tulane University School of Medicine
• LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine
• LSU Shreveport Medical School
• Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV
• University of Nevada Reno School of Medicine
• University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson
• University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix
• Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine (BCOM)
• The University of New Mexico School of Medicine
• Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM)
• University of South Alabama College of Medicine
• University of Alabama School of Medicine
• FIU College of Medicine
• UCF College of Medicine
• USF Morsani College of Medicine
• Florida State University College of Medicine
• Morehouse School of Medicine
• Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University
• Mercer University School of Medicine (MUSM)
• Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine (CUSOM)
• Medicine
• Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM)
• University of South Carolina Medical School
• Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University
• Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM)
• Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM)
• Penn State Medical School
• CUNY School of Medicine
• SUNY Downstate Medical School
• NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine
• NYU Long Island School of Medicine
• TOURO College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Albany Medical College
• Jacobs School of Medicine at the University at Buffalo
• Hofstra Zucker School of Medicine
• University of Rochester Medical School
• Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University
• Albert Einstein College of Medicine
• Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED)
• University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
• University of Toledo College of Medicine
• Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine
• Ohio State University College of Medicine
• Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine
• Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine (HMSOM
• Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS)
• Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
• Cooper Medical School of Rowan University (CMSRU)
• A.T. Still University Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Saint Louis University School of Medicine
• University of Missouri Medical School
• Kansas City University (KCU)
• UMKC School of Medicine
• University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
• University of Wisconsin Medical School
• VCU School of Medicine
• University of Maryland School of Medicine
• Case Western Medical School
• University of North Carolina Medical School
• University of Florida Medical School
• Emory University School of Medicine
• Boston University College of Medicine
• California University of Science and Medicine
• UC San Diego Medical School
• California Northstate University College of Medicine
• Touro University of California
• CHSU College of Osteopathic Medicine
• UC Davis School of Medicine
• Harvard Medical School
• UC Riverside School of Medicine
• USC Keck School of Medicine
• UT Southwestern Medical School
• Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio
• University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine
• UT Austin’s Dell Medical School
• UTMB School of Medicine
• McGovern Medical School at UT Health
• The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine
• UNT Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine
• University of Houston College of Medicine
• Texas A&M College of Medicine
• Baylor College of Medicine
• George Washington University School of Medicine
• Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
• St. George’s University School of Medicine
• Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (in Pennsylvania)
• Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
• Wake Forest University School of Medicine
• Western University of Health Sciences (in California)
• Drexel University College of Medicine
• Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University Chicago
• Perelman School of Medicine
• UCLA Medical School
• NYU Medical School
• Washington University School of Medicine

How International Medical Aid Can Help

International Medical Aid (IMA) helps pre-health students build the experience and the application that schools like Columbia look for. IMA is independent of Columbia and VP&S. Participating in an IMA program does not create any admissions advantage at Columbia or any other school.

Clinical internships abroad. IMA runs supervised clinical internships in Kenya and other countries for pre-med and pre-health students. Interns take vital signs, do patient intake and triage, and help with direct patient care under the supervision of local clinicians. For Columbia applicants, these pre-med internships abroad offer concrete experience to reflect on in the secondary questions about perspectives and leadership, and a close look at how health systems work with fewer resources. IMA offers healthcare internships abroad in several fields beyond pre-med as well.

Admissions consulting. IMA’s medical school consulting services help applicants plan their school list, write personal statements and secondaries, and prepare for interviews. For VP&S, that means building essays that show inquiry and service with real evidence and planning the five secondary answers as a set.

What past participants say. Testimonials from IMA program participants describe how their experiences changed their perspective on health care and on the kind of doctor they want to become.

Next step: if your application needs more hands-on patient care, look at IMA’s internship dates for the summer before you apply, and start the secondary inventory described above now.

Final Thoughts and Sources

Columbia Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons offers one of the strongest combinations in American medicine: deep research, a demanding clinical year, real service in Washington Heights and Harlem, and a scholarship program that meets full need without loans. Admission is extremely competitive, with 140 seats for more than 7,500 applicants. What you can control is the evidence: prerequisites taken in person and on time, a strong MCAT, three letters from people who know your work, sustained patient care, curiosity you have acted on, and secondary answers that each show something new.

Your next step is to confirm your prerequisites against the current requirements, submit AMCAS well before October 15, and draft your secondary answers so that you can submit by October 22.

Sources

School sources were checked on October 17, 2026, and the AAMC MSAR profile on October 18, 2026. Cohort and year labels are shown with each figure in the article.

• AAMC Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR), Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons profile, 2026 edition (2025 entering class data; financial aid and debt from LCME Part I-B 2024-2025; specialty intentions from the 2025 AAMC Graduation Questionnaire). Subscription database, accessed October 18, 2026: median and mean MCAT and GPA, verified applications, interviews, matriculants, in-state and out-of-state split, class demographics, premedical experience, total enrollment, aid and graduate debt, waitlist and offer-response policies, 3-year PhD-to-MD spots.

• VP&S Admissions FAQs (application requirements, offer-recipient GPA and MCAT ranges for the 2026 application cycle, rolling admission, interviews for 2026-2027, deferrals, outcomes and USMLE pass rates): vagelos.columbia.edu

• VP&S Application Requirements (prerequisites, MCAT, grades, letters, secondary fee): vagelos.columbia.edu
• VP&S Process and Timeline (2027 application cycle dates): vagelos.columbia.edu
• VP&S 2026-27 Estimated Budgets, NYC standard track and Bassett track (dated July 2, 2026, tentative), via the Student Budgets page: vagelos.columbia.edu
• Vagelos Scholarship Program: vagelos.columbia.edu
• CUIMC news, “VP&S Welcomes 140 Future Physicians at White Coat Ceremony,” August 12, 2026 (Class of 2030 profile and school leaders): cuimc.columbia.edu
• VP&S LCME Accreditation page: vagelos.columbia.edu
• VP&S MD Curriculum, Fundamentals, Major Clinical Year and Differentiation and Integration pages; Student Research at VP&S (Scholarly Projects Program description and tracks, summer research, research electives, research year, research funding): vagelos.columbia.edu
• Columbia-Bassett Program pages (Our Program, Applying, About Us): vagelos.columbia.edu
• MD Dual Degrees and Special Programs; MD-PhD program (Our Students, Our Alumni, How to Apply, Program Leadership); 3-Year PhD-to-MD Program: vagelos.columbia.edu
• Daniel Noyes Brown Primary Care Scholars Program: vagelos.columbia.edu
• VP&S Affiliated Hospitals and Institutions; Clinical Departments; Basic Science Departments; Centers and Institutes; Faculty Initiatives; Wu Family China Center: vagelos.columbia.edu
• VP&S Admissions Team and Associate Dean’s welcome message: vagelos.columbia.edu
• VP&S Club clubs and organizations, including student-run clinics: vagelos.columbia.edu
• The History of the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons: vagelos.columbia.edu
• 2026 VP&S Alumni Gold Medal Awards (April 25, 2026): vagelos.columbia.edu
• Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health profile of Mary T. Bassett: hsph.harvard.edu
• National Library of Medicine, Changing the Face of Medicine, biography of Patricia Bath: nlm.nih.gov
• 2026-2027 secondary questions: Columbia does not post its secondary prompts publicly. The wording and limits above were confirmed from two 2026-2027 applicant-reported compilations, the Med School Insiders 2026-2027 Columbia listing and the Student Doctor Network 2026-2027 Columbia thread (posts from July 18, 2026), checked October 17, 2026.