USMLE & COMLEX Tutor in Mississippi

Mississippi's MD school and its DO school lead to different exam series. The University of Mississippi School of Medicine in Jackson is public and was founded in 1955 (school list). In 2025-26 it had 326 applications for 170 first-year places, and 100% of its entering class came from Mississippi (AAMC FACTS). William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Hattiesburg is private and was founded in 2010 (school list).

Clinical years run through 14 teaching hospitals in 11 cities, two each in Jackson, Meridian and Hattiesburg (CMS teaching hospital list). Hattiesburg, where William Carey is based, has Forrest General Hospital and Merit Health Wesley (CMS teaching hospital list). The Jackson school's next full LCME survey is due in 2027-28 (LCME).

Medical schools in Mississippi

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

Teaching hospitals in Mississippi by city

• Jackson: University of Mississippi Medical Center; MS Baptist Medical Center
• Meridian: Ochsner Rush Medical Center; Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center
• Hattiesburg: Forrest General Hospital; Merit Health Wesley
• Tupelo: North Mississippi Medical Center
• Corinth: Magnolia Hospital
• Gulfport: Memorial Hospital at Gulfport
• Oxford: Baptist Mem Hospital North Miss
• Waynesboro: Wayne General Hospital
• Greenville: Delta Health-the Medical Center
• Columbus: Baptist Mem Hospital Golden Triangle
• Southaven: Baptist Mem Hospital Desoto

Facts about Mississippi

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; ABIM says to read rates from under 25 takers with caution.

• In 2024, 146 of the 148 William Carey osteopathic graduates seeking a residency matched, a 99% placement rate. (William Carey University)
• University of Mississippi third-year clerkships last two to eight weeks each, across family medicine, internal medicine, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry and surgery. (University of Mississippi Medical Center)
• Two weeks of the University of Mississippi family medicine clerkship are spent at the Mississippi Baptist Health Center in Jackson and four weeks with family physicians across the state; students also rotate at the G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery VA Medical Center. (University of Mississippi Medical Center)
• The University of Mississippi School of Medicine teaches in a $74 million, 151,569-square-foot building meant to let the school grow its entering class to at least 165. (University of Mississippi Medical Center)
• The Mississippi Legislature authorized the Mississippi Rural Physicians Scholarship Program in 2007; in fall 2016, 64 medical students each received $30,000, a total of $2,100,000. (University of Mississippi Medical Center)
• In the 2025 Main Residency Match, programs in Mississippi offered 316 residency positions in 23 specialties, the most in internal medicine (113), family medicine (62), and emergency medicine (22). (NRMP)

Sources: LCME, directory of accredited U.S. programs (checked October 29, 2026); AAMC FACTS, Table A-1, 2025-2026 (checked October 29, 2026); William Carey University, student achievement (checked October 29, 2026); University of Mississippi Medical Center, School of Medicine curriculum (checked November 1, 2026); University of Mississippi Medical Center, School of Medicine prospective students (checked November 1, 2026); University of Mississippi Medical Center, Mississippi Rural Physicians Scholarship Program (checked November 1, 2026); NRMP, 2025 Main Residency Match by state and specialty (checked October 29, 2026); ABIM, residency program pass rates 2023-2025 (checked October 29, 2026).

A medical school that recruits only Mississippians

The University of Mississippi fills its class from home: every one of the 170 students who entered the University of Mississippi in 2025-26 was a Mississippi resident (AAMC FACTS). The school says it is building that pipeline on purpose. It now teaches in a $74 million, 151,569-square-foot building meant to grow the entering class to at least 165, so the target has already been passed (UMMC School of Medicine).

The legislature backs the same goal with money. The Mississippi Rural Physicians Scholarship Program, authorized in 2007, gave its first 10 UMMC students $30,000 each for 2008-09; by fall 2016, 64 students each received $30,000, a total of $2,100,000 (MRPSP). Scholars are steered into five primary care fields: family medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, medicine-pediatrics and general internal medicine.

For exam planning that matters in one way: a scholar headed for family medicine or pediatrics will meet those shelf exams as the subjects of a future career, not as one rotation among seven, and we weight practice questions that way.

The Jackson clerkship year, block by block

The third year at the University of Mississippi is a run of clerkships of two to eight weeks each: family medicine, internal medicine and its subspecialties, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, and surgery and its subspecialties (UMMC M3 year). Each core block ends in an NBME shelf exam, so short blocks mean shelf dates arrive close together.

Most of the year is in the university hospitals and clinics in Jackson, with time at the G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery VA Medical Center. Family medicine is the exception: two weeks at the Mississippi Baptist Health Center in Jackson, then four weeks with family physicians elsewhere in the state (UMMC M3 year). Those four weeks are often far from campus, so we set up the family medicine shelf plan before the student leaves Jackson, with question blocks that fit a clinic day.

Mississippi's three-attempt limit on each Step is one reason we start Step 2 CK review inside the clerkship year rather than after it: shelf scores are the best early read on a Step 2 CK score, and a weak block found in October costs far less than a failed Step in spring.

Residency positions in Mississippi

In the 2025 Main Residency Match, Mississippi programs offered 316 positions in 23 specialties: 113 in internal medicine, 62 in family medicine, 22 in emergency medicine, 15 in psychiatry and 14 each in pediatrics and transitional year (NRMP). Internal medicine is more than a third of the total, and residents in those programs later sit the ABIM exam.

Which board exams Mississippi students take

The University of Mississippi School of Medicine grants the MD, so its Jackson students take the USMLE: Step 1, Step 2 CK and Step 3 (USMLE).

William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine grants the DO, so its Hattiesburg students take COMLEX-USA (NBOME): Level 1, Level 2-CE and Level 3. Of the 148 graduates who sought a residency in 2024, 146 matched, a 99% placement rate (William Carey student achievement).

Residents in the state's internal medicine programs face ABIM's exam. In 2023-2025, 97% of 77 first-time takers from the University of Mississippi Medical Center's program in Jackson passed (ABIM). So did 96% of 25 from Keesler Medical Center's program at Keesler AFB (ABIM).

Mississippi licensing rules that affect your exam plan

Mississippi's board lists three attempts at each Step and seven years to complete the USMLE; COMLEX carries no limit on either (FSMB). That splits the state: University of Mississippi students face both limits, while William Carey's COMLEX takers face neither. Before a first license the board asks for one year of training, or one to three for international graduates (FSMB).

Source: FSMB state licensure requirements, checked October 2026; confirm with the board before relying on them.

What Mississippi's rules mean for how you study

• Mississippi gives you three tries at each Step, where the USMLE program gives four (FSMB, USMLE eligibility rules). Plan as if your third sitting at any Step is your last, and rebuild the plan after any fail.
• FSMB gives Mississippi seven years to complete the USMLE but names no start date (FSMB). Ask the board when the count begins before you commit to a research year or a leave of absence.
• William Carey students sit COMLEX, where Mississippi lists no limit on attempts or time (FSMB). A USMLE Step you add falls under the attempt and time limits; our Level 2 vs Step 2 CK guide weighs the choice.
• International graduates need one to three years of training before a first Mississippi license (FSMB). The range is wide, so ask the board which number applies to you before you choose residency programs.

Many Mississippi students rotate, interview or match next door. Mississippi's neighbors on our list: Alabama (2 MD, 2 DO), Arkansas (2 MD, 1 DO), Louisiana (3 MD, 1 DO), Tennessee (5 MD, 2 DO).

How much Mississippi searches for board prep

Mississippi ranks 4th of 51 (the 50 states plus DC) for “COMLEX” on Google Trends over the five years to October 2026, far ahead of its 22nd for “USMLE”. “USMLE Step 1” is 17th, “USMLE Step 2” 25th and “Shelf exam” 31st. A top-five COMLEX rank fits a state where one of its two medical schools is osteopathic.

Source: Google Trends, United States, past 5 years, retrieved October 2026; ranks show relative interest, not student numbers.