KU Medical School – Insider Review
KU Medical School Review
KU Medical School is one of the best medical schools in the United States, ranking number 71 in the 2011 US World and News Report medical school rankings.
If you are interested in getting accepted to the University of Kansas medical school, there are a lot of things that you will need to do to make you a competitive applicant. Probably the best resource to really understand the KU medical school admissions process is my eBook, 10 Steps to Accepted. I draw from my experience on the UCLA admissions committee to tell you exactly what you need to do to get accepted to medical school.
Now back to information about KU medical school!
Basic Information
- Name: The University of Kansas School of Medicine
- Location: Kansas City, Kansas
- Public or Private: Public
- School Website: Click here
- Competitive. As with any of the best medical schools in America, KU medical school admissions are very competitive. There were 2,514 applications for the 91 available seats.
- Average MCAT: 30
- Average GPA: 3.77
- Selection Factors. The selection factors for KU medical school are very similar to those of other good medical schools and top medical schools in the US. They look for academic achievement, health care experience, and letters of recommendation, among others. Also, Kansas residents receive strong preference in receiving interviews and admission. If you are not a Kansas resident, you will need to demonstrate strong ties to Kansas. Click here for a detailed explanation of criteria schools are looking for. Click on these links to find out how to make these characteristics stand out on your interviews and personal statement.
- Multiple programs available. As other good medical schools do, KU Medical School offers various
combined degree programs for those interested. These include MD/MPH, MD/PhD, and MD/MHSA (Master of Health Services Administration) - Accepts international students: No
- For full information from the admissions page, click here
Financial
- Tuition: KU medical school is $27,101 for KS residents/$47,521 for non-KS residents.
- Loans: Federal loans are available as with other US medical schools.
- Scholarships: As with other medical schools, there are not a lot of scholarships
available, and those that are available are need-based. - Cost of Living: The cost of living is extremely affordable. You can find a good sized one bedroom apartment near campus for $400!
Insider Information
- KU medical school is dedicated to primary care. This is a medical school that prides itself on
its ability to train primary care physicians. KU is dedicated to serving underserved populations. If this is your interest, this is a great school for you. You’ll want to make your community service stand out in your application. Check out my eBook to understand how to do that. - Three main campuses. KU medical school has three separate campuses. One is in in Wichita, one in Salina and one in Kansas City. For the Salina and Kansas City programs, the first two years are in Kansas City, where you’ll get your basic science curriculum. For the Salina program you will then spend time in Salina during your third and fourth years. For the Wichita program you’ll be at that campus all four years. The Kansas City campus of KU provides the academic-type environment and more advanced care. The Wichita kansas is focused on primary care medicine in community hospitals. The Salina campus is focused on health care in rural areas. In my experience, the opportunity to practice in “underserved” and “rural” areas is a great opportunity for your medical training. You’ll likely be able to do more than you would likely be able to do at a more “academic” center. In other words, they generally need you more as a medical student at these centers which is a little scary, but makes you learn a lot in a short amount of time. Again we see the focus on primary care through these three campuses. The Wichita campus is unique in that you will receive your lectures by podcast and interactive television. This is an innovative school!
- The curriculum is organ-system based and includes PBL. This means that you study, for example, the musculoskeletal system for 5 weeks, including the anatomy, physiology and pharmacology of that system. PBL is Problem Based Learning, which is where you get a patient case to review with a group on Monday. You stop halfway through the case and decide on things you want to learn about, called “learning issues.” You write a one page report on this issue and post it by Thursday for others to review. On Friday you finish the case and talk about your learning issues. It’s a good system in that it helps you to think about what you are learning in a way that applies
to patients, which is what you will be doing during your career. - They give you the name of the associate dean of admissions. KU medical school provides the name of the associate dean of admissions. This is currently Sandy McCurdy. You can access the organizational chart here. To understand how this information can be important to you, check out my eBook.
The Top 8 Things You MUST Do To Get Accepted
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Summary
KU Medical School offers great programs and earns its title as one of the best medical schools in America. This is a great medical school if you are interested in primary care, as that is the main thrust of the school. However, they are highly ranked in research as well, so you can get solid training either way. If you are from Kansas or have strong ties to Kansas, this would be a great medical school for you.
Get Accepted to KU Medical School
The medical school admissions process can is very difficult. Getting into your best medical school is not something that you should leave to chance! This site is designed to help you get into the school of your choice, maybe that’s Drexel! Check out my admissions page for understanding the admissions process.
Some students find it useful to employ a service to help them with getting into medical school. For a school as competitive as Baylor, I would highly recommend coaching. There are many companies that will help you with this, but my recommendation is MedSchoolCoach.
MedSchoolCoach is run by doctors with experience on admissions committees. This makes a big difference as many companies are run by business people or others without this essential experience. They also have an excellent track record, placing 100% of students in an MD or DO program and 87% in an MD program for those who sign up for their gold package. They also offer help with personal statements , interviews and help on choosing which schools to apply to. They are the company I recommend.
I also like them because their prices are very affordable compared to other companies you could choose. Also, click here for current discounts from MedSchoolCoach. Remember, about 60% of applicants are not accepted to any medical school! Don’t be one of the 60%! The cost of reapplying could easily be as much as getting help the first time around to help you get accepted. You can also specifically request that I work with you on your application if you wish. I served on the UCLA admissions and work particularly with essays, AMCAS applications, general advising, and have experience with California and Texas schools. I’d be happy to help you get into the school of your choice! Click here to visit MedSchoolCoach.
