December 25, 2025
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U.S. medical school enrollment surpassed 100,000 students for the first time in 2025. Women accounted for 55% of new students, continuing an upward trend.
Enrollment in U.S. medical schools hit an all-time high in 2025, while the number of women applying and enrolling these programs continues to outpace the number of men, new data shows.
The number of students at M.D.-granting schools surpassed 100,000 in 2025, up more than 5% after dipping in recent years. Women accounted for just more than 57% of applicants and 55% of new students students enrolled in 2025, continuing an upward trend that started in 2019, the American Association of Medical Colleges said this week.
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Total applications rose more than 5% to 54,699 applications for 2025-2026, an increase for the first time in three years. First-time applicants were up 8.4% and accounted for more than 76% of the total applicant pool, the AAMC reported.
The greater numbers signal a positive change for health care in the United States, which has been facing provider shortages in recent years that were projected to get worse by the Health Resources & Services Administration and other organizations.
Among Pennsylvania residents, applications were up 4.6%, from 1,554 for the 2024-2025 to 1,626 for 2025-2026. Applications rose even more among New Jersey residents where there was a 6.6% increase from 1,885 for the 2024-2025 to 2,009 for 2025-2026.
There were seven colleges in Pennsylvania that have at least 50 students applying for medical school for 2025-2026: University of Pittsburgh (415), University of Pennsylvania (368), Penn State University (277), Temple University (150), Drexel University (106), Villanova University (91) and Carnegie Mellon University (62). Among New Jersey colleges, Princeton University had the most (150), followed by The College of New Jersey (56), Rowan University (52), Rutgers University (52) and Seton Hall University (50).
Nationwide, UCLA had the most with 1,272 undergrads applying to enroll in medical school for the 2025-2026 school year.
Enrollment among some minority groups declined. Last school year, the number of Black students entering medical school fell 11.6%, and the number of Latino students fell 10.8%. The numbers of American Indian or Alaska Native students enrolled in 2024-2025 declined 22% for the 2024-2025 school year.
The AAMC’s senior director of workforce diversity and community attributes the lower number of minority applicants to the the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 ruling finding it is unconstitutional for colleges to consider race as a factor in admissions.
Other key findings about 2025 applicants and enrollment include:
• Women accounted for 57.2% of all applicants, a slight increase compared to 2024-2025 when women accounted for 56.8% of applicants.
• There was an increase in men applicants for the first time since 2021. They accounted for 42.2% of applicants and 44.4% of students enrolled.
• There were 6,167 Black applicants, and 1,970 enrolled.
• There were 6,921 Latino applicants, and 2,695 enrolled.
• There were 667 American Indian or Alaska Native applicants, and 215 enrolled.
