UCSF

University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine San Francisco, CA · Public · MD

Average MCAT: 517
Average GPA: 3.87
Class size: 161 (10,300 applicants)
Tuition: $68,204 (per year, nonresident)
Out-of-state applicants: Welcome

Deadlines

AMCAS deadline: Oct. 15, 2026
Secondary deadline: No M.D. secondary deadline published; invitations go out mid-July to November. MSTP (M.D.-Ph.D.) secondary deadline Nov. 15, 2026

Essays

PRIDE values (500 words)

UCSF PRIDE values serve as a guiding light for institutional life and activities. Briefly describe how you will contribute to and support our PRIDE values consistent with your goals or life experience.

Activities update (500 words)

If you wish to update or expand upon your activities, you may provide additional information below.

Since graduation (350 words)

If you are 2025 or earlier college graduate, please use the space below to tell us what you have done since completing your undergraduate degree.

Editor's notes

UCSF sends secondaries by invitation, so turn yours around fast. The interview season runs from late September into February and decisions come February to April. Submit AMCAS early in the summer; Oct. 15 is a hard wall with no extensions.
The interviewers won't have read your file. That changes how you prepare. You have to bring your own best stories into the room, in about 40 minutes, twice. Practice telling them without leaning on 'as you saw in my application.'
UCSF says it wants people committed to serving others, and its tracks back that up: PRIME-US and SJV PRIME are both chosen on the secondary. If underserved care is your real direction, check the box and write the extra essays. If it isn't, don't check it to look good.
Seventy-one percent of the fall 2025 class came from California. Out-of-state applicants are eligible, but the $12,245 nonresident supplement and that residency mix are two reasons to be sure UCSF is on your list for a specific reason you can name.