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Chicago's six MD schools run from about 92 applications per seat at Rush (13,237 for 144) to about 37 at the University of Illinois College of Medicine (11,273 for 302), with the University of Chicago's Pritzker school, Loyola, Northwestern and Chicago Medical School in between (AAMC FACTS, Table A-1). All six have held LCME accreditation since before 1942; LCME lists Loyola's Stritch school in Maywood and Chicago Medical School in North Chicago (LCME).
Among the six, Illinois residents make up most of the entering class only at the University of Illinois (61.3%). Elsewhere their share runs from 18.7% at Pritzker and 21.5% at Rush to 39.4% at Loyola and 43.8% at Chicago Medical School, with Northwestern at 25.7% (AAMC FACTS, Table A-1).
Facts about Chicago
| School | City | LCME accreditation | Next full survey |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Chicago Division of the Biological Sciences, The Pritzker School of Medicine | Chicago | Full, since before 1942 | 2028-29 |
| University of Illinois College of Medicine | Chicago | Full, since before 1942 | 2025-26 |
| Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine | Maywood | Full, since before 1942 | 2026-27 |
| Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine | Chicago | Full, since before 1942 | 2028-29 |
| Rush Medical College of Rush University Medical Center | Chicago | Full, since before 1942 | 2028-29 |
| Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science | North Chicago | Full, since before 1942 | 2027-28 |
Accreditation: LCME directory.
- Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine reports 8,936 applications, 681 applicants invited to interview and a class of 141 for its 2026 entering class, with a median GPA of 3.95 and a median MCAT of 520; as a private university it gives no preference to Illinois residents. (Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine)
- Feinberg's FAQ gives its 2025 entering class a median MCAT of 521 and a median GPA of 3.93, and says every verified AMCAS applicant with an MCAT of 500 or higher is invited to send a secondary application. (Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine)
- The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine gives its entering class of 2024 an MCAT range of 505-527 and a cumulative GPA range of 3.4-4.0, with 86% of the class from out of state and a 3.7% acceptance rate. (University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine)
- The University of Illinois College of Medicine lists 11,310 applications for its Class of 2029, an average MCAT of 511 and an average GPA of 3.82, and Illinois residents are 59% of the class; students are assigned to its Chicago, Peoria or Rockford campus after acceptance. (University of Illinois College of Medicine)
Sources: LCME, directory of accredited U.S. programs (checked October 29, 2026); AAMC FACTS, Table A-1, 2025-2026 (checked October 29, 2026); Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Entering Class Profile (checked November 1, 2026); Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Admissions Requirements FAQ (checked November 1, 2026); University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Facts and Figures (checked November 1, 2026); University of Illinois College of Medicine, MD Admissions (checked November 1, 2026).
What Chicago schools publish about their MCAT ranges
Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine posts its 2026 entering class: 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 (Feinberg entering class profile). The class is 55% women, and two-thirds took one or more gap years: 26% took none, 40% one and 34% two or more. As a private university, Feinberg says it gives no preference to Illinois residents. Its admissions FAQ gives the year before, the 2025 entering class, a median MCAT of 521 and a median GPA of 3.93 (Feinberg admissions FAQ).
The University of Chicago's Pritzker school publishes a range rather than a midpoint. For its entering class of 2024 the MCAT range was 505-527, the cumulative GPA range 3.4-4.0 and the science GPA range 3.2-4.0; 86% of the class came from out of state and the acceptance rate was 3.7% (Pritzker facts and figures). The same page reports that 91% of students receive scholarship aid and 60% full-tuition scholarships.
The University of Illinois College of Medicine lists 11,310 applications for its Class of 2029, an average MCAT of 511 and an average GPA of 3.82, and Illinois residents are 59% of the class (UI College of Medicine admissions). Students are assigned to the Chicago, Peoria or Rockford campus after they are accepted, and the class comes from 124 colleges and universities.
Reading the gap between 500, 511 and 520
Feinberg's FAQ says every verified AMCAS applicant with an MCAT of 500 or higher is invited to send a secondary application (Feinberg admissions FAQ). That is a floor for a secondary, not for an interview: the class it admits sits around 520. Pritzker's 505-527 range shows the other end of the same story, a low score in an admitted class is possible but rare, and a 3.7% acceptance rate leaves little margin.
For Illinois residents the public school is the in-state option, with 59% of its Class of 2029 from Illinois and an average of 511, close to the 512.3 that Illinois residents who started medical school averaged in 2025-26 (AAMC FACTS, Tables A-19 and A-20). Nearly half of those Illinois matriculants, 468 of 990, started out of state, so most Chicago applicants also need a list that reaches beyond the city.
When we build a plan for a Chicago student we set two targets from these pages: the score that clears the in-state school's average and the score that reaches the private schools' medians. The distance between them, roughly nine points, decides how many weeks of content review come before full-length practice.
Medical schools in and around Chicago
| School | Degree | 2025-26 applications | Applicants from Illinois | New students | New students from Illinois | Women |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago-Pritzker | MD | 7,738 | 11.1% | 91 | 18.7% | 62.6% |
| Illinois | MD | 11,273 | 15.7% | 302 | 61.3% | 58.9% |
| Loyola-Stritch | MD | 13,289 | 11.5% | 175 | 39.4% | 61.7% |
| Northwestern-Feinberg | MD | 8,610 | 11.4% | 140 | 25.7% | 54.3% |
| Rush | MD | 13,237 | 10.3% | 144 | 21.5% | 58.3% |
| Chicago Med Franklin | MD | 11,973 | 11.6% | 203 | 43.8% | 58.6% |
| Midwestern University Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine | DO | AACOMAS (not in AAMC data) | ||||
| The Chicago School Illinois College of Osteopathic Medicine | DO | AACOMAS (not in AAMC data) |
Total for the six Chicago-area MD schools: 66,120 applications, 1,055 first-year seats, 63 per seat (AAMC 2025 FACTS, Table A-1, AAMC short names; DO schools apply through AACOMAS, outside AAMC's data).
Chicago's DO options: Midwestern University Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in Downers Grove (founded 1900, private); The Chicago School Illinois College of Osteopathic Medicine in Chicago (founded 2026, private). DO schools also accept the MCAT, so the same Chicago prep covers both routes.
Most applications: Loyola-Stritch (13,289). Largest Illinois-resident share of a new class: Illinois (61.3%).
Other Illinois MD schools Chicago applicants weigh
| School | Applications | New students | From Illinois |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carle Illinois | 2,889 | 64 | 23.4% |
| Southern Illinois | 1,218 | 80 | 100% |
Across all 8 of Illinois's MD schools, 1,199 students started in 2025-26; the Chicago schools above account for 88% of those seats (AAMC Table A-1).
Of 2,163 Illinois applicants in 2025-26 (Chicago included), 522 (24.1%) started at an MD school in Illinois, 468 (21.6%) started out of state and 1,173 (54.2%) did not start at any US MD school that year (AAMC Table A-5).
Illinois pre-meds by the numbers (the pool Chicago applicants are in)
| 2025-26 | Applicants from Illinois | New students from Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| Number | 2,163 | 990 |
| Average total MCAT | 506.8 | 512.3 |
| Average total GPA | 3.69 | 3.81 |
Illinois had 2,163 applicants in 2025-26, and 990 Illinois residents started medical school; applicants averaged 506.8 on the MCAT with a 3.69 GPA, new students 512.3 with a 3.81 (AAMC FACTS, Tables A-19 and A-20). The MCAT gap is 5.5 points overall, and Chemical and Physical (CPBS) ties Biological and Biochemical (BBLS) for the widest section gap at 1.5, ahead of Psychological and Social (PSBB) at 1.4 and CARS at 1.2 (AAMC FACTS, Tables A-19 and A-20).
Many Illinois residents leave the state to study: of the 990 who started, 522 stayed in Illinois and 468, nearly half, went out of state (AAMC FACTS, Table A-5). Compared with 2016-17 there are 122 fewer applicants and 41 more new students, which lifts the share of applicants who started from 41.5% to 45.8% (AAMC FACTS, Tables A-3 and A-4).
MCAT section averages for Illinois applicants vs. new students
| Section | Applicants | New students | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chemical and Physical (CPBS) | 126.5 | 128 | +1.5 |
| Critical Analysis and Reasoning (CARS) | 125.8 | 127 | +1.2 |
| Biological and Biochemical (BBLS) | 126.7 | 128.2 | +1.5 |
| Psychological and Social (PSBB) | 127.7 | 129.1 | +1.4 |
Ten years of Illinois medical school applicants, as seen from Chicago
| Year | Illinois applicants | Illinois new students |
|---|---|---|
| 2016-17 | 2,285 | 949 |
| 2017-18 | 2,224 | 912 |
| 2018-19 | 2,261 | 977 |
| 2019-20 | 2,241 | 934 |
| 2020-21 | 2,132 | 954 |
| 2021-22 | 2,476 | 895 |
| 2022-23 | 2,197 | 921 |
| 2023-24 | 2,030 | 936 |
| 2024-25 | 2,041 | 960 |
| 2025-26 | 2,163 | 990 |
Source: AAMC 2025 FACTS, Tables A-3 and A-4.
What MCAT score Chicago applicants need
AAMC's grid has no Chicago or Illinois breakdown; it pools all applicants nationally over 2023-24 to 2025-26 (AAMC FACTS, Table A-23). An Illinois applicant at the average, 506.8 with a 3.69, falls in the 3.60-3.79 row at 506-509, accepted 45.4% of the time, while the average Illinois matriculant, 512.3 with a 3.81, falls in the top GPA row at 510-513, at 70.5%. Both the score band and the GPA row change between the two cells.
The trade between GPA and score shows in neighbouring cells: a 3.40-3.59 GPA with a 510-513 was accepted 48.7% of the time, slightly more than a 3.60-3.79 GPA with a 506-509 at 45.4% (AAMC FACTS, Table A-23). A few MCAT points can make up for a GPA row.
National AAMC grids (acceptance by MCAT and GPA, six years of averages): MCAT tutoring by city.
How many people in Chicago search for MCAT tutoring
On Google Trends, the Chicago metro area is 39th of 209 for MCAT search share across five years, with a score of 20 out of 100 (retrieved October 2026). Local phrasing is small next to the national term: Semrush's October 2026 estimate is 20 US searches a month for “chicago mcat tutor” and 20 for “mcat tutor chicago”, against 1,600 for “mcat tutor” (Semrush).