University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Medicine Admission
University of Alabama at Birmingham,
School of Medicine Undergraduate Program
University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Medicine Application

The Facts

The University of Alabama is a rather large, public institution located in the town of Birmingham, Alabama, and has a combined graduate and undergraduate population of over 18,500 students. The university's School of Medicine, however, is significantly smaller, and is home to about 692 graduate medical students. The average age of enrollment is around 23, and it is fairly rare for any of the students to enter the school directly from their undergraduate education. The school is perhaps best known for its emphasis on group case studies, as well as the focus on ethics and the behavioral sciences. Aside from the basic MD degree, the school also offers joint degree in the MD/MS, the MD/MPH, the MSTP, and the MD/PhD in various areas of the medical sciences.

Admission to the University of Alabama's School of Medicine is quite competitive among the relatively few students who apply; last year, over 1,545 students applied for admission to the school, and approximately 216 of those students were accepted. Eventually however, only about 160 of the admitted students actually enrolled for the coming semester. The admitted students had average MCAT scores of about 10.0 in Biology, 9.6 in Physics, and 9.7 in Verbal, as well as an average undergraduate GPA of about a 3.7. Students are notified of their admissions status on a rolling basis, and are able to take advantage of the school's early application program if they so choose.

The School of Medicine has about 1,250 faculty members, all of whom come from relatively diverse medical and academic backgrounds. The school also boasts a very manageable student to faculty ratio of about 1:1, and the small classes allow for plenty of discussion and interaction between students and their professors.

Graduates of the School of Medicine are frequently accepted to prestigious primary care residency programs throughout both the state and country. Some of the most popular specializations include family and community health, ob/gyn, as well as psychiatry.

Clinical Programs

Students are required to complete rather extensive clinical training including two years where students are heavily involved in community programs such as the AIDS Care Team. Otherwise, rotations are completed in the areas of medicine, surgery, pediatrics, ob/gyn, family medicine, rural medicine, neurology, as well as psychiatry.

What's Good

"I really appreciate the community involvement we're able to have. It helps to personalize the things we're learning."

"The professors really know how to make things engaging; you have no choice but to pay attention."

"Students are very supportive and encouraging here. It's certainly a nice feeling to have when the going gets tough."

What's Bad

"There is no on campus graduate housing. I hear a lot of griping about that."

"The school is huge, and the administration is pretty spread out and difficult to get a hold of."

"The basic science courses take up way too much time and are mostly review."

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