Massachusetts is a state in New England that is well-known for its historical significance (the American Revolution started there), fantastic sports franchises 9the Boston Celtics and Red Sox, to name a couple and numerous wee-known vacation spots. Massachusetts is also famous for its four internationally renowned medical institutions, including the top-ranked school in the nation, Harvard Medical School, proudly located in the region.
Currently, there are four allopathic medical schools in Massachusetts that rank in US News and World Report’s first fifty for Research- Harvard Medical School, Boston University, University of Massachusetts- Worcester, and Tufts University School of Medicine.
If you decide to study medicine in Massachusetts either in the rowdy area of Boston or in the suburban part of Worcester, you will surely get a quality education at each of these excellent universities in Massachusetts.
To determine if you are qualified to study in a medical school in Massachusetts, you need to check out the average MCATs and GPAs for accepted students and the acceptance rate of the medical school. It is also important to research how many international students are interviewed and accepted each year.
This article aims to discuss these four universities with the hope of helping you to make the right choice.
The following are the medical schools in Massachusetts;
There are two different curricular paths at Harvard Medical School; Pathways and Health Sciences & Technology (HST). Students can choose to apply for both or one of the circular tracks. The Pathway track includes the provision of an accelerated fourteen-month pre-clerkship curriculum and, therefore, expedited entry into the core clerkship year for early clinical exposure. Also, dedicated time for research is usually allotted throughout the curriculum for the study.
In contrast, the HST track is offered by both the Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It offers provision for those who have an interest in health-related courses like biomedical research, physical science, or molecular science. Also, during this track, the students will be taught foundational biomedical sciences concepts.
Students at Harvard Medical School will have the opportunity of going to the state-of-the-art clinical sites at Massachusetts General Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
• U.S. News Ranking- 1(1)
• Location-Boston
• Degree-MD
• Year Established- 1782
• Annual Tuition & Fees- $68,123
• Average GPA- 3.95
• Average MCAT- 520
• Interview Rate- 15.3%
• First Year Class Size- 164
• Acceptance Rate- 3.5%
2. Boston University School of Medicine
By educating them about the various Boston neighborhoods, patient populations, healthcare disparities, and community-oriented clinical resources as soon as they arrive on campus, Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) equips its students with the knowledge they need to comprehend their new community. Prior to finishing a two-year clinical program, students will first complete a conventional two-year preclinical curriculum, which concludes with a designated time to study for the USMLE Step 1 examination.
Additionally, BUSM emphasizes personalized learning; students may take part in Extracurricular Enrichment Activities (EEA), which are non-graded events that allow them to add their own interests to their basic BUSM curriculum. A few EEA examples are a course on nutrition, the Medical Mandarin Club, the eight-session Medical Technology and Innovation series, and the Surgery Enrichment Activities, which involve medical students in many facets of academic surgery, such as grand rounds and clinics.
• U.S. News Ranking- 2(32)
• Location-Boston
• Degree-MD
• Year Established- 1848
• Annual Tuition & Fees- $65,890
• Average GPA- 3.86
• Average MCAT- 519
• Interview Rate- 12.5%
• First Year Class Size- 151
• Acceptance Rate- N/A
3. University of Massachusetts T.H Chan School of Medicine
In 2022, the T.H. Chan School of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts modified its program, which is now known as the Vista Curriculum. Anatomy, histology, embryology, physiology, pharmacology, imaging, nutrition, ideas related to cancer, health systems science, health equity, and diversity, as well as patient and practitioner wellbeing, are all integrated into the new curriculum during the course of the four years of medical school.
Additionally, a three-year MD program for people interested in careers in family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, and psychiatry is now open to a selected group of students. In the fall of their first year of medical school, students who are interested in this three-year MD option will submit an application to the accelerated program.
• U.S. News Ranking- 3(47)
• Location- Worcester
• Degree-MD
• Year Established- 1962
• Annual Tuition & Fees- $38,661
• Average GPA- 3.82
• Average MCAT- 516
• Interview Rate- 44.7%
• First Year Class Size- 162
• Acceptance Rate- 9%
4. Tufts University School of Medicine
The preclinical years at Tufts University School of Medicine were shortened in 2019, which enables students to enter the clinical program more quickly. Along with obtaining prior clinical experience, students over the course of four years in corporate healthcare systems, population health, the patient experience, and personal and professional growth in their studies.
Additionally, Tufts offers a number of long-term initiatives, such as the Student-As-Teacher (SAT) program and the Community Service Learning (CSL) initiative. Through a variety of service options, the CSL program offers students the chance to interact with the Boston community. The SAT program instructs medical students on how to create engaging courses for adult learners in preparation for their transfer to clinical educators (residents, fellows, and attendings).
Additionally, a small group of Tufts students is chosen to take part in the Maine Track; these students will finish a nine-month immersion community-based clerkship curriculum in rural Maine rather than finishing their basic clerkships in Boston.
• U.S. News Ranking- 4(56)
• Location-Boston
• Degree-MD
• Year Established- 1893
• Annual Tuition & Fees- $65,854
• Average GPA- 3.8
• Average MCAT- 515
• Interview Rate- 11.5%
• First Year Class Size- 195
• Acceptance Rate- 5.5%
I hope that this article on the best medical schools in Massachusetts for international students was helpful.