How difficult is it to get into medical school in 2019 compared to the previous years? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.

Answer by Kristen Moon, Founder & CEO at Moon Prep, on Quora:

Medical schools, which are already hard to get into, are getting harder each year.U.S. Newsdid its annual survey of the 118 ranked medical schools that reported their acceptance rates and found that the average was only 6.8% in 2018. However, the average acceptance rate of the most competitive medical schools was at just 2.4% this past application cycle.

Datafrom the 2018-2019 cycle showed that most colleges had higher than average MCAT and GPAs, showing that colleges are becoming so selective. The average GPA for all U.S. MD schools was 3.79, which is an increase of .02 points compared to the previous year. The average MCAT score was 512.0, which was .72 higher than the past year. However, the MCAT change was more significant in the Top 50 MD schools, where the average MCAT was 515.4, which was one full point more than last year.

Some schools, like Mayo, Arizona - Phoenix, Rosalind Franklin, Washington State (Floyd), Missouri - Kansas City, and Central Michigan, all become much more competitive this year. Each school had the biggest single-year increase in MCAT, with an average jump of three points.

The good news: some allopathic medical schools did get easier to get into. Schools like Kentucky (whose average MCAT score dropped by 3 points), Medical College of Wisconsin, SUNY-Buffalo, Albany, and a few others were ones that were slightly easier to get into this year. The University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences had the highest admittance rate and accepted20.5% of its applicants. However, all the other MD medical schools were roughly the same level of competitiveness as they have been in previous years.

Thedatashows that there are more applicants, but the number of spots at the schools hasnt increased. This is why only41% of all applicantswere accepted into a medical school, with the MCAT score the main reason why people were rejected.

The admission rates for becoming an MD are tough, and that is why more people are turning to osteopathic medical schools. The osteopathic field is growing at a rate of about 5% per year, and currently,25% of all medical studentsin the U.S. are studying to earn their DO degree. In fact, I recommend that students who have a lower than average MCAT score or GPA consider osteopathic medical schools instead. While it is still competitive to get into an osteopathic school, it can be a good strategy for premed students to consider both allopathic and osteopathic medical schools to help them earn the title of doctor.

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How Hard Is It To Get Into Medical School In 2019? - Forbes