The 15 Best BS/MD Programs to Apply To

For fall 2026, Drexel University received 2,406 applications to its BA/BS+MD program, interviewed 133 students, and admitted 66. Virginia Commonwealth University sent 32 acceptance letters to the 945 high school seniors who applied to its Guaranteed Admission Program for Medicine. Numbers like these put the best BS/MD programs among the most selective admissions decisions a high school senior can face. A BS/MD program admits a student to college and to medical school at the same time, as long as the student meets the program’s requirements in college.

In this guide, you’ll find the 15 best BS/MD programs for students applying now, compared side by side on length, who can apply, published acceptance figures, and the MCAT rules for moving on to medical school. You’ll also see how we chose them, which well-known programs have closed, which ones take six or seven years, and whether any are easier to get into. If you’re still deciding whether a combined program fits you, start with what a BS/MD program is and how to apply.

The best BS/MD programs in the US are at Brown, Case Western Reserve, Drexel, George Washington, Hofstra, Penn State and Jefferson, RPI and Albany Medical College, Rutgers-Newark, Stony Brook, the University of Cincinnati, UConn, UMKC, Pitt, Rochester, and VCU. Each admits high school seniors to a combined bachelor’s and MD pathway with a conditional seat at an accredited medical school, and each had a current application cycle on its official site when we checked in October 2026.

Here’s how the 15 programs compare:

Each entry in the table links to the official program page it comes from. Published selectivity is what each program reports on its own website, with the year when the program gives one, and “Not published” means the program doesn’t release applicant or admit numbers. Requirements change every cycle, so confirm deadlines and test policies on each program’s site before you apply.

We chose these 15 programs because each one admits high school seniors directly, leads to an MD at an accredited medical school, and describes a current application cycle on an official program page. We left out programs that have closed, programs that only admit students who are already in college, and programs whose pages haven’t been updated for this cycle.

They’re listed alphabetically, not ranked, because the right program depends on what you’ve already done. As Prepory coach Peter Evancho, who has served on his medical school’s admissions committee, puts it, “There’s kind of a division for BS/MDs between programs that are very research heavy and then programs that are a lot more public-health heavy.”

The conditions for keeping your seat matter just as much. A program that asks for a 3.70 college GPA and a 517 on the MCAT, like Pitt’s, shapes four years of college very differently from one that never asks for the MCAT at all.

Here’s what sets each of the 15 programs apart, including the conditions you’d need to meet in college to keep your medical school seat.

Brown University’s Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME) is an eight-year program that admits high school seniors to Brown and to the Warren Alpert Medical School together. Brown admitted 64 PLME students to the class of 2030, and for the class of 2027, the PLME site reported 74 admits from more than 4,100 applicants. International students can apply, though Brown strongly encourages permanent US residency or dual citizenship.

PLME students don’t take the MCAT to enter medical school, but they must stay in strong academic standing. You can apply Early Decision by November 1 or Regular Decision by January 5, and Brown strongly encourages a video introduction. Early Decision is binding even if you aren’t admitted to PLME, and financial aid isn’t available in the medical school years for students who are neither US citizens nor permanent residents.

Case Western Reserve University’s Pre-Professional Scholars Program (PPSP) in Medicine gives a small group of first-year applicants conditional admission to the CWRU School of Medicine, for eight years in total. Case says up to 15 first-year applicants receive the honor each year, a count shared with its dental track. Case’s admissions pages don’t state a residency rule.

The PPSP deadline is December 1, and you can apply Regular Decision or Early Decision I. An Early Decision I application is binding whether or not you’re chosen as a PPSP finalist. The School of Medicine’s page with the GPA and MCAT standards for keeping your seat wasn’t publicly available when we checked in October 2026, so ask Case for the current requirements before you commit.

Drexel University’s BA/BS+MD Early Assurance Program is a 4+4 program that admits high school seniors to Drexel and to the Drexel University College of Medicine together. For fall 2026, Drexel received 2,406 applications, interviewed 133 students, and admitted 66, about 2.7%, according to its published applicant profile. It’s open to US citizens and permanent residents.

Students major in biological sciences, chemistry, or biomedical engineering, complete a six-month co-op, and log at least 200 hours of service. To move on to medical school, they need at least a 3.6 GPA and an MCAT score that meets Drexel’s minimums, either 128 in each science section and 127 in Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills (CARS) or a 513 total with section floors. Apply by November 15; Drexel doesn’t allow Early Decision for this program, and interviews use the multiple mini interview (MMI) format.

George Washington University’s BA/BS-MD program is now an eight-year 4+4 with GW’s Columbian College of Arts and Sciences and its School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Until mid-2026, GW described it as a seven-year program, so lists that call it a seven-year BA/MD are out of date. Between 1,000 and 1,200 students usually apply, 20 to 30 are invited to campus for interviews, and the enrolling class is around 10 students each fall, according to GW’s undergraduate admissions office.

US citizens, permanent residents, and Canadian citizens may apply. The deadline is November 15, and you must apply Regular Decision, because GW’s interview timing rules out Early Decision. To start medical school, students need a 3.60 GPA, no science grade of C or below, and an MCAT score that meets the program’s cutoff, which GW doesn’t publish.

Hofstra University’s 4+4 BS-BA/MD program pairs four years at Hofstra with four years at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. Hofstra says around 2,000 applicants typically indicate interest to fill a class of 10 to 15 students. It’s open to US citizens and permanent residents applying as first-time freshmen; international students aren’t eligible.

Hofstra publishes some of the clearest bars on this list. Applicants need at least a 3.7 GPA, a top-10 percent class rank where schools rank, and a 1410 SAT or 32 ACT, and they must apply by one of Hofstra’s nonbinding Early Action deadlines, November 15 or December 15. To keep the seat, students need a 3.6 overall and science GPA every year, no science grade below a B, and an MCAT score at the 80th percentile on the first try.

The Penn State-Jefferson Accelerated Premedical-Medical (PMM) program is a seven-year track, with three years at Penn State’s University Park campus and four at Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. About 25 students enter each year. International students are welcome to apply, and only high school seniors are eligible.

It has one of the earliest deadlines of any BS/MD program; the fall 2027 application had already closed by mid-October 2026, so rising seniors should plan around an early-October deadline. Applicants need at least a 1470 SAT or 32 ACT, and previously accepted students averaged a 1570 SAT or a 36 ACT. To start medical school, students need an MCAT score of at least 508 with section minimums, and students who aren’t performing at a 3.5 level can be asked to withdraw. Penn State doesn’t use letters of recommendation in its review.

RPI’s Physician-Scientist (B.S./M.D.) Program is a seven-year, research-focused track, with three years at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute followed by four at Albany Medical College and no MCAT requirement. It’s open to US citizens and permanent residents; international students, including Canadian citizens, can’t apply. RPI doesn’t publish an acceptance rate, but Albany Medical College reserves up to 45 first-year seats for its combined programs with RPI, Union College, and Siena University.

You apply to RPI by November 1 of senior year, and the program doesn’t use Early Decision or Early Action. Finalists interview at Albany Medical College, usually in January, February, or March. Albany will consider you for only one of its three combined programs, so choose between RPI’s seven-year research track, Union’s eight-year Leadership in Medicine program, and Siena’s eight-year program, which emphasizes the humanities, ethics, and social service.

Rutgers University-Newark’s 7-Year BA/MD program pairs three years at Newark College of Arts and Sciences with four years at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS). Rutgers says 700 to 1,200 students typically apply each year, 20 to 30 reach a second-round interview with NJMS, and 10 to 20 are accepted, roughly 1% to 3%. Applicants must be high school seniors in the top 10% of their class, and NJMS requires US citizenship or permanent residency.

Applications are due November 1, and only test scores through October count. Students take the MCAT, but there’s no minimum score; Rutgers says they’re expected to score close to the average of the last incoming class. They do need a B or better in every premedical course and at least a 3.5 GPA each semester, and they receive their bachelor’s degree after the first year of medical school.

Stony Brook University’s Scholars for Medicine program is an integrated eight-year bachelor’s and MD track that leads to Stony Brook’s Renaissance School of Medicine. Applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents and must also apply to one of Stony Brook’s honors programs. Stony Brook doesn’t publish an admit count, but successful applicants have historically had 98 to 99 high school averages and SAT scores of 1490 to 1590.

SAT or ACT scores are required, and the priority deadline for fall 2027 is November 1. To keep their medical school seat, scholars need a 3.4 cumulative GPA and a 3.2 science GPA, and they must take the MCAT by the spring of junior year. The medical school sets the minimum score and doesn’t publish it.

The University of Cincinnati’s Connections Dual Admissions Program is an eight-year BS/MD program, with four years at UC and four at the UC College of Medicine; engineering students take nine years because of a required co-op. On average, it accepts 3 to 15 applicants a year. It welcomes applicants from any state who are US citizens or permanent residents, and roughly 20% to 50% of its students come from outside Ohio.

Connections looks for students interested in health disparities from a community engagement perspective, and it has no minimum high school GPA; the test floor is a 27 ACT or 1270 SAT. For fall 2027 entry, the Connections application is due December 1, 2026, separate from the Common App. To move on, students need a 3.50 cumulative and science GPA, must graduate from the University Honors Program, and need at least a 507 on the MCAT.

The University of Connecticut’s Special Program in Medicine is an eight-year program that awards a bachelor’s degree and an MD from UConn. There’s no residency requirement, though Connecticut residents get special consideration, and international students can apply. UConn doesn’t publish an acceptance rate. Applicants need at least a 3.5 high school GPA, and everyone admitted enrolls in UConn’s Honors Program.

The application is due November 1, with the program’s supplement and two letters of recommendation due November 8; Early Decision isn’t required. In college, students must keep a 3.6 GPA, score in the 80th percentile on the MCAT with no section below the 55th percentile, and log more than 100 hours each of clinical service, community service, and research.

The University of Missouri-Kansas City’s B.A./M.D. program lets students earn both degrees in six years, and UMKC is the only medical school the AAMC lists at six years. UMKC receives about 1,500 initial applications, about 1,000 students finish the full application, and about 350 are interviewed for a class of 105 to 110. It strongly favors its region, with 60 to 65 seats for Missouri residents, 30 to 35 for students from Arkansas, Kansas, Illinois, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, and 10 to 15 for everyone else.

Applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents and need at least a 24 ACT or 1160 SAT, though admitted students average a 32 ACT or 1420 SAT. UMKC students never take the MCAT, and clinical experience starts in the third week of the program. Applications are due November 1, and interviews are held virtually in mid-February.

The University of Pittsburgh’s Guaranteed Admission Program (GAP) promises high school seniors a seat in the Pitt School of Medicine after they finish a Pitt undergraduate degree in four years. It’s open to US citizens and permanent residents, not international students, and applicants need at least a 1500 SAT or 34 ACT. Pitt doesn’t publish an acceptance rate.

To keep the seat, GAP students need a 3.70 cumulative and science GPA and an MCAT score of at least 517, reached within three attempts, one of the highest bars on this list. In return, you can still apply to other medical schools, as long as you give up your Pitt seat if you go elsewhere. Submit your Pitt application by October 15 and all GAP materials, including SAT or ACT scores, by November 1; Pitt now requires test scores for GAP.

The University of Rochester’s Rochester Early Medical Scholars (REMS) program is an eight-year BA/BS and MD program with the School of Medicine and Dentistry, established in 1991. Rochester calls REMS its most competitive combined degree program and limits enrollment to ten students a year. It’s open to US citizens, permanent residents, and asylees; international students aren’t eligible.

REMS students don’t take the MCAT, and testing is optional for the application too; Rochester asks you to submit scores only if they strengthen your file. Apply by November 1 for Early Decision or November 15 for Regular Decision. Early Decision isn’t required, and finalists interview with the School of Medicine and Dentistry in February.

VCU’s Honors College Guaranteed Admission Program for Medicine is an eight-year program for high school seniors that leads to the VCU School of Medicine. For fall 2026, it received applications from 945 high school seniors, interviewed 60, and sent 32 acceptance letters, about 3.4%. Residency isn’t considered, and VCU says international students are eligible for its guaranteed admission programs.

VCU’s deadline for fall 2027 entry is November 1, 2026, and November SAT or ACT scores aren’t considered, so future applicants should finish testing by October. To keep their seat, students need a 3.5 GPA overall and in prerequisite sciences, an MCAT score of 508 or better, and at least 120 hours of approved health care experience in each of their first three years. Interviews are held over Zoom.

Five well-known programs no longer admit high school seniors, even though some lists and AI answers still recommend them: Northwestern’s Honors Program in Medical Education (HPME), USC’s Baccalaureate/M.D., WashU’s University Scholars Program in Medicine, the University of Miami’s high school program, and the Rice/Baylor Medical Scholars Program. Here’s what each school’s own pages say:

The AAMC’s 2026-27 list of medical schools offering combined programs also dropped two medical schools that were on its 2025-26 list, Florida International University’s Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. If either is on your list, confirm the program’s status with the school before you apply.

Only one medical school on the AAMC’s 2026-27 list of medical schools offering combined baccalaureate-MD programs is listed at six years, the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Two more are listed at six to seven years, and 15 are listed at seven. Most of the rest are eight-year programs, the same length as four years of college followed by four years of medical school.

Here are the medical schools the AAMC lists at six or seven years:

A shorter program means fewer years of college, not less work. UMKC students start clinical experiences in the third week, and students in Penn State’s PMM and RPI’s Physician-Scientist Program finish their undergraduate requirements in three years. The AAMC lists Sidney Kimmel Medical College at six to seven years, but Penn State and Jefferson both describe their joint program as seven years, three at Penn State and four at Sidney Kimmel. Some programs have also moved to eight years; George Washington now describes its program as an eight-year 4+4, even though the AAMC still lists it at seven with an eight-year option. Being on the AAMC list also doesn’t mean a program takes high school seniors, so check each school’s own page.

No BS/MD program is easy to get into, but your odds change from one program to the next depending on where you live and what you’ve done. The easiest BS/MD programs to get into for one student can be the hardest for another. As Peter Evancho explains, “basically every BS/MD program, regardless of what college it’s attached to, is going to be considered a reach or elite-difficult school pretty much regardless of your GPA, test scores, stuff like that.”

Three factors change your odds more than a program’s reputation:

How many BS/MD programs you apply to depends on how much the combined route matters to you, and there’s no number that guarantees a seat. Prepory coach Peter Evancho’s students usually apply to 15 to 25 schools in all. When a BS/MD is the main goal, he has them make as many of those applications BS/MD programs as they can. When there’s one college a student would rather attend than any BS/MD program, he suggests a smaller set of three to five BS/MD programs and a full effort for that school, because a strong record there can still lead to medical school.

Either way, include strong colleges with good premed advising, since most students who become doctors take the traditional route. The extracurriculars that strengthen a BS/MD application also build a strong premed profile, and our pre-med and BS/MD timeline shows what to do in each year of high school.

The best BS/MD program for you is the one whose focus matches what you’ve already done and whose rules you’d be glad to live with for four years. Read each program’s conditions as closely as its acceptance numbers, because a 3.70 GPA floor or a 517 MCAT minimum shapes every semester of college. Then apply to a balanced list that includes strong colleges outside the BS/MD world. A combined program is one route into medicine, and most doctors take the other one.

To learn more about Prepory and how we can support your BS/MD and college applications, contact us to schedule your free initial consultation.