KCU (Joplin)

Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine - Joplin Joplin, MO · Private · DO

Average MCAT: 504.5
Average GPA: 3.68
Class size: 160
Tuition: $59,030 (per year)
Out-of-state applicants: Welcome

Deadlines

AACOMAS deadline: Feb. 1, 2027
Early Decision Program: Aug. 1, 2026

Essays

Core Value Scholarship (admitted students) (1,500 words)

Choose one of the KCU Core Values (Excellence, Equity or Empathy) and describe how it has inspired you to pursue a career in Osteopathic Medicine. Explain how you plan to continue this value throughout your career in healthcare.

Editor's notes

There's no secondary this cycle, which puts all the weight on your AACOMAS. Your personal statement has to answer "why osteopathic medicine" on its own, and your experiences section has to show the healthcare exposure KCU lists as a requirement. Submit by Oct. 1 for best consideration.
The physician letter is required, not recommended, and it can be from a D.O. or an M.D. Letters must be dated May 2025 or later for July 2027 entry. If your best letters are older, you'll need new ones.
Joplin is the smaller campus, 160 students in the Class of 2029 against 268 in Kansas City, in a town of about 50,000 that serves as a hospital hub for four states. If you want a rural setting and close contact with faculty, say so, and be ready to explain what draws you to southwest Missouri.
First-year cost of attendance is $101,758, the same as Kansas City, and the Explorer lists average graduate debt at $283,687. The Service Leadership Scholarship reserves one $10,000 award per campus for a high-need student with real healthcare service or leadership.

KCU (Joplin)

Deadlines

Essays

Core Value Scholarship (admitted students) (1,500 words)

Editor's notes

Sources