USMLE & COMLEX Tutor in Detroit

Three public medical schools teach in Detroit, and only one has its main campus here: Wayne State University School of Medicine, founded in 1868 (school list). Central Michigan University College of Medicine (2010) and Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine (1969) run branch campuses, with main campuses in Mount Pleasant and East Lansing (school list). Wayne State has been LCME-accredited since before 1942 (LCME).

Wayne State's Class of 2030 was picked from 12,843 applications, 1,471 completed interviews and 630 offers for 299 seats, up from 10,438 applications for the class before it (Wayne State class profiles). Detroit students rotate through eight hospitals on the CMS teaching hospital list, including Henry Ford Hospital, Sinai-Grace, Detroit Receiving and Children's Hospital of Michigan, plus two more nearby, in Grosse Pointe and Ferndale (CMS list).

Facts about Detroit

Accreditation: LCME directory; applications, places and in-state share: AAMC FACTS, Table A-1.

ABIM internal medicine certification exam by residency program: ABIM residency program pass rates.

• Wayne State requires every Year 2 student to pass USMLE Step 1 before promotion to Year 3; for the Class of 2029 the three-month Step 1 window runs from January 2027 to March 2027. (Wayne State University School of Medicine)
• Wayne State asks students to sit Step 2 CK by the end of October of senior year, so that a second attempt can still post before graduation, and a passing result on both Step 1 and Step 2 must be in by April 1 for a student to take part in commencement. (Wayne State University School of Medicine)
• Wayne State's Class of 2030 came from 12,843 applications, 1,471 completed interviews and 630 offers for 299 places; 63.5% of the class is from Michigan, and 41 are first-generation students. (Wayne State University School of Medicine)
• Wayne State reports a 99% match rate for its Class of 2026, which matched into 23 specialties across 25 states, with more than 50% staying in Michigan. (Wayne State University School 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); Wayne State University School of Medicine, Records and Registration: USMLE (checked November 1, 2026); Wayne State University School of Medicine, M.D. admissions and class profiles (checked November 1, 2026); ABIM, residency program pass rates 2023-2025 (checked October 29, 2026).

Wayne State's Step 1 gate sits in the winter of Year 2

At Wayne State, Step 1 is a promotion gate, not just a graduation requirement: a Year 2 student who has not passed it cannot move on to Year 3. The registrar sets a three-month window for each class; for the Class of 2029 it runs January to March 2027, and registration opens six months before the window closes, in September 2026 (Wayne State USMLE page).

That date drives everything else. Because a failed attempt holds up the start of clerkships, we build a Wayne State student's plan backward from the last day of the window, with a first NBME self-assessment early enough to move the test date inside the window if the scores are not there yet. Students who need test accommodations should know the permit can take close to 60 business days instead of the usual 5-7, so they register at the start of the registration period, not the end (Wayne State USMLE page).

Step 2 CK by October, with April 1 as the backstop

Wayne State asks seniors to sit Step 2 CK by the end of October of the final year, a date the school chose so a first-attempt result is reported by the end of January and a second attempt can still post before graduation. A passing result on both exams has to be in by April 1 for a student to walk at commencement (Wayne State USMLE page).

Since Step 1 became pass/fail, Step 2 CK is the scored number on a Detroit residency application, so it pays to sit it well before the October deadline, straight off the core clerkships, while the shelf material is fresh. The school's 2026 match shows where that score is spent: a 99% match rate, 23 specialties in 25 states, and more than half of the class staying in Michigan (Wayne State admissions).

Three schools, three calendars in the same hospitals

A Henry Ford or Detroit Medical Center ward can hold students from all three Detroit programs at once, each on a different exam calendar. Central Michigan's college-wide handbook makes a passing Step 1 and a passing Step 2 CK conditions of graduation; Michigan State's osteopathic college requires COMLEX Level 1 before clerkship rotations start; Wayne State ties Step 1 to promotion into Year 3 (the school rules are quoted in full below).

Sessions run online, so they fit whichever calendar a student is on: early-morning or evening blocks around a surgery rotation, longer weekend sessions in a dedicated period, and a shelf exam plan for each core clerkship in between.

Medical schools in Detroit

Wayne State University School of Medicine lists 1,500 students on Wikipedia.

Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine lists 300 per class students on Wikipedia.

School list: LCME and COCA lists, via the list of medical schools in the United States, checked October 2026.

Teaching hospitals in Detroit

On the CMS teaching hospital list (October 2026):

• Sinai-Grace Hospital, 6071 W. Outer Drive, Detroit, MI 48235
• Henry Ford Hospital, One Ford Place, Detroit, MI 48202
• Harper- Hutzel Hospital, 3990 John R, Detroit, MI 48201
• Ascension St. John Hospital, 22101 Moross, Detroit, MI 48236
• Detroit Receiving Hospital, 4201 St. Antoine, Detroit, MI 48201
• Karmanos Cancer Hospital, 4100 John R, Detroit, MI 48201
• Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan, 261 Mack Ave, Detroit, MI 48201
• Childrens Hospital of Michigan, 3901 Beaubien, Detroit, MI 48201

Other teaching hospitals near Detroit

The same CMS list has two more teaching hospitals in the Detroit ZIP region, useful for electives and away rotations: Beaumont Health - Grosse Pointe (Grosse Pointe); Kingswood Hospital (Ferndale).

When Detroit students must take the boards

Wayne State University School of Medicine states: “All Year 2 students must pass the USMLE Step 1 examination before they are eligible for promotion to Year 3. ... Passing Step 1 and Step 2 is required for graduation from the Wayne State University School of Medicine.” (The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) - Records and Registration, WSU SOM).

Central Michigan University College of Medicine (Detroit campus) states: “To be certified for graduation, a student must have the following: ... 2. Received a Passing score on Step 1 3. Received a Passing score on Step 2 CK” (CMU College of Medicine Medical Student Handbook (Graduation section), 2026-2027; this is the college-wide policy).

Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine (Detroit campus) states: “Prior to beginning clerkship clinical rotations, students must successfully complete the following. a. COMLEX USA Level 1” (MSUCOM Clerkship Course/Rotation Policy, Effective 5/11/25; this is the college-wide policy).

The exams Detroit students take, in order

MD students at Wayne State and Central Michigan's Detroit campus take the USMLE: Step 1 (pass/fail since January 26, 2022), an NBME shelf exam at the end of each core clerkship, Step 2 CK in the final year and Step 3 in residency, which Wayne State notes is typically taken at the end of the first residency year (Wayne State USMLE page).

DO students at Michigan State's Detroit campus take COMLEX-USA instead: Level 1 before clerkships, then Level 2-CE and Level 3. Some add a USMLE Step for residency programs that compare them with MD applicants, and our Level 2-CE vs Step 2 CK guide sets the two side by side.

Detroit graduates who stay for internal medicine sit the ABIM exam after residency; the Henry Ford Hospital and Sinai-Grace programs' 2023-2025 first-time results are in the table above (ABIM).

Michigan board rules for Detroit graduates

For a Detroit MD graduate licensed in Michigan, the attempt count that matters is the same at the state and the exam program: Michigan's medical board allows 4 attempts at each USMLE Step, and the USMLE program itself stops eligibility after 4 attempts at one Step (FSMB; USMLE eligibility rules). Wayne State's own deadlines are tighter in practice, because the school wants a retake to fit before graduation.

DO graduates answer to Michigan's separate osteopathic board. Both boards' rules, and every Michigan school, are on our Michigan tutoring page.

How much Detroit searches for board prep

Detroit ranks 15th among US metro areas for “USMLE” searches, with a score of 55 out of 100, and 9th for “USMLE Step 2”, with 54 (Google Trends, United States, past five years, retrieved October 2026). The two scores are almost the same, but Step 2 places Detroit higher, so that is where the city stands out most. Scores are relative, not counts of students.

• “USMLE”: number 15 among US metro areas, score 55 of 100
• “USMLE Step 2”: number 9 among US metro areas, score 54 of 100