TL;DR: The Northwestern medical school acceptance rate is 1.6% for the 2025 entering class – 8,610 applications for 140 seats at the Feinberg School of Medicine, with 704 interview invitations, a 3.93 median GPA, and a 521 median MCAT (Feinberg entering class profile and MD student body profile). The published rate has fallen every year for five years, from 2.0% in 2021. To discuss your Feinberg strategy, schedule a consultation with Oriel Admissions.
What Is the Northwestern Medical School Acceptance Rate?
The Northwestern medical school acceptance rate is 1.6% for the 2025 entering class, as published in the official Feinberg MD student body profile: 8,610 candidates applied and 140 enrolled. Feinberg is one of the few top medical schools that publishes an acceptance rate at all, and it is worth reading the definition carefully. The school computes the figure as entering class size divided by applicant pool, so it is a matriculant ratio. Because some admitted candidates enroll elsewhere, the number of offers extended each year is modestly higher than 140, which places the true offer rate slightly above the published figure.
The interview stage is where the pool narrows most sharply: 704 of 8,610 applicants received an interview invitation in the 2025 cycle, an interview rate of 8.2%.
How Has the Feinberg Acceptance Rate Changed Over Five Years?
| Entering year | Applications | Class size | Published acceptance rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 8,204 | 160 | 2.0% |
| 2022 | 8,073 | 150 | 1.9% |
| 2023 | 7,836 | 145 | 1.9% |
| 2024 | 8,138 | 140 | 1.7% |
| 2025 | 8,610 | 140 | 1.6% |
Source: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, MD Student Body Profile. Rates shown to one decimal.
Two forces are compounding. The entering class has shrunk from 160 seats in 2021 to 140 today, and applications hit a five year high of 8,610 in 2025. Selectivity at Feinberg is therefore tightening on both ends of the ratio, which is the same dynamic driving record low rates across elite medical schools.
What GPA and MCAT Do You Need for Feinberg?
The median GPA for the 2025 entering class is 3.93 and the median MCAT is 521, per the official entering class profile. Feinberg states in its admissions FAQ that there are no minimum GPA or MCAT scores and that every file receives a holistic review covering course rigor, honors, extracurricular depth, community service, clinical and research experience, and letters of recommendation. In practice the medians set the competitive bar, and candidates meaningfully below them need standout strength elsewhere in the file.
For the MD/PhD track, the Medical Scientist Training Program reports an average MCAT of 520 with a range of 509 to 528, and an average undergraduate GPA of 3.86 with a range of 3.37 to 4.0, a reminder that exceptional research depth can offset a lower number.
Who Gets Into the Feinberg Entering Class?
The 2025 entering class of 140 drew from 32 states, with 54% women, 45% men, and 1% reporting another gender identity, and 15% of the class identifying as underrepresented in medicine. Feinberg also reports that 41 members of the class were non traditional candidates who took more than two years after college before matriculating, so a well used gap year is squarely within the norm.
Does Northwestern Give Medical Students Financial Aid?
Yes. Feinberg reports that 93% of the 2025 entering class received institutional funding. Unlike the universal full tuition model at NYU Grossman, Feinberg support is packaged per student, but the coverage rate means the sticker price is not the number most admitted candidates actually pay.
How Do You Strengthen a Feinberg Application?
Feinberg runs a genuinely holistic review on a very small class, so the file has to argue for itself in every section. Anchor the academics at or above the 3.93 and 521 medians, then build the case around sustained clinical exposure, research with output, and service with continuity rather than breadth. Chicago is a clinical city: candidacies that connect a concrete interest to the Northwestern Medicine ecosystem read as prepared rather than aspirational. And because the interview pool is only 8.2% of applicants, the secondary essays carry real screening weight – treat them as a positioning document, not a formality.
For context on peer programs, see the NYU medical school acceptance rate and the Cornell medical school acceptance rate. High school students planning ahead should start with the BS/MD versus traditional pre med comparison and the best colleges for pre med. For the full twelve school selectivity table, see our medical school acceptance rates overview.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Northwestern Medical School Acceptance Rate
The published Feinberg acceptance rate is 1.6 percent for the 2025 entering class: 8,610 applications for 140 seats.
About 8,000 applications per year per the official admissions FAQ, with 8,610 received for the 2025 entering class, a five year high.
The median MCAT for the 2025 entering class is 521. There is no published minimum.
The median undergraduate GPA is 3.93 for the 2025 entering class. There is no published minimum, and review is holistic.
No. The official admissions FAQ states there are no minimum GPA or MCAT scores, and every application receives a holistic review.
8.2 percent in the 2025 cycle: 704 interview invitations from 8,610 applications.
140 students, down from 160 in 2021. The class has shrunk while applications have grown, which is compressing the acceptance rate.
Yes. Feinberg reports that 93 percent of the 2025 entering class received institutional funding.
Sources: Feinberg Entering Class Profile, Feinberg MD Student Body Profile, Feinberg Admissions FAQ, AAMC.
About Oriel Admissions
Oriel Admissions is a Princeton-based college admissions consulting firm advising families and candidates nationwide on elite university admissions strategy, from undergraduate through MBA and graduate programs. Our team pairs deep admissions expertise with a distinctive 360 approach spanning positioning, testing strategy, essays and application execution. To discuss your Feinberg strategy, schedule a consultation.
