MUSC

Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine Charleston, SC · Public · MD

Average MCAT: 511.2
Average GPA: 3.85
Class size: 176 (3,417 applicants)
Tuition: $67,773 (per year, nonresident)
Out-of-state applicants: Limited

Deadlines

AMCAS deadline: Nov. 2, 2026
Early Decision Program: Aug. 3, 2026
Secondary deadline: Supplemental essays (AMCAS Applicant Gateway) due within two weeks of invitation;

Essays

Why MUSC (2,000 characters)

Please discuss your primary interest in attending the Medical University of South Carolina.

Diverse communities (3,000 characters)

We desire to train students and physicians to effectively work with and care for individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds, experiences, etc. Please share any important experiences that have shaped how you connect with individuals from wide-ranging communities and patient populations.

Re-applicants (2,000 characters)

If you are a re-applicant, please describe how you have improved or strengthened your candidacy for medical school.

Out-of-state Close Ties (3,000 characters)

Please describe in detail your strong Close Ties to South Carolina. Please include specifics such as time periods/dates, addresses, educational institutions, close familial relationships, employment information, etc.

Editor's notes

If you're not from South Carolina, look hard at the numbers first. In the Class of 2029, 2,871 out-of-state applicants produced 43 interviews and 17 acceptances. You need a 511 MCAT, a 3.7 GPA and real Close Ties just to be considered, and MUSC now ranks those ties. If yours are limited, your application fee may be better spent elsewhere.
South Carolina residents with a 3.5 GPA and a 506 MCAT should think seriously about Early Decision. The AMCAS deadline is Aug. 3, 2026, and you'll hear by Oct. 1. In-state applicants had 290 of the 333 interviews last cycle.
Answer the supplemental essays fast. MUSC's new Gateway step gives you two weeks from the invitation, and the committee reads those answers before deciding who even gets the secondary. Draft them in June.
Your interviewers won't see your MCAT or GPA, so the three conversations rest on what's in your essays and letters. Know your Why MUSC answer well enough to expand on it three times.