How to Get Into Northwestern University The Feinberg School of Medicine: The Definitive Guide (2026-2027)

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine (FSM) is a private medical school in downtown Chicago, Illinois, founded in 1859. It awards the Doctor of Medicine (MD) on a single campus in the Streeterville neighborhood, steps from Lake Michigan, where the school sits beside its main teaching hospitals: Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Prentice Women’s Hospital, the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. Students also train at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center and John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, which gives Feinberg a mix of academic, children’s, rehabilitation, veterans and safety-net care.

This guide covers the 2026-2027 application cycle for students who plan to start medical school in August 2027. The AMCAS deadline is November 1, 2026, the secondary application and letters are due November 15, 2026, and interviews are virtual. The newest class data is for the Entering Class of 2026: 8,936 applications, 681 applicants invited to interview and a class of 141, with a median GPA of 3.95 and a median MCAT of 520. Facts were checked on October 28, 2026.

Feinberg is known for an integrated curriculum that puts students in a primary care clinic from the first week, a required mentored research project for every student, a deep Chicago clinical network and strong residency match results. The sections below explain the mission, programs, curriculum, admissions requirements, 2026-27 costs, class statistics, the current secondary essay prompts with original example responses, the interview day and practical strategies for building your application.

Key Takeaways

• Who can apply. Feinberg accepts applicants from every state, Canada and other countries. As a private university it gives no preference to Illinois residents. International applicants need at least three years of coursework at an accredited U.S. or Canadian college (with an exception for three years in the British Isles, Australia or New Zealand). DACA applicants are considered case by case.
• Academic context. The Entering Class of 2026 had a median undergraduate GPA of 3.95 and a median MCAT of 520. There is no minimum GPA. Every AMCAS-verified applicant with an MCAT of 500 or higher receives a secondary invitation.
• Mission. Feinberg’s mission is “to impact the practice of medicine through discovery and education to improve human health.” In practice, that means research, clinical exposure and service all count.
• Key dates. AMCAS opens May 28, 2026 and closes November 1, 2026, with no extensions. The secondary and letters are due November 15, 2026. Interviews run from late August through mid-February, and First Look for admitted students is April 8 and 9, 2027.
• Costs. Tuition for 2026-27 is $76,512 for every student, regardless of residency. The first-year budget, including fees, health insurance and living costs, is $120,134.
• Distinctive training. Every student joins an Education-Centered Medical Home in the first year, completes an Area of Scholarly Concentration research project, and rotates through Northwestern Memorial, Lurie Children’s and the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab.
• Special routes. A small, binding Early Decision Program, the MD/PhD Medical Scientist Training Program, MD/MPH, MD/MA, MD/MBA and MD/MS options, and early acceptance programs for Northwestern undergraduates and postbaccalaureate students.
• Next step. Submit AMCAS well before November 1, answer the secondary quickly once invited, and be ready to show, with real experiences, how you learn through research, patient care and service.

Key Statistics About Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine

The snapshot and table below collect Feinberg’s key numbers. Each figure carries its own cohort or academic year, because the class profile, the tuition schedule and the national application data each cover a different period. The newest class profile on the school’s site is the Entering Class of 2026, the students who started in August 2026.

These numbers show a highly selective school. Feinberg received about 63 applications for every seat in the Entering Class of 2026, and the median MCAT and GPA sit near the top of the national range. A median is the middle score, not a cutoff: half the class scored below 520. Tuition is the same for Illinois residents and everyone else, which reflects Feinberg’s status as a private school.

Mission and Educational Priorities

Feinberg states its mission in one sentence: “Our mission is to impact the practice of medicine through discovery and education to improve human health. Our vision is to achieve this mission through continuous quality improvement.” The full statement on the About Feinberg page adds that excellence requires “a learning organization grounded in leadership, innovation, and compassionate care that can translate new knowledge into better human health,” and that these attributes are “interwoven by professionalism dedicated to teamwork, collegiality, and social and intellectual diversity.”

What does that mean for an applicant? Three priorities stand out.

Discovery. Feinberg is a research-intensive school. It received $695.4 million in research funding and awards in 2025, and in 2024, 15 of its departments ranked in the top 20 for NIH awards. Every MD student completes a mentored research project, and 100% of the Entering Class of 2026 had research experience at the undergraduate or graduate level. You do not need publications, but you should be able to explain a question you investigated and what you learned from the process.

Education and leadership. The admissions office says its “ultimate goal is educating future leaders in medicine.” The admissions leadership message describes the students it looks for as “active learners” who ask questions “not only about patients, science and health policy, but also about themselves,” and who are leaders who also understand how to be team players. Your application should show both sides: initiative and the ability to work inside a team.

Compassionate care and community. The curriculum is built around health equity and the social factors that shape health, and students volunteer in community clinics across Chicago. The Committee on Admissions looks for academic excellence, “mature motivation for a career in medicine, altruism, and character,” and places a premium on the breadth and depth of academic and life experiences.

Feinberg also publishes a list of characteristics of a successful candidate: meaningful exploration of medicine, academic preparedness, being inquiry-driven, service orientation and altruism, professionalism, effective communication and interpersonal skills, maturity, commitment, persistence, teamwork and leadership. Each one maps to a competency in the school’s curriculum. Use that list as a checklist for your activities and essays. If a characteristic has no clear evidence in your application, that is the gap to fill.

For readers who want to build service and patient-care experience abroad, International Medical Aid’s pre-med study abroad programs place students in clinical settings in Kenya and other sites. IMA programs are independent of Feinberg and have no role in its admissions.

Accreditation and Institutional Identity

Feinberg is an allopathic (MD) medical school. It holds full accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the accreditor for MD programs in the United States and Canada. The LCME directory lists its next full survey in 2028-29 and its initial accreditation as on or before 1942. Accreditation confirms that the program meets national standards; it is not a ranking.

The school traces its history to 1859, when Nathan Smith Davis co-founded the medical department of Lind University. That department became the Chicago Medical College and later the Northwestern University medical school. In 2002, Northwestern renamed the school the Feinberg School of Medicine after a $75 million gift from the Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation, then led by Chicago philanthropist Reuben Feinberg (Feinberg News).

Feinberg is part of Northwestern University, whose main undergraduate campus is in Evanston. The medical school is on the university’s 20-acre lakefront Chicago campus, along with four Feinberg-affiliated hospitals, the law school and executive programs of the Kellogg School of Management. Its clinical partner is Northwestern Medicine, the academic health system anchored by Northwestern Memorial Hospital. There are no regional MD campuses: all MD students are based in Chicago, though third- and fourth-year rotations reach sites across the city.

A few naming points help when you research the school. “FSM” and “Feinberg” are the same school. The MD/PhD program is called the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP). The Physician Assistant Program is a separate Feinberg program with its own CASPA application; it is not a route into the MD degree.

Medical Programs and Affiliations

Feinberg offers one MD curriculum with several ways in and several ways to add a second degree. Most students enter through regular AMCAS admission.

Doctor of Medicine (MD)

The four-year MD program prepares students “as medical professionals in a time of significant change in healthcare delivery.” The curriculum, updated in 2012, is organized into three phases built on four elements: Science in Medicine, Clinical Medicine, Health & Society and Professional Development. The MD program emphasizes clinical training, research and community engagement from the first year.

Early Decision Program (EDP)

Feinberg runs a small, selective Early Decision MD program, started in 2019. It is binding: you apply only to Feinberg, and if accepted you must enroll. Requests to defer will not be approved. You must first get approval to apply by contacting the Office of Admissions by May 15 and submitting an interest form, resume, transcript and official MCAT score by June 1. For the 2026-27 cycle, EDP applicants submitted AMCAS by August 1, 2026, completed the secondary and letters by August 15, interviewed in August and received decisions by October 1, 2026. Applicants who are deferred move into the regular pool and receive a final decision in March. EDP is not available for MD/PhD applicants. The school recommends EDP candidates take the MCAT by the end of April. Details are on the Early Decision MD page.

Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD)

The MSTP lets students earn an MD from Feinberg and a PhD from The Graduate School. The program has trained physician-scientists since 1964. Applicants choose one program: you may apply to either the MD or the MSTP, though you can transfer your application between the two until November 1. MD/PhD applicants complete a different secondary. Those MD/PhD prompts were not confirmed for the 2026-27 cycle from more than one source, so this guide does not reproduce them; check the prompts in your applicant portal.

Dual degrees for MD students

These options are added after you are accepted to the MD program:

• MD/MPH. A part-time evening Master of Public Health completed within the four-year MD, administered through the Department of Preventive Medicine. A five-year option completes the MPH in the year after M3. The required public health project serves as the student’s Area of Scholarly Concentration. Apply after an offer of admission.
• MD/MA in Medical Humanities & Bioethics. A part-time master’s program integrated into the MD, examining medicine through cultural, philosophical, legal, literary and historical study. A five-year option is also offered.
• MD/MBA. A joint degree with Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. Students apply in the third year, spend about one year at Kellogg between M3 and M4, then return for fourth-year rotations.
• MD/MS in Health Services & Outcomes Research. One year of full-time graduate coursework between M3 and M4, with a capstone manuscript. Students apply in the third year.

Early admission routes for Northwestern students

• Northwestern Undergraduate Premedical Scholars Program (NUPSP). A binding early acceptance into the MD (or MSTP) for high-achieving Northwestern undergraduates who have completed two full years in residence with an overall and science GPA of 3.7 or higher. Students apply in the fall of their third year, are accepted for matriculation after their fourth year and do not take the MCAT. About 10 to 15 students are offered early acceptance each year. For Cycle 2027, applications open in the applicant portal in October, with interviews on February 2 and 3, 2027.
• Northwestern University Premedicine Linkage Program (NUPLP). Lets high-achieving students in Northwestern’s postbaccalaureate premedicine program enroll in the MD directly after finishing the program, without a glide year.

The Honors Program in Medical Education (HPME), a former combined program with Northwestern’s undergraduate college, does not appear on Feinberg’s current admissions program pages. The early acceptance routes listed today are NUPSP and NUPLP. High school students looking at combined BS/MD routes should read each program’s current page rather than older lists, and can build early patient-care experience through medical internships for high school students.

Other Feinberg programs

Beyond the MD, Feinberg trains physician assistants (a Master of Medical Science program on the Chicago campus), offers graduate programs in public health and clinical investigation for health professionals, runs residency and fellowship training through McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University, and provides continuing medical education for practicing clinicians. Summer research programs and STEM outreach programs serve students at earlier stages.

Clinical affiliations

Feinberg’s teaching hospitals are Northwestern Memorial Hospital (the primary affiliate), Prentice Women’s Hospital, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center and John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County. Northwestern Medicine also operates outpatient sites across Chicago where students practice outpatient medicine.

Curriculum Overview

Feinberg describes its curriculum as preparing students “to practice medicine in the real world, now and in the future,” and states a commitment to “a curriculum that promotes health equity for all.” It is integrated, competency-based and organized in three phases. All four years include the four curricular elements (Science in Medicine, Clinical Medicine, Health & Society and Professional Development) and five threads: Healthcare Quality & Patient Safety, Medical Decision Making & Diagnostic Testing, Interprofessional Education, Health Equity & Advocacy, and Digital Health & Data Science. The full structure is on the Feinberg MD Curriculum page.

Organizing principles and competencies

Nine organizing principles guide the program: Adaptive & Personalized, Community Engagement & Service Learning, Competency-Based, Continuity, Evidence-Based, Safe & Healthy, Inquiry-Driven, Integrated, and Professional Development. A competency-based framework spells out what students must achieve and how they are assessed. The aim is to produce evidence-based clinicians who give safe, high-quality, cost-conscious care as part of an interprofessional team.

Phase 1: Building a strong foundation (M1 and M2, first 20 months)

Phase 1 covers the first 20 months and includes 14 modules of varying length organized by organ systems, such as cardiovascular, pulmonary and renal. Each module contains all four curricular elements, with a main focus on Science in Medicine. Problem-based learning and team-based learning put lecture and lab concepts into clinical cases. Week-long Synthesis & Application Modules (SAMs) are spaced between the organ modules for review, reflection and integration. Students also build clinical reasoning and patient interview skills, work with students from other health professions, and take professional development coursework on ethics, communication and self-reflection.

Phase 1 is graded Pass or Pass After Remediation. Students are not ranked. That structure supports a collaborative learning environment.

Phase 2: Clinical immersion (M3)

Phase 2 is built on department-based core clerkships:

• Medicine
• Surgery
• Obstetrics & Gynecology
• Pediatrics
• Neurology
• Psychiatry

Students continue in their Education-Centered Medical Home. Each student has an individualized schedule with early electives to explore specialties, and SAM weeks continue. Clerkships are graded Honors, High Pass or Pass. All third-year students rotate at Lurie Children’s for inpatient pediatrics.

Phase 3: Residency preparation (M4)

The final year combines advanced clinical rotations with professional development in the student’s chosen field. Required rotations are:

• Emergency Medicine
• Critical Care Medicine (adult or pediatric)
• Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, a two-week clerkship at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
• A subinternship in Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynecology or Pediatrics, with increased responsibility for patient care
• Education-Centered Medical Home

Students also complete required teaching selectives, finish their Area of Scholarly Concentration project, take electives in their areas of interest and end with a two-week capstone module focused on their chosen field to prepare for internship.

Curricular components

• Education-Centered Medical Home (ECMH). At the start of the first year, every student joins an ECMH: one preceptor and a group of students from all four years who care for patients together in a primary care setting. Students attend one half-day every other week and take on more responsibility as their skills grow. The ECMH is the student’s longitudinal clinical site for all four years.
• Area of Scholarly Concentration (AOSC). Every student completes a mentored, hypothesis-driven research project (see Clinical Rotations and Research Opportunities below).
• Problem-Based Learning (PBL). Case-based, collaborative small groups that build inquiry, critical thinking and knowledge application.
• Colleges and mentoring. Each student is assigned to a college headed by a faculty mentor, with about 18 students per group. Students also have an AOSC faculty advisor and research mentor and a four-year ECMH clinical preceptor.
• Professional development and portfolio. Students track their own progress, reflect and set goals with physician mentors.
• Safe and healthy learning environment. Feinberg describes programs and strategies to create and sustain a supportive environment for all learners.

Health equity, disparities and bias

The curriculum treats the social factors that shape health as central. Under the Health & Society element, Feinberg integrates social determinants of health, healthcare disparities and care quality into every phase. Health Equity & Advocacy is one of the five longitudinal threads. The Office of Health Equity supports programs, community and mentoring for all students, and through it accepted students can join a summer experience before matriculation focused on research and community partnership. Feinberg describes cultural humility as a priority in MD training: comprehensive care means serving each patient’s needs, abilities, values and challenges.

Clinical training from week one

From the first week of medical school, Feinberg students train in world-class and safety-net hospitals and community clinics throughout Chicago, including three U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll hospitals: Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and Lurie Children’s. In the clinical phases, students may also rotate at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center and John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County. At every site, Feinberg faculty oversee students, and students have the same role and level of responsibility in each discipline regardless of site.

Teaching opportunities

Teaching runs in both directions at Feinberg. Faculty educators drive the curriculum, and students learn to teach: fourth-year students complete required teaching selectives, and senior students tutor younger students. This fits the applicant profile, too: 91% of the Entering Class of 2026 had served as a tutor or had other teaching experience.

Admissions Requirements and Application Process

Feinberg’s admissions process is holistic. The Committee on Admissions reviews academic course load and rigor, academic honors, extracurricular activities, community service, clinical and research experience, letters of recommendation and the interview. Northwestern Medicine and the Chicago setting give Feinberg students a wide range of patients and clinical settings, and the school looks for applicants who will use them well. The steps below follow the order of a typical cycle. Requirements come from the Feinberg Requirements page.

Primary application (AMCAS)

All MD and MD/PhD applicants apply through AMCAS. For 2027 matriculation, submit AMCAS no earlier than May 28, 2026 and no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on November 1, 2026. No extensions are offered, and the committee cannot consider applications submitted after November 1. Feinberg begins reviewing applications on June 26, 2026. Keep your AMCAS email address active and whitelist northwestern.edu, because secondary and interview invitations arrive by email.

Your AMCAS application includes:

• Personal statement. Your motivation for medicine, the experiences that shaped it and the qualities you bring.
• Work and activities. Clinical, research, service, teaching, leadership and employment experiences.
• Transcripts. From every college attended. Only transcripts sent through AMCAS are required for review; a final official transcript is due before matriculation.
• MCAT scores. Required of all applicants.
• Letters of recommendation. Through the AMCAS Letter Service (see below).

MCAT policy

For 2027 matriculation, Feinberg accepts MCAT scores from exams taken January 2024 through September 2026. The school encourages taking the exam, and any retest, no later than June of the application year. Feinberg sees all of your scores and does not combine section scores from different test dates; more weight goes to recent performance and score trends. You may submit AMCAS before you have a score, but only AMCAS-verified applicants with an MCAT of 500 or higher receive a secondary invitation. List any planned MCAT dates on AMCAS and on the secondary; if your plans change, update AMCAS and email the office so your file is not held.

Letters of recommendation

Letters are due November 15, 2026. Feinberg accepts any of three options:

• A committee, composite or advisor letter from your college’s pre-health committee. This is preferred. If your committee letter is brief and does not include individual letters, send at least two additional individual letters.
• A letter packet assembled by your institution. More than three letters are fine within an official packet.
• Three individual letters. At least one should come from a science faculty member who taught you. The other two may come from faculty (science or non-science), a research supervisor or a long-term employer.

Nontraditional applicants, generally those with two or more years between college and medical school, who send individual letters still need three, and may draw them from any mix of science or non-science faculty and supervisors in research, clinical, shadowing, volunteer or work settings. Letters should be dated, signed and on letterhead. Recent letters from people who know your current work are stronger than old ones. Do not send more than the required letters before an interview invitation. Additional letters after an interview invitation go directly from the writer through AMCAS or by email.

Secondary application (FSM-specific)

Every AMCAS-verified applicant with an MCAT of 500 or higher receives a secondary invitation by email, usually four to six weeks after AMCAS submission. The earliest invitations go out June 26, 2026. The secondary is completed in Feinberg’s secure applicant portal, and the processing fee is $95. Feinberg automatically waives the fee for applicants approved for the AAMC Fee Assistance Program; others facing financial hardship can request a waiver by email after they are invited. The secondary must be submitted by November 15, 2026. The 2026-27 prompts, with original example responses, are in the Secondary Application Questions section below.

Coursework requirements

Educational background. You need at least three years (90 semester hours or 135 quarter hours) of undergraduate and/or graduate coursework at an accredited U.S. or Canadian college or university. A bachelor’s degree is required before matriculation, except for Northwestern undergraduates in a dual-degree program where the degree is granted after the first year of medical school. Required courses should be completed by the time you apply if possible and must be finished by June 2027.

Required courses (two semesters or three quarters, with lecture and associated lab):

• Biology
• Physics
• Inorganic (general) chemistry, or equivalent
• Organic chemistry/biochemistry, or equivalent. One semester (two quarters) of organic chemistry plus one semester (one quarter) of biochemistry, with labs, is acceptable.

Highly recommended: English composition, statistics and biochemistry.

Encouraged: genetics, public health, the humanities and the social sciences, such as psychology, sociology and ethics.

Feinberg gives no preference to science majors. The committee admits students who majored in history, English, communications, engineering and many other fields, and it encourages applicants who have studied subjects beyond the standard premedical sciences in some depth. For a broader checklist across schools, see IMA’s guide to medical school prerequisites.

Additional notes on coursework:

• AP credit. Science AP credit that your college awarded is considered, but the committee expects an advanced undergraduate course in that discipline. Placing out of general chemistry meets that requirement; if you place out of biology or physics, you still need a college-level course.
• Age of coursework. There is no age limit. If your prerequisites are old, retaking them, perhaps in a postbaccalaureate program, can help you prepare for the MCAT and medical school.
• Community college. Included in holistic review, though Feinberg recommends completing the required courses at a four-year institution.
• Online and pass/fail courses. Online courses from accredited U.S. or Canadian schools are acceptable, but standard classroom and lab courses are recommended, especially for organic chemistry and biology. Pass/fail prerequisites are reviewed case by case; take them for a letter grade when you can.
• Summer courses. A summer course is acceptable if it covers the equivalent of a yearlong course and is graded.
• Postbaccalaureate and graduate work. All post-baccalaureate and graduate coursework is considered, which matters if your undergraduate GPA is lower.

Clinical and research experience

Feinberg strongly recommends both research and clinical experience, meaning work or volunteering in a hospital or clinic. There is no required number of hours. The school notes that the average amount of volunteer and clinical experience is 200 to 300 hours, with a wide range. Shadowing is recommended rather than required; the school wants you to have enough exposure to test your motivation for medicine, and its students bring experiences such as clinical and hospital volunteering, medical scribing, EMT work and clinical research.

The national application data shows how common these experiences are. In the 2025 entering class, 99% of matriculants reported research or lab experience, 96% physician shadowing or clinical observation, 90% community service, 89% clinical volunteering and 59% paid clinical work. If your patient contact is limited, pre-med internships that include supervised hands-on tasks such as vitals and intake can add depth. Summer is often the easiest time to add hours, and pre-med summer internships can fit between semesters without crowding your coursework.

Other requirements and policies

• Residency. No preference for Illinois residents.
• International applicants. Accepted with at least three years of coursework, including the prerequisites, at an accredited U.S. or Canadian college located in the U.S. or Canada (or three years in the British Isles, Australia or New Zealand). This policy applies regardless of citizenship. International students are not eligible for most federal aid and need a private loan with a U.S. co-signer.
• DACA applicants. Considered case by case. As with international students, private loans require a U.S.-based co-signer.
• Assessments. No situational judgment test or other additional assessment is required. Feinberg is exploring AAMC PREview for future use but will not use it in this cycle’s decisions.
• Age. No age limit.
• Technical standards. Applicants confirm they can meet Feinberg’s technical standards in perception, communication, motor skills, intellectual abilities and behavioral and social attributes, with or without reasonable accommodation. AccessibleNU coordinates accommodations.
• Background check and drug screen. Accepted students complete a criminal background check, required by Illinois law, and a drug screen by July 1 of the matriculation year.
• Transfers. Rare and limited to hardship transfers into the third year from accredited U.S. or Canadian MD or DO schools.

Review, interviews and decisions

The Committee on Admissions reviews every completed file holistically. Review time varies, and files are not always read in the order completed. Interview invitations go out by email on a rolling basis from August through early February. Interviews are required of every candidate seriously considered.

Feinberg uses a modified rolling process with batched acceptances. A small number of acceptances go out during interview season, with the first in December, but most seats are not committed until March. Admitted students have two weeks to respond to an offer, and no deposit is required. Waitlist offers begin after the uniform acceptance date and continue until the class is full; in a recent cycle, 10 acceptance offers went to waitlisted applicants. Deferral requests are reviewed case by case for regular admits (EDP admits cannot defer). Applicants can upload updates, letters of interest and, after interviewing, letters of intent through the Document Upload tab in the applicant portal.

2026-27 application timeline

If you are planning a full year, IMA’s Best Med School Application Timeline Guide breaks each stage into monthly tasks.

Tuition, Cost of Attendance and Financial Aid

Medical school is a major investment, and Feinberg is open about its costs. Because it is private, there is one tuition rate for all students. The figures below come from the 2026-2027 Tuition & Billing page. The 2027-28 rates, which will apply to students entering in August 2027, were not yet posted when this guide was checked.

Tuition and fees (2026-2027 academic year)

Direct costs are billed by the university twice a year. Health insurance is charged only if you use the Northwestern plan; if you waive it with comparable coverage, it drops out of your bill and your budget. Indirect costs are estimates based on student surveys and are not billed, but they set the ceiling for aid. Across four years, the listed budgets total about $480,000 before any scholarships.

Financial aid options

Feinberg says that financial considerations do not influence admissions decisions and that it works to give accepted students a competitive aid package covering the cost of attendance. In 2024-25, 81% of enrolled and graduated students received financial aid, and 91% of the Entering Class of 2026 received institutional funding.

• Merit scholarships. There is no application. All accepted students are considered automatically, and the decisions come through the Admissions Office.
• Need-based grants. To be considered, accepted students file the FAFSA (Feinberg’s school code is 001739), the CSS Profile and income verification forms. Students accepted in the first cohort of decisions have a January 15 priority deadline; other accepted students file by mid-March. Aid packages go out on a rolling basis starting in mid to late March. Interviewed applicants may apply for aid, but award notices go only to accepted students.
• Federal loans. Direct Unsubsidized Loans and Graduate PLUS Loans for eligible U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
• Private loans. Available through participating lenders. International and DACA students must use a private loan with a creditworthy U.S. citizen or permanent resident co-signer.
• Federal Work-Study. Part-time employment for eligible students with financial need.
• Financial counseling. All students are offered individual financial management counseling. The Chicago Office of Financial Aid and Cynthia R. Gonzalez, Senior Assistant Director of Financial Aid in the Office of Medical Education, are the listed contacts.

Outside scholarships. Many organizations fund medical students, and their deadlines change every year, so check each sponsor’s current page. Programs medical students often research include the AAUW Educational Foundation, Abbott & Fenner Business Consultant Scholarship, Air Force, Army and Navy Health Professions Scholarship Programs, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, American Medical Association scholarships and awards, the American Society of Hematology Minority Medical Student Award Program, the Auxiliary of Good Shepherd Hospital, the Blair County Medical Society, the Chinese American Physicians Society, the Dr. Charles E. Gavin Memorial Foundation, the DuPage Medical Society Foundation, the Dr. U. R. Plante Medical Scholarship, the Herbert W. Nickens Award, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, the Howard Lapsley Memorial Scholarship Fund, the Indian Health Service Scholarship Program, the Japanese Medical Society, the Jewish Vocational Service, the Joanna F. Reed Medical Scholarship Trust, Kaiser Permanente medical student scholarships, the Korean American Scholarship Foundation, the LaPorte Hospital Foundation, the LaSalle County Medical Society, the LULAC National Scholarship Fund, the Morris Hospital Foundation, the National Health Service Corps, National Medical Fellowships, the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, the Navajo Nation Scholarship and Financial Assistance Program, the NIH Medical Research Scholars Program, the Nesbitt Medical Student Foundation, the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, the Pisacano Leadership Foundation, the Polish-American Medical Society, the Richard Allen Williams Scholarship, the Rotary Club of Miami, the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, the Dr. Max Thorek Student Loan Fund, the Turkish American Doctors Association of Midwest, the TYLENOL Future Care Scholarship, the Vietnamese American Medical Association, the Wellsford and Mildred Clark Memorial Scholarship and the Worcester District Medical Society.

Average graduate indebtedness

The mean education debt for Feinberg’s graduating Class of 2024 was $200,335, and for the Class of 2023 it was $203,195. This figure counts all education debt, including undergraduate and other graduate loans. For comparison, the school reports that the national mean medical education debt for private-school graduates in the Class of 2024 was $227,839. The Financial Aid Office offers debt management resources and counseling.

What remains after aid

A merit scholarship or need-based grant reduces tuition, but living costs in downtown Chicago remain. The maximum financial aid allowance for housing, utilities and food is $2,451 a month. If you receive a partial tuition award, plan for the gap between the award and the full budget, and compare your actual award letters side by side if you have offers from several schools.

Campus Facilities and Student Life

Feinberg offers a dynamic, supportive environment in one of the most central neighborhoods in Chicago. The campus sits between the Lake Michigan shoreline and Michigan Avenue’s Magnificent Mile, and the American Medical Association, American Hospital Association and American College of Surgeons are all headquartered in the city.

Learning environment

Feinberg’s teaching and research buildings are co-located with its main clinical affiliates on Northwestern’s Chicago campus, so students move between classrooms, labs and hospitals on foot. Students use a simulation center to practice clinical skills, along with study spaces, labs and the health sciences library. Many sessions are recorded, and the curriculum mixes lecture, small groups, active learning and hands-on clinical experience. A virtual tour on the Feinberg site shows labs and classrooms.

Community hub

Students build community through their colleges of about 18 students led by a faculty mentor, their ECMH teams and student groups. Support includes study skills workshops, tutoring by senior students and faculty, drop-in office hours with deans, career advising, financial planning and wellness programs.

Housing options

Feinberg does not require students to live in university housing. Most students live in high-rise apartments near the medical center in the Streeterville and Gold Coast neighborhoods and walk to class, especially in the first years. Others commute from neighborhoods across the city or the suburbs. Students receive a Ventra U-Pass for unlimited rides on CTA trains and buses, and the CTA reaches both O’Hare and Midway airports. A car and a driver’s license are not required. Northwestern’s Graduate School provides childcare and family resources for students with children.

Student organizations and activities

Current students organize more than 100 groups in categories including affinity groups, clinical care groups, community engagement and advocacy, extracurricular, professional, performing arts, social and specialty interest groups. All students are welcome in every group. Groups that have been active at Feinberg include the following.

Student organizations at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

The groups below show the range of interests students pursue. Names and activities change as students graduate, so check the current student groups page once you enroll.

Affinity groups

• Asian Pacific American Medical Students Association (APAMSA): health challenges in Asian and Pacific Islander American communities.
• Association of Native American Medical Students (ANAMS): support for Native American students in the health professions.
• Catholic Medical Association, Student Section: community and local service.
• Disability Advocacy Coalition in Medicine (DAC-Med): disability inclusion in medical training and practice.
• Feinberg Christian Fellowship: student well-being through an inclusive Christian community.
• Feinberg LGBTQ+ Alliance: advocacy and a supportive community; Feinberg also offers LGBTQ Safe Space training.
• Feinberg Muslim Student Association: support for Muslim students and community health outreach.
• Jewish Medical Student Organization: Jewish identity, community and service.
• Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA): support for Latino students and advocacy for Latino health.
• Middle Eastern North African Medical Student Association (MENAMSA): community and education on MENA health issues.
• South Asian Medical Student Association (SAMoSA): South Asian culture and mentorship.

Clinical care groups

Feinberg students volunteer in community clinics across Chicago, from Chinatown to the West Side. Groups have included the CHC Ophthalmology Clinic, the Chicago Youth Program Pediatric Clinic, the Chinatown Clinic, the Devon Clinic (a free Sunday clinic serving a mostly uninsured South Asian community) and the New Life Volunteering Society, which works to reduce disparities locally and globally.

Community engagement and advocacy groups

Groups have included Adolescent Medicine, Camp Wildcat, Chicago Medicine and Street Outreach (care and resources for unhoused neighbors), Chicago Youth Program Tutoring, the Climate Action Group, Destination Chicago, the Feinberg Prison Education Program, the Feinberg Refugee Health Alliance, Hamara Health, Keep Your Heart Healthy, Medical Students for Choice, Menstrual Equity Activists, NUborn Cuddlers (NICU volunteering), NU-Feinberg Connections (mentoring Northwestern premeds), PawsNU, the Senior Social Calls Program, Special Olympics health partnerships, Students for a National Health Program and Venture for Impact.

Extracurricular and professional groups

Groups have included the AMA Feinberg Chapter, the American Medical Women’s Association, AMSA, the Association of Women Surgeons, the Choosing Wisely Interest Group, the Digital Health and Data Science Interest Group, Feinbakers, Feinberg Finance, Feinberg Fit, Feinberg Graduate Collaborates, the Health Equity Group, the Medical Education Interest Group, Medical Innovations and Business, the Medical Mandarin Club, NU Vision, Second Opinions, The Chekhov Review (a writing group) and WildMed (wilderness medicine).

Performing arts and social groups

The Northwestern Medical Orchestra and In Vivo, the annual student sketch comedy show, are two of the best known. Others have included the Dance Interest Group, Docappella, Feinberg Art Book, the Feinberg Cycling Club, NorthwestYarn and Phi Rho Sigma.

Specialty interest groups

Specialty interest groups cover nearly every field: aerospace medicine, anesthesiology, cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, dermatology, diagnostic radiology, emergency medicine, endocrinology, family medicine, gastroenterology, global surgery, internal medicine-pediatrics, internal medicine, interventional radiology, surgery (the Loyal Davis Surgical Society), neurological surgery, transplant (NU STAT), obstetrics and gynecology, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopaedic surgery, otolaryngology, pathology, pediatrics, physical medicine and rehabilitation, plastic surgery, psychiatry, pulmonary and critical care, preventive medicine, sports medicine, neurology, the Surgical Society for the Underrepresented in Medicine, urology, vascular surgery and Women in Orthopaedics. These groups give students early contact with specialists and help with mentoring before residency applications.

These organizations offer leadership, service and community. If you have built a free clinic program, tutored, or started a group in college, your secondary and interview are good places to say which Feinberg groups you would join and what you would add.

Clinical Rotations and Research Opportunities

Clinical rotations

Feinberg students begin clinical work in the first week through the ECMH and start full-time clerkships in the third year. The main training sites are described on the Clinical Training page:

• Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The primary teaching affiliate, named to the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals Honor Roll for the 13th consecutive year and recognized as the top (tied) hospital in Illinois. Northwestern Medicine outpatient sites across Chicago host outpatient training.
• Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Ranked the top children’s hospital in Illinois and nationally ranked in nine specialties. All third-year students rotate here for inpatient pediatrics.
• Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. Ranked the No. 1 physical medicine and rehabilitation hospital in the country for 34 consecutive years, and a translational research hospital. All fourth-year students complete a two-week clerkship here.
• Jesse Brown VA Medical Center. A 200-bed acute care facility with four outpatient clinics serving about 62,000 veterans. Students may rotate here in all four years, and a free daily shuttle runs from campus.
• John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County. The hub of Cook County’s public health system. Third- and fourth-year students may rotate here for obstetrics and gynecology and other rotations.
• Prentice Women’s Hospital. Part of Northwestern Medicine’s women’s health services.

Students have a consistent role and responsibility in each discipline at every site, and Feinberg faculty supervise them. Because all affiliates are in Chicago, travel between sites is by foot, CTA or shuttle rather than long-distance relocation.

What residency training at Northwestern looks like

Many Feinberg graduates match into competitive residencies, and 68% match at top-25 U.S. News-ranked residency programs. Northwestern’s own residencies, run through McGaw Medical Center, show how training continues after medical school. The four-year Emergency Medicine residency, for example, is based in the emergency departments of Northwestern Memorial and Lurie Children’s and adds community and county sites over time:

PGY1

Emergency medicine at Northwestern Memorial and Lurie (8 blocks), medical ICU (2), anesthesia (1), coronary care unit (1), orthopedics/sports medicine (1), surgical ICU/trauma (1) and ultrasound (0.5), with 4 weeks of vacation.

PGY2

Emergency medicine at Northwestern Memorial and Lurie (8 blocks), plus one block each at Methodist and Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital, the trauma emergency department at Stroger (1), senior medical ICU (1), neuro/spine ICU (1), pediatric anesthesia at Lurie (0.5), scholarship (0.5), obstetrics at Prentice (0.5) and the neonatal ICU at Prentice (0.5), with 4 weeks of vacation.

PGY3

Emergency medicine at Northwestern Memorial and Lurie (10 blocks), one block each at Methodist and Lake Forest, toxicology at Stroger (1), an elective (1), senior medical ICU (0.5) and pediatric ICU at Lurie (0.5), with 4 weeks of vacation.

PGY4

Emergency medicine at Northwestern Memorial and Lurie (10 blocks), one block each at Methodist and Lake Forest, trauma senior at Stroger (1) and two elective blocks, with 4 weeks of vacation.

This schedule describes residents, not medical students, but it shows the network Feinberg students learn in: an academic center, a children’s hospital, community hospitals and the county trauma system.

Research opportunities

Research is a cornerstone of a Feinberg education. Students can work in basic, translational, clinical, epidemiologic, educational, patient safety and health policy research, supported by the school’s institutes and centers.

Area of Scholarly Concentration

All Feinberg MD students complete an Area of Scholarly Concentration (AOSC) project, a closely mentored, hypothesis-driven, longitudinal project. The program is described on the AOSC page:

• M1. Sessions introduce research ethics, how to find a mentor and the research options at Feinberg. After the proposal is accepted, students start their project in a four-week summer research session at the end of M1. Students may also apply to the T35 program, which supports eight to 10 full weeks of summer research with physician-scientist faculty.
• M2. Students give oral presentations in the fall and then present posters at a conference-style session.
• M3 and M4. Independent work continues with 1:1 mentoring, and students may take two to 12 weeks of elective research credit.
• Graduation requirement. By January of M4, each student must submit a first-author manuscript to a peer-reviewed journal or a research thesis.

Research rotations and extra research time

Beyond the AOSC, students can take elective research credit in M3 and M4. The competitive Research Intensive Scholarly Emphasis (RISE) program lets MD and MD/MPH students spend an extra, funded year in mentored research. The MD/MS in Health Services & Outcomes Research adds a year of research training focused on health policy and care delivery.

Physician-scientist training

Students committed to research careers can apply to the MSTP, which has trained MD/PhD physician-scientists since 1964. For residents, Northwestern’s Physician-Scientist Training Program supports the move from residency into a research career, and the Starzl Academy, named for alumnus Thomas E. Starzl, supports research trainees across disciplines. Feinberg’s research base is large: about 4,930 faculty, a 3.4:1 faculty-to-student ratio and $429.5 million in direct federal research grants and contracts in fiscal year 2024.

Global health and service

Feinberg students pursue global health opportunities, and 40% of graduating seniors in the 2025 Graduation Questionnaire reported a global health experience during medical school. Locally, student-run clinics give early service experience. Applicants who want to show sustained interest in global health before medical school can look at pre-med internships abroad, where supervised students take part in patient care in under-resourced settings.

Notable Alumni, Faculty, Leadership and Admissions Staff

Feinberg’s people show what the school values: research that changes practice, clinical leadership and service to Chicago. The profiles below come from Feinberg’s official pages, including its Founders & Groundbreakers list. They are context for your research, not people to name-drop. Do not claim a connection you do not have.

School leadership

Eric G. Neilson, MD

Dr. Neilson is Vice President for Medical Affairs and the Lewis Landsberg Dean of Feinberg. A nephrologist and physician-scientist, he earned his MD at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, spent 23 years at the University of Pennsylvania and then 13 years as chair of medicine at Vanderbilt before coming to Northwestern. He edited the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology from 2007 to 2013 and is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His stated interest in training physician-scientists helps explain why research runs through every year of the MD.

Marianne Green, MD

Dr. Green is Vice Dean for Education and Chair of the Department of Medical Education, which oversees the MD curriculum. She co-signs the admissions leadership message, which describes the ECMH, the simulation center, community clinics and four-year research mentoring as core to the student experience. Applicants interested in medical education will find that department’s work a useful example of how Feinberg treats teaching as a field of its own.

Nathan Smith Davis, MD (founder)

Davis co-founded the medical department of Lind University in 1859, the start of today’s Feinberg. He was instrumental in founding the American Medical Association and helped found the Chicago Medical Society. His role is a reminder that Feinberg has shaped organized medicine in Chicago from the beginning.

Admissions and student support staff

Roopal V. Kundu, MD

Dr. Kundu is Associate Dean for Admissions and Chair of the Admissions Committee. Her leadership message describes the applicants Feinberg seeks: active learners who ask questions about patients, science, health policy and themselves, and leaders who know “you can’t do anything alone in the field of medicine.” Read that message before you write your secondaries, because it states the school’s priorities in plain terms.

Cynthia R. Gonzalez

Ms. Gonzalez is Senior Assistant Director of Financial Aid in the Office of Medical Education and a listed contact for MD financial aid questions. Accepted students working through need-based aid, FAFSA and CSS Profile steps can reach the Office of Medical Education’s financial aid team directly.

Current faculty

Clyde W. Yancy, MD, MSc

Dr. Yancy is Vice Dean for Health Equity and Chief of Cardiology in the Department of Medicine. He is an internationally recognized expert in preventive cardiology, cardiomyopathy and racial and ethnic disparities in cardiovascular disease, a member of the National Academy of Medicine and a former president of the American Heart Association. His dual role links Feinberg’s research strength to its health equity mission.

Serdar E. Bulun, MD

Dr. Bulun, chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology, is widely recognized for pioneering molecular medicine in gynecology. He discovered the epigenetic basis of endometriosis and introduced aromatase inhibitors as a new class of drugs to treat it, and he has contributed to the biology of hormone-responsive breast disorders, including cancer. His work shows how bench research at Feinberg reaches patients.

Guillermo A. Ameer, ScD

Dr. Ameer is recognized for pioneering regenerative biomaterials made from a new class of biodegradable polymers containing citrate, used to regenerate tissues and organs. He holds appointments in surgery and in biomedical engineering at Northwestern, and he was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2021 for bringing regenerative engineering into clinical care. Students with engineering backgrounds can see in his work how Feinberg connects with the rest of the university.

Joseph Bass, MD, PhD

Dr. Bass is the Charles F. Kettering Professor of Medicine, chief of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Molecular Medicine and director of the Center for Diabetes and Metabolism. His studies opened the field of circadian mechanisms in metabolic disease, showing that clock gene mutations lead to obesity, beta cell failure and metabolic syndrome.

Gary Borisy, PhD

In 1965, Dr. Borisy discovered tubulin, a key protein in the cell’s cytoskeleton. He later added insights into chromosome movement, actin and the dynamics of microtubules that direct cell division. He served as associate vice president for research and the Leslie B. Arey Professor of Cell & Developmental Biology at Northwestern and is now an adjunct professor.

Former and historical faculty

Carla Pugh, MD, PhD

Dr. Pugh was an associate professor of Surgery at Feinberg from 2003 to 2012, where she began sensor technology research that helped define new performance metrics and data analysis methods in digital healthcare. She continues her career at Stanford University.

William T. Bovie, PhD

Bovie is credited with creating the Bovie electrocautery device, used in operating rooms to control bleeding. He joined Northwestern in 1927 as the first chairman of the Department of Biophysics and is recognized for helping define the field of biophysics.

Henry B. Betts, MD

Betts was appointed chair of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Northwestern University Medical School in 1967. His support for the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 helped focus national attention on disability issues, and his advocacy encouraged Chicago to add curb cuts. Today’s required rehabilitation clerkship at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab continues that tradition.

Louis Wendlin Sauer, MD, PhD

Sauer, a pediatrician and associate professor at Feinberg from 1941 to 1959, perfected the pertussis vaccine in 1931. In 1949, he combined it with the diphtheria and tetanus vaccines to create the single DPT injection, and he gave his discoveries to the pharmaceutical industry for free.

Notable alumni

Isaac Abt, MD

Abt graduated from Northwestern University Medical School in 1891 and became a pioneer of pediatrics. He was the first physician in Chicago to give diphtheria antitoxin, did early work on incubators for premature infants and co-developed a successful electric breast pump. His eight-volume System of Pediatrics became a classic text.

Thomas E. Starzl, MD, PhD

Starzl earned his MD and PhD at Northwestern in 1952 and served on the faculty from 1959 to 1961. Known as the father of transplantation, he performed the first successful liver transplant in 1967 at the University of Colorado and helped develop anti-rejection drugs, including tacrolimus.

Charles H. Mayo, MD

Mayo graduated from Northwestern University Medical School in 1888 and co-founded the Mayo Clinic. He pioneered modern goiter surgery, served as president of the American Medical Association and was a Northwestern trustee.

Daniel Hale Williams, MD

Williams was the school’s first Black graduate and faculty member and the first Black fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He founded Provident Hospital in Chicago in 1891, performed one of the world’s first successful heart operations in 1893 and was a principal founder of the National Medical Association.

Mary Thompson, MD

Thompson was the first female surgeon in the United States and, in 1870, the school’s first female medical graduate. She founded the Women’s Medical College and the Chicago Hospital for Women and Children.

Sandra F. Olson, MD

Olson (MD ’63, GME ’69) was the first woman president of the American Academy of Neurology and the first woman chief of staff at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Admissions Statistics and Class Profile

Feinberg publishes its class profile on its own site. The figures below are labeled by cohort, because each page covers a different year.

Verified applications and interviews

For the Entering Class of 2026 (the students who started in August 2026), Feinberg reports:

• Applications received: 8,936
• Applicants invited to interview: 681
• Class size: 141

Interview invites / applications works out to about 7.6% for that class. That is the share of applicants invited to interview, not the share admitted.

Acceptance rate

Feinberg does not publish how many acceptance offers it makes, so a true acceptance rate (offers divided by applicants) cannot be calculated from its data. Dividing the class size by the number of applications gives about 1.6%, but that is a matriculation ratio, not an acceptance rate: many admitted applicants hold offers from several schools and enroll elsewhere. Treat any single “acceptance rate” figure you see for Feinberg with care, and focus instead on the parts of your application you control.

Five-year applicant pool

Source: Feinberg MD Student Body Profile (2021-2025) and Entering Class Profile (2026). Applications have risen while class size has settled near 140, so competition has increased.

Matriculated students

The Entering Class of 2026 was 55% women and 45% men and came from 26 states and the District of Columbia. Students attended 54 undergraduate schools and studied 54 fields, including biology, biochemistry, biomedical engineering, global health, neuroscience, psychology and Spanish. Together they speak 28 languages, most often Spanish, French, Chinese, Hindi, Arabic, Korean and Italian.

The 2025 entering class of 140 included 76 women, 62 men and 2 students of another gender identity, 41 nontraditional students and students from 32 states. One international student, from Egypt, entered in 2025; the 2024 class included five. In the 2025-26 academic year, Feinberg served 617 MD students in total.

Academic metrics

• Entering Class of 2026: median undergraduate GPA 3.95; median MCAT 520.
• Entering Class of 2025: median undergraduate GPA 3.93; median MCAT 521.
• All accepted applicants, 2025 entering class: median MCAT 521, mean 520.7. Section medians were 131 in Chemical and Physical Foundations, 129 in Critical Analysis and Reasoning, 131 in Biological and Biochemical Foundations and 131 in Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations.

A median is not a minimum. There is no GPA cutoff, and the only MCAT threshold is the 500 needed for a secondary invitation.

Experience profile

• Research: 100% of the Entering Class of 2026 had research experience; 99% of 2025 matriculants reported research or lab work.
• Gap years: two-thirds of the Entering Class of 2026 took at least one gap year (26% none, 40% one, 34% two or more).
• Teaching: 91% had tutored or taught.
• Athletics and study abroad: 23% were student athletes and 35% had studied abroad.
• Clinical exposure (2025 matriculants): 96% physician shadowing or clinical observation, 89% clinical volunteering, 59% paid clinical work and 90% community service.

These patterns matter for planning. Gap years are the norm, not a setback, and nearly everyone arrives with research and direct clinical work. If you need more hands-on time, clinical internships for pre-med students can add supervised patient contact during a gap year or summer.

How Feinberg compares on recognition

Feinberg describes itself as connecting a top-ranked university with top-tier health systems. Its affiliates carry their own recognition: Northwestern Memorial has been named to the U.S. News Best Hospitals Honor Roll for 13 consecutive years, Lurie is the top-ranked children’s hospital in Illinois, and the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab has been ranked the top rehabilitation hospital in the country for 34 consecutive years. Rankings change every year; use them as one input, not the reason you apply.

Tips and Strategies for Admission

Applying to Feinberg is highly competitive. The school seeks candidates who excel academically and show a real commitment to research, clinical care and service. The strategies below connect what Feinberg says it values to choices you can make now.

Highlight healthcare involvement

Practical exposure to medicine through clinical volunteering, shadowing or paid clinical work is critical. Feinberg wants applicants to have explored medicine with “depth and breadth” and assesses how you reflect on those experiences. Describe what you did, how you interacted with patients and teams, and how it changed your view of medicine. Depth beats variety: two years in one clinic usually says more than five short placements. If you need structured clinical exposure, internships for pre-med students that include supervised vitals, intake and triage give you concrete patient stories to write about.

Showcase leadership and service

Feinberg values leadership and service. Highlight roles in student organizations, community groups or work settings, and explain the impact you made. Service connected to health or to underserved communities fits the school’s service orientation and health equity priorities. Feinberg’s list of successful-candidate traits pairs leadership with teamwork, so describe how you led with others, not over them.

Emphasize research experience

With 100% of the latest class reporting research and an AOSC project required of every student, research is close to expected. Explain your question, your role, your methods and what you learned, including what did not work. Publications and presentations help but are not required. Connect your research to how you would approach an AOSC project, without naming a mentor you have not contacted.

Craft a compelling personal statement

Your personal statement should tell your own story: the experiences, challenges and motivations that led you to medicine. Show reflection rather than listing activities. Feinberg assesses written communication through your application, so clarity matters as much as content. Make sure the statement fits the school’s values of inquiry, compassion and teamwork without copying its mission language.

Some additional articles to help in getting into medical school

These IMA articles go deeper on common parts of the application:

• 20 Tips on How to Make Your Medical School Application Stand Out: strategies from building a global perspective to presenting your experiences well.
• Essential Tips for a Standout Medical School Application: getting strong recommendation letters, preparing for interviews and highlighting your strengths.
• How To Build A Successful Medical School Resume: presenting academics, work and extracurricular activities clearly.
• 5 Tips to Strengthen Your AMCAS Work and Activities Section: describing your experiences so they stand out.

Focus on academic excellence

Academic performance remains the foundation. Feinberg considers your cumulative and science GPA, grade trends, MCAT scores, course rigor and post-baccalaureate or graduate work. Strong science grades and a competitive MCAT matter. Advanced coursework, honors programs or a strong postbaccalaureate record can show you are ready. Because Feinberg values liberal education, a demanding course outside the sciences can also help.

Prepare for three individual interviews

Feinberg’s interview day has three individual virtual interviews: two with full-time faculty and one with a senior medical student. Prepare to discuss your motivation for medicine, your experiences and what you know about medicine today, because the school says the interview includes focused questions on these topics. Practice clear, honest answers about your activities, ethical situations and teamwork. Mock interviews with mentors, advisors or peers help. The Interview Format section below has details.

Seek strong letters of recommendation

Letters give an outside view of your abilities and character. Choose writers who know you well and recently, including at least one science faculty member who taught you if you send individual letters. Give them your resume, your goals and a reminder of specific moments they observed. A detailed letter from a research mentor or clinical supervisor can carry great weight.

Apply early and answer the secondary fast

Feinberg reviews on a rolling basis, invites interviews from August and sends its first acceptances in December. Submitting AMCAS in early summer and returning the secondary within about two weeks of the invitation keeps your file in early review. A November submission is allowed but leaves fewer interview slots.

Use your gap year with purpose

Two-thirds of the latest class took at least one gap year. If you take one, choose a full-time role that deepens clinical or research skills and plan how you will describe it in the post-undergraduate prompt. Structured pre-med gap year programs can also add hands-on patient care.

Consider the Early Decision Program carefully

EDP suits applicants who are certain Feinberg is their first choice, have strong metrics and an MCAT score by late April, and can commit to enroll without deferral. Contact the admissions office by May 15. If you are not sure, apply regular decision.

Look beyond Feinberg

Even if Feinberg is your first choice, apply to a balanced list of schools that fit your goals and values. Consider location, curriculum, research, cost and community engagement. The Related Medical School Guides section below suggests Illinois and Midwest schools to compare and lists IMA’s full set of school guides.

By following these strategies, you can present yourself as a well-rounded, dedicated candidate. The road is demanding, but careful preparation and real commitment to medicine give you the best chance at Feinberg.

Secondary Application Questions, Example Responses and Analysis

Feinberg sends its secondary to every AMCAS-verified applicant with an MCAT of 500 or higher, starting June 26, 2026. The secondary is completed in the applicant portal, the fee is $95 (waived automatically for Fee Assistance Program recipients) and the deadline is November 15, 2026. Feinberg uses the secondary to learn more about your goals, your personal awareness and your fit with its mission, and it assesses commitment, persistence and maturity partly through these essays.

Feinberg posts its secondary questions only inside the applicant portal. The six MD prompts below are the 2026-2027 prompts, quoted word for word. Four are required of all MD applicants; two apply only to applicants with a gap year or to reapplicants. MD/PhD (MSTP) applicants answer a separate set of research-focused prompts; those were not confirmed for this cycle from more than one source, so they are not included here. MSTP applicants should use the prompts shown in their portal.

Each example below is original and written only for this guide. It shows one way to answer the prompt using Feinberg programs that the school describes on its own pages. Do not copy it. Your answers must come from your own experiences.

Prompt 1: Why FSM, its curriculum and Chicago (200 words, required)

“Feinberg’s mission is to train future leaders who will serve their patients, communities and society. Explain how specific elements of the FSM integrated curriculum will support your future goals in medicine and how FSM, located in Chicago, will help you achieve these professional aspirations.”

What it asks. Two things: which specific curriculum elements support a stated goal, and how Feinberg’s Chicago setting helps. The word “specific” matters. The prompt rewards a clear goal and two or three named features, each tied to that goal.

How to approach it. Start with one sentence on your goal. Choose curriculum elements that Feinberg actually describes: the Education-Centered Medical Home, the Area of Scholarly Concentration, problem-based learning, SAM weeks, the Health & Society element, the colleges, teaching selectives, or a dual degree such as the MD/MPH. Then name Chicago features: the Jesse Brown VA, Stroger Hospital, Lurie Children’s, the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, or community clinics.

Illustrative example, not an actual applicant essay (191 words):

I want to practice internal medicine in a city safety-net system and study why patients with heart failure return to the hospital. Two elements of the FSM curriculum fit that goal. First, the Education-Centered Medical Home would place me with one preceptor and students from all four years in a primary care clinic from my first year. Following the same patients across visits is how I would learn what happens between discharge and the next admission, the gap I saw while volunteering at a hospital discharge desk. Second, the Area of Scholarly Concentration would let me turn that question into a mentored, hypothesis-driven project that ends in a first-author manuscript, starting with the four-week summer research session after M1.

Chicago gives these elements their patients. Rotations at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County and the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center would show me how readmission risk looks in two very different systems that serve people with limited resources. Student-run community clinics would add time with uninsured patients. I want to train where the questions I care about are part of daily care, and FSM in Chicago is that place.

Why it works. It answers both halves in order. The goal is stated in the first sentence, and each curriculum element (ECMH, AOSC) is tied to that goal with a reason. The Chicago paragraph names real sites and explains what each adds, rather than praising the city. The closing line returns to the mission language about serving patients and communities without repeating it.

Mistakes to avoid. Listing every program you found online; praising Chicago’s food and culture; naming features Feinberg does not offer; writing about Northwestern undergraduate programs; leaving out the Chicago half of the question.

Prompt 2: A favorite work of art to share (200 words, required)

“Describe a favorite book, movie, album, or other work of art you would like to share with your future classmates and why.”

What it asks. A personal choice and a reason it matters for your classmates. This is new for 2026-27. It tests reflection, communication and how you would add to a small-group learning culture.

How to approach it. Pick something you truly care about, not what sounds medical. Give one moment that connects you to it, show how it changed how you think or act, and finish with why classmates would gain from it.

Illustrative example, not an actual applicant essay (187 words):

I would share Studs Terkel’s Working, a book of interviews in which Americans describe their jobs in their own words. I found a worn copy in my grandmother’s apartment the summer I started stocking shelves at a pharmacy, and I read it on the bus to work. A steelworker, a waitress and a gravedigger each explain what their days feel like, and almost none of them describe the job the way a manager would.

The book changed how I listen. When customers at the pharmacy counter asked about a refill, I started noticing the story behind the question: the night-shift nurse who could only pick up medicine at 7 a.m., the father who asked twice about cost before mentioning side effects. Terkel taught me that people tell you what matters if you leave room for it.

I would want classmates to read it because medicine runs on interviews, too. We will spend years learning to take a history, and the risk is hearing only the answers our templates ask for. Terkel was a Chicago writer, and his patience is a skill I would like to practice together.

Why it works. It names one work, shows a personal connection, describes a change in behavior with concrete details and then answers the “share with your future classmates” part directly. The link to medicine is earned through listening, not forced.

Mistakes to avoid. A plot summary with no reflection; choosing a work only because it is about doctors; picking something obscure without explaining it; forgetting to say why classmates would benefit.

Prompt 3: Post-undergraduate experiences (200 words, if applicable)

“POST-UNDERGRADUATE EXPERIENCES (if applicable): If you have one year or more between college graduation and medical school matriculation, describe both your completed activities and anticipated plans, including the extent of your involvement.”

Who answers. Applicants with one year or more between college graduation and matriculation. With two-thirds of Feinberg’s latest class taking a gap year, many applicants will answer this.

What it asks. Three parts: what you have done, what you will do before August 2027, and the extent of your involvement (hours, roles, responsibility). The last clause is new for 2026-27.

Illustrative example, not an actual applicant essay (186 words):

I graduated in May 2025 and since July 2025 have worked full time, about 40 hours a week, as a clinical research coordinator in an outpatient cardiology practice. I screen and consent patients for two observational studies, enter data and schedule follow-up visits; I have enrolled 86 participants so far. I also co-wrote a poster abstract on missed appointments that was accepted at a regional meeting.

On Saturdays I volunteer about four hours at a free clinic, where I take vitals, update medication lists and help Spanish-speaking patients complete intake forms. Since January 2026 I have also tutored two high school students in chemistry for one hour each week.

Before matriculation, I plan to stay in my coordinator role through June 2027, finish data cleaning for our second study and help draft the manuscript as second author. I will keep my clinic shifts and take a medical Spanish course this spring so I can communicate more accurately with patients. Each commitment has a clear end date before August 2027, so I can start medical school with my projects closed out and my time fully on training.

Why it works. Every activity carries hours, dates or numbers, which answers “the extent of your involvement.” Plans are specific and end before matriculation. The example adds detail that the AMCAS activity list cannot hold.

Mistakes to avoid. Vague plans such as “continue gaining experience”; leaving out hours; copying AMCAS descriptions; listing plans you cannot finish before school starts.

Prompt 4: Reapplicant (200 words, if applicable)

“REAPPLICANT (if applicable): If you are reapplying to medical school, please address steps taken to enhance your application.”

Who answers. Applicants who applied to medical school before.

What it asks. What has changed since your last application. The committee wants to see that you identified the weaknesses and fixed them.

Illustrative example, not an actual applicant essay (177 words):

When I reviewed my first application with my advisor, two gaps stood out: limited direct patient care and an MCAT score from an exam I had rushed. I spent the past year on both.

I completed an EMT-Basic course in fall 2025 and have worked about 20 hours a week for a private ambulance service since January 2026, mostly on interfacility transfers for older adults. Taking vitals every few minutes on long transports taught me to notice small changes and to explain each step to frightened patients.

I retook the MCAT in April 2026 after a four-month plan built around full-length practice exams and a weekly review of every missed question. My score rose by seven points, with the largest gain in CARS.

I also rewrote my personal statement from scratch. My first draft listed experiences; the new one explains what I learned from them. I am applying to Feinberg again because the Education-Centered Medical Home and the four-year mentoring structure match how I now know I learn best: by caring for the same patients over time.

Why it works. It names each weakness plainly, pairs it with a concrete action and a result, and ends with a school-specific reason to reapply. The tone is accountable, not defensive.

Mistakes to avoid. Blaming the last cycle; listing new activities without saying which gap they fix; vague claims of growth; repeating your personal statement. If clinical experience was your gap, add supervised patient care that you can describe with dates, hours and specific tasks.

Prompt 5: Existing relationship with Feinberg (Yes/No; 50 words if Yes)

“Do you or an immediate family member have an existing relationship with the Feinberg School of Medicine?”

What it asks. A factual answer. If No, answer No and move on. If Yes, you have 50 words to explain.

Worked response pattern. If the answer is No: “No.” If Yes, name the person, the relationship and the connection in one or two sentences.

Illustrative example, not an actual applicant essay (49 words, for a Yes answer):

Yes. My older sister is a second-year MD student at Feinberg. She has described her Education-Centered Medical Home clinic and her AOSC project to me, which is part of why I first looked closely at the school. My reasons for applying are my own, built from my own research.

Why it works. It states the fact, adds context briefly and stays within 50 words.

Mistakes to avoid. Stretching a loose tie (a neighbor who once worked at Northwestern Medicine) into a relationship; using this box as a second “why Feinberg” essay; leaving out a real relationship.

Prompt 6: Your experiences and the Northwestern community (limit not published, required)

“The Feinberg School of Medicine values the totality of our students’ experiences. As everyone has their own narrative, please describe how your experiences have shaped your interests, preparation for medicine, or perspective on patient care, and how they may contribute to your development with the Northwestern community.”

Word limit. The limit for this reworded 2026-27 prompt is not published outside the applicant portal. Follow the limit shown in your portal. If none appears, keep your answer concise, near 200 to 300 words. The prior-cycle wording of this prompt carried a 200-word limit.

What it asks. Two parts. First, how your experiences shaped your interests, your preparation for medicine or your perspective on patient care (you may choose one or more). Second, how those experiences may contribute to your development within the Northwestern community. The new wording asks about growth, not only about what you will give.

How to approach it. Pick one sustained experience rather than several short ones. Show what it taught you, then connect it to specific parts of Feinberg’s community: colleges, ECMH teams, student clinics, interest groups or the Office of Health Equity.

Illustrative example, not an actual applicant essay (253 words):

For three years in college I worked overnight shifts as a certified nursing assistant at a skilled nursing facility, usually 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., two nights a week. Most of my patients were recovering from hip fractures or strokes, and night was when they were most afraid. I learned to do my rounds slowly: checking skin, repositioning, emptying a catheter bag, and then answering the same question about whether a daughter would visit tomorrow.

That job shaped my interest in geriatrics and rehabilitation. I watched patients who did well in therapy during the day lose ground overnight because no one noticed that pain kept them awake. It also shaped my preparation. I learned to report clearly to a nurse at 3 a.m., to document what I saw rather than what I assumed, and to protect my sleep and coursework while working nights.

My perspective on patient care comes from the bedside, not the chart. I think of a patient as the person who has to get through the hours between visits.

At Northwestern, I would bring that perspective to my college of about 18 students, where small-group learning depends on people sharing what they have seen. I look forward to the required two-week clerkship at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and hope to build an AOSC project on sleep and recovery after stroke. I expect to learn a great deal from classmates whose paths look nothing like mine, and I hope my nights on a skilled nursing unit add something useful to theirs.

Why it works. One experience carries the whole essay and touches all three options in the prompt: interests, preparation and perspective on patient care. The final paragraph answers the second half with real Feinberg structures and shows the writer expects to grow, not only to contribute.

Mistakes to avoid. A list of identities or activities with no story; skipping the community half; writing far past the limit your portal shows; describing diversity in general terms instead of your own experience.

General tips for the Feinberg secondary

• Answer within about two weeks. There is no official turnaround, but a prompt return keeps your file moving in rolling review.
• Be specific to Feinberg. Use the school’s own programs and sites. Generic praise is easy to spot.
• List upcoming MCAT dates in the secondary if you have any, as required.
• Keep the voice consistent with your AMCAS application, and do not repeat your personal statement.
• Proofread and have someone who knows you read for honesty and tone.

Each response is a chance to show your strengths and experiences. Thoughtful, honest answers give the committee a clear picture of you as a future physician and a member of the Feinberg community.

Interview Format and Preparation

Format

Feinberg interviews are virtual for the 2026-27 cycle. Invitations go out by email from August through early February, solely on the recommendation of the Committee on Admissions, and you are expected to schedule soon after receiving one. Interview days run on selected Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from late August through mid-February:

• Tuesday and Friday sessions: 8:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. Central
• Wednesday sessions: 12:45 to 5 p.m. Central

During the interview day, each applicant has three individual interviews: two with full-time faculty and one with a senior medical student. The day also includes an orientation session and a virtual campus tour and conversations with first- and second-year students. Feinberg does not use the Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) format. Interviewers are not announced in advance; all candidates learn who their interviewers are just before check-in. Details are on the Feinberg Interview page.

What Feinberg assesses

The school’s list of successful-candidate traits says interviews assess communication and interpersonal skills, personal awareness, professionalism, teamwork and leadership, and service orientation. It also says interviewers will ask focused questions about your motivation for medicine and your current knowledge of medicine. That is the confirmed part. How individual interviewers score answers is not published.

How to prepare

• Know your file. Each interviewer may have read your application. Be ready to discuss any activity, gap or grade.
• Practice your “why medicine” and “why Feinberg” answers with specific programs: the ECMH, the AOSC, the colleges, the Chicago clinical sites.
• Stay current. Since motivation and knowledge of medicine are tested, follow a few health policy and healthcare delivery topics well enough to discuss them.
• Prepare for a conversation with a senior student. Treat it as a real interview. Ask thoughtful questions about clerkships, mentoring and the AOSC.
• Rehearse ethical and teamwork scenarios. Even without MMI stations, interviewers may ask how you handled conflict, a mistake or an ethical problem.
• Set up for a virtual day. Test your camera, audio and internet connection; choose a quiet, well-lit space; and have a backup plan. If a problem arises on the day, contact the office at the email in your confirmation or at 312-503-8206.

IMA’s list of the most common medical school interview questions is a useful practice set. For one-on-one mock interviews and feedback, IMA offers medical school admissions consulting services.

After the interview

First acceptances go out in December, but most seats are not committed until March. You can upload meaningful updates or a letter of intent through the portal’s Document Upload tab. Admitted students are invited to Feinberg First Look on April 8 and 9, 2027.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the application deadline for FSM?

The AMCAS deadline for the 2026-27 cycle is November 1, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET, and Feinberg grants no extensions. The secondary application and letters of recommendation are due November 15, 2026. Early Decision applicants had earlier deadlines: AMCAS by August 1 and the secondary and letters by August 15, 2026. Because Feinberg reviews on a rolling basis and starts inviting interviews in August, submitting AMCAS in early summer is a better plan than waiting for the deadline.

What is the median MCAT score for accepted students?

For the Entering Class of 2026, Feinberg reports a median MCAT of 520 and a median undergraduate GPA of 3.95. For all accepted applicants in the 2025 entering class, the median MCAT was 521 and the mean was 520.7. These are medians, not cutoffs: half the class scored below the median. The only MCAT threshold is a score of 500, which you need to receive a secondary invitation.

What financial aid options are available?

Feinberg offers merit scholarships (all accepted students are considered automatically), need-based grants, federal Direct Unsubsidized and Graduate PLUS loans, private loans and Federal Work-Study. To be considered for need-based grants, accepted students file the FAFSA with school code 001739, the CSS Profile and income verification forms by the January or March deadline that applies to them. In 2024-25, 81% of enrolled and graduated students received financial aid, and 91% of the Entering Class of 2026 received institutional funding.

What clinical rotation opportunities are available?

Third-year core clerkships are medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, neurology and psychiatry, along with the Education-Centered Medical Home. Fourth-year students complete emergency medicine, critical care, physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, a subinternship, teaching selectives and electives. Rotations take place at Northwestern Memorial, Prentice Women’s, Lurie Children’s, the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, the Jesse Brown VA and Stroger Hospital of Cook County.

How does FSM support diversity and inclusion?

Feinberg’s Office of Health Equity supports programs, community and mentoring for all students, and accepted students can join a pre-matriculation summer experience focused on research and community partnership. The curriculum includes a Health Equity & Advocacy thread in every year. Students lead affinity groups, an LGBTQ+ Alliance and a disability advocacy coalition, and AccessibleNU coordinates accommodations. Feinberg’s mission statement names “social and intellectual diversity” as a core value.

What are the FSM requirements?

You need at least three years (90 semester hours) of coursework at an accredited U.S. or Canadian college, a bachelor’s degree before matriculation, and yearlong courses with labs in biology, physics, general chemistry and organic chemistry (or one semester of organic plus one of biochemistry). You also need an MCAT taken between January 2024 and September 2026, an AMCAS application, the Feinberg secondary and letters of recommendation. Research and clinical experience are strongly recommended.

How can I learn more about FSM programs?

Start with Feinberg’s admissions site, which covers requirements, the class profile, the curriculum and student life. You can sign up for the Feinberg Future newsletter for prospective applicants and watch for virtual events. The Office of Admissions can be reached at [email protected] or 312-503-8206. Feinberg cannot accommodate walk-in visits or individual tours; college and university groups can ask the office whether group tours are available.

What specialties are available at FSM?

During medical school, students rotate through all the core fields and choose electives across nearly every specialty, from emergency medicine to dermatology to neurosurgery. Specialty interest groups connect students with faculty in fields such as cardiology, surgery, pediatrics, psychiatry and orthopaedics. After graduation, 68% of Feinberg students match at top-25 U.S. News-ranked residency programs, and Northwestern’s McGaw Medical Center runs residencies in many specialties.

Are there opportunities for research at FSM?

Yes. Every student completes a mentored Area of Scholarly Concentration project that ends with a first-author manuscript submission or thesis. Students can join the T35 summer program, take elective research credit, apply to the RISE program for an extra funded research year or add an MD/MS in Health Services & Outcomes Research. Feinberg received $695.4 million in research funding and awards in 2025.

How does FSM integrate community service into its curriculum?

Community engagement is built in. Every student joins an Education-Centered Medical Home, a primary care practice where a team of students from all four years cares for patients, and Community Engagement & Service Learning is one of the nine organizing principles of the curriculum. Students also volunteer in student-run clinics across Chicago, from Chinatown to the West Side, and in many advocacy groups. Global health experiences are available, and 40% of 2025 graduates reported one.

How to get into Feinberg School of Medicine?

Build strong academics (the latest class had a 3.95 median GPA and 520 median MCAT), sustained clinical experience, real research and service that shows altruism. Submit AMCAS early, return the secondary quickly with specific, honest answers, and prepare for three individual interviews with faculty and a senior student. Feinberg values breadth, so courses and experiences beyond the sciences help. If you need hands-on patient experience, medical internships for undergraduates offer supervised clinical work you can reflect on in your essays.

Does the Feinberg School of Medicine accept application updates?

Yes. Upload updates, such as new publications, awards, significant new clinical or service work or updated coursework, through the Document Upload tab in the Feinberg applicant portal. Letters of interest and, after an interview, letters of intent can be uploaded the same way. Additional recommendation letters are accepted only after an interview invitation and must come directly from the writer through AMCAS or by email.

Is there a grading system at Feinberg School of Medicine?

Yes. Phase 1 (roughly the first 20 months) is graded Pass or Pass After Remediation, which supports a collaborative environment. Clinical clerkships are graded Honors, High Pass or Pass. Feinberg does not rank its students.

What city is Feinberg School of Medicine located in?

Feinberg is in Chicago, Illinois, in the Streeterville neighborhood just north of downtown and next to Lake Michigan.

What is Feinberg School of Medicine known for?

Feinberg is known for research strength ($695.4 million in research funding and awards in 2025, with 15 departments in the top 20 for NIH awards in 2024), an integrated curriculum with patient care from the first week, and top-ranked clinical partners: Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Lurie Children’s and the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. It also has a long history, from Daniel Hale Williams to Thomas Starzl.

What is the Feinberg School of Medicine AAMC number?

Feinberg’s school ID in the AAMC’s Medical School Admission Requirements profile system is 155. You do not need a number to apply: in AMCAS, you add Northwestern University The Feinberg School of Medicine to your school list by name. For financial aid, Feinberg’s FAFSA school code is 001739.

What is unique about Feinberg School of Medicine?

Three features stand out. Every student completes an Area of Scholarly Concentration research project that ends in a first-author manuscript submission or thesis. Every student joins an Education-Centered Medical Home with students from all four years. And the clinical network brings academic, children’s, rehabilitation, veterans and county hospitals together in one city, all within reach of a single campus.

Where did the Feinberg School of Medicine get its name?

Northwestern renamed its medical school in 2002 after a $75 million gift from the Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation, a Chicago foundation started by four Feinberg brothers in memory of their parents and led at the time by Reuben Feinberg.

Where is Feinberg School of Medicine?

Feinberg is on Northwestern University’s Chicago campus in Streeterville. The main address is 303 E. Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611, and the admissions office is at 310 E. Superior St., also reachable from the Chicago Avenue entrance.

Where is Feinberg School of Medicine PA program?

Feinberg’s Physician Assistant Program is on the same downtown Chicago campus, in McGaw Pavilion, Suite 1-200, 240 E. Huron St. It awards a Master of Medical Science and uses its own CASPA application. If you are weighing PA school, pre-PA internships can help you build the patient care hours PA programs expect.

Where is Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine?

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is in downtown Chicago, Illinois, at 303 E. Chicago Avenue, on the university’s lakefront Chicago campus. Northwestern’s main undergraduate campus is about 12 miles north in Evanston.

Which airport is closest to Feinberg School of Medicine Northwestern?

Midway International Airport (MDW) is about 12 miles southwest of downtown, and O’Hare International Airport (ORD) is about 17 miles northwest. Both are reachable on CTA trains, which is useful if you visit for First Look.

Who is Feinberg School of Medicine named after?

The school is named for the Feinberg family through the Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation, whose $75 million gift led to the 2002 renaming. Reuben Feinberg, a Chicago philanthropist and the foundation’s president, was a longtime Northwestern donor.

Why Feinberg School of Medicine?

Feinberg combines an integrated curriculum, required mentored research, patient care from the first week and a strong Chicago clinical network. Students work with diverse patient populations across academic, county and VA hospitals. The school’s focus on leadership, service and discovery prepares graduates for many fields, and its tuition is the same for every student.

Is HPME (Honors Program in Medical Education) still active at Northwestern?

HPME does not appear on Feinberg’s current admissions program pages. The early acceptance routes Feinberg lists today are the Northwestern Undergraduate Premedical Scholars Program (NUPSP), for Northwestern students in their third year, and the Northwestern University Premedicine Linkage Program (NUPLP), for Northwestern postbaccalaureate students. Neither admits students from high school.

Does Feinberg use AMCAS?

Yes. All MD and MD/PhD applicants apply through AMCAS, then complete the Feinberg secondary in the school’s applicant portal.

What is the median MCAT and GPA at Feinberg?

The Entering Class of 2026 had a median MCAT of 520 and a median undergraduate GPA of 3.95. The 2025 entering class had a median MCAT of 521 and a median GPA of 3.93.

Does Feinberg accept DACA applicants?

DACA applicants are considered case by case. Because DACA students are not eligible for most federal aid, they need private loans with a U.S.-based co-signer. International and Canadian applicants are also accepted if they meet the coursework rules.

Do Illinois residents get preference at Feinberg?

No. Feinberg is private and gives no preference to Illinois residents, and tuition is the same for all students. The Entering Class of 2026 came from 26 states and the District of Columbia.

Does Feinberg require Casper or PREview?

No. Feinberg requires no situational judgment test or other additional assessment for this cycle. It is exploring AAMC PREview for future use but will not use it in 2026-27 decisions.

Does Feinberg use the MMI?

No. Feinberg’s interview day has three individual virtual interviews, two with full-time faculty and one with a senior medical student, plus an orientation and a virtual tour with first- and second-year students.

Who receives a Feinberg secondary application?

Every AMCAS-verified applicant with an MCAT score of 500 or higher. Invitations arrive by email about four to six weeks after AMCAS submission, starting June 26, 2026. If your score is not in yet, your file waits until it arrives.

How many letters of recommendation does Feinberg require?

One committee or composite letter, one institutional letter packet, or three individual letters. If you send individual letters, at least one should come from a science faculty member who taught you. Do not send extra letters before you are invited to interview.

Can I apply to both the MD and the MD/PhD program?

No. You apply to one program, but you can transfer your application between the MD and MSTP until November 1. Early Decision is not available for MD/PhD applicants.

What is the Northwestern Undergraduate Premedical Scholars Program?

NUPSP is a binding early acceptance into the MD (or MSTP) for Northwestern undergraduates with an overall and science GPA of 3.7 or higher after two years in residence. Students apply in their third year, start at Feinberg after graduating and do not take the MCAT. About 10 to 15 students are accepted each year.

Does Feinberg have a waitlist?

Yes. Waitlist offers begin after the uniform acceptance date and continue until the class is filled. In a recent cycle, 10 acceptance offers went to waitlisted applicants. No deposit is required, and admitted students have two weeks to respond to an offer.

When does the 2027 entering class start?

Classes for the 2027 entering class begin August 2, 2027. Accepted students must commit to enroll by June 21, 2027, and complete the background check, drug screen and final transcript by July 1, 2027.

Does Feinberg value clinical experience abroad?

Feinberg looks for meaningful exploration of medicine and a service orientation “locally, nationally and globally.” Supervised clinical work abroad can show both, if you can describe what you did and learned. Experience in Chicago or your home community carries equal weight. What matters is depth, reflection and continuity, not location.

Related Medical School Guides

If you are applying to Feinberg, these schools are worth comparing. Each link explains a specific relationship; none is a claim of equal selectivity.

• Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University: another Chicago-area MD program, in North Chicago, with an interprofessional health sciences university setting.
• Carle Illinois College of Medicine: an Illinois MD school built around engineering and innovation, a useful comparison for applicants drawn to Feinberg’s research and technology work.
• Rush Medical College of Rush University Medical Center: a Chicago MD program on the city’s Near West Side with a strong community service focus.
• Southern Illinois University School of Medicine: a public Illinois MD school focused on central and southern Illinois, worth comparing for in-state applicants.
• Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University Chicago: a Chicago-area Jesuit MD program with a mission centered on service and whole-person care.
• University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine: Chicago’s other private research-intensive MD school, on the South Side, and a common comparison for Feinberg applicants.
• Washington University School of Medicine: a Midwest private research MD program in St. Louis.

For a full comparison of every medical school in the state, see IMA’s guide to medical schools in Illinois.

More medical school guides

IMA has definitive guides to many other MD and DO programs. Compare location, curriculum, research, cost and community engagement as you build your list:

• Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
• Central Michigan University College of Medicine
• 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)
• ECU Brody School of 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
• Norton College of Medicine at Upstate Medical University
• Jacobs School of Medicine at the University at Buffalo
• Hofstra Zucker School of Medicine
• Weill Medical College of Cornell University
• University of Rochester Medical School
• Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
• 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
• New York Medical College
• 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
• Perelman School of Medicine
• UCLA Medical School
• NYU Medical School

How International Medical Aid Can Help

International Medical Aid (IMA) helps pre-health students build the experience and reflection that schools like Feinberg look for. IMA programs are independent of Northwestern and Feinberg, and taking part does not affect admission decisions.

Hands-on clinical experience. IMA runs medical internships abroad in Kenya and other sites. Working under the supervision of local clinicians, interns take vitals, do intake and triage and help with direct patient care. These pre-health internships give you real patient stories to reflect on in your AMCAS activities, your Feinberg secondary and your interviews, especially the prompts about your experiences and your perspective on patient care. You can compare program options on IMA’s international healthcare internships overview.

Global health and service. Feinberg reports that 40% of its recent graduates had a global health experience during medical school. IMA’s pre-med study abroad programs offer a way to explore global health before medical school, in clinical and community settings where resources are limited.

Admissions advising. IMA’s medical school admissions consulting team helps applicants plan a school list, review personal statements and secondaries, and practice for interviews, including individual faculty and student interviews like Feinberg’s.

Next step. If you are a year or more from applying, choose one experience that adds direct patient care to your record, and plan now how you will describe what you learned.

Final Thoughts and Sources

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine offers a rich path into medicine: an integrated curriculum with patient care from the first week, a required research project with a faculty mentor, and a Chicago clinical network that spans academic, children’s, rehabilitation, veterans and county hospitals. It is also one of the most selective MD programs in the country, with about 63 applications for every seat in the latest class.

Feinberg seeks applicants who excel academically and also show compassion, leadership, inquiry and a real desire to serve. To apply well this cycle, submit AMCAS early and before November 1, 2026, return the secondary well before November 15, prepare for three individual interviews, and show with specific experiences how you fit the school’s mission. The road is demanding, but with steady work and a true commitment to healing, you can earn a place at Feinberg.

Sources

Facts were checked on October 28, 2026. Class statistics are school-reported figures for the Entering Class of 2026 unless another cohort is named; accepted-applicant MCAT data, DACA policy, PREview participation, the 2027 start date, waitlist, aid percentage, premedical experience and global health figures come from the AAMC MSAR profile (2026 edition); costs are for the 2026-27 academic year. Secondary prompts are the 2026-27 prompts as compiled from current-cycle sources and checked October 28, 2026.

• Feinberg School of Medicine, Entering Class Profile (Entering Class of 2026).
• Feinberg School of Medicine, MD Student Body Profile (2025-26; matriculation years 2021-2025).
• Feinberg School of Medicine, Requirements and Application Timeline (2026-27 cycle).
• Feinberg School of Medicine, Admissions Process & Requirements FAQ, Prospective Students FAQ and Feinberg FAQ.
• Feinberg School of Medicine, Characteristics of the Successful Candidate and Admissions Leadership Message.
• Feinberg School of Medicine, Programs and NUPSP.
• Feinberg School of Medicine, Tuition & Financial Aid, Tuition & Financial Aid FAQ and Acceptance (aid deadlines).
• Feinberg School of Medicine, Campus & Housing FAQ and Student Groups.
• Feinberg School of Medicine, Notable Faculty & Alumni and Dean’s biography.
• Northwestern Medical Scientist Training Program, MSTP home; Feinberg PA Program, contact page; Northwestern Emergency Medicine, residency rotations.
• AAMC, Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR) profile for Northwestern University The Feinberg School of Medicine, 2026 edition, accessed October 28, 2026 (subscription).
• Secondary prompt wording: current-cycle compilations at Med School Insiders and Accepted, checked October 28, 2026. Example essays and analysis are original to IMA.