How Much Does It Cost to Apply to Med School? The Real Numbers
Heads up: links to Med Mapped go to my own Etsy shop. I make a little if you buy, and the free printable here stays free either way.
Nobody tells you the price of applying to med school up front. You find out one charge at a time: the MCAT, then AMCAS, then a secondary fee every few days all summer. Seeing the whole number in advance won't make it smaller, but it does let you plan for it and decide where the money goes. And that takes a lot of the sting out!
So here's every cost I know of, laid out the way I'd walk a friend through it, with official numbers where they exist and a worked example for a typical school list. Fees change every cycle, so treat this as a plan and confirm each number on the official page before you pay.
The fixed costs
| Cost | 2027 price | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| MCAT registration | $360 | AAMC MCAT scheduling fees, 2027 testing dates |
| MCAT with Fee Assistance | $145 | Same page |
| AMCAS, first school | $180 | AAMC 2027 AMCAS applicant webinar |
| AMCAS, each additional school | $48 | Same source |
The MCAT also charges to move your date: for 2027 it's $55 if you reschedule 60 or more days out, $110 at 30 to 59 days, and $210 at 10 to 29 days. You can't change anything inside 10 days. If there's any chance your date will move, decide early!
AMCAS at different list sizes
The math is $180 for the first school plus $48 for each one after it.
| Schools | AMCAS total |
|---|---|
| 10 | $612 |
| 15 | $852 |
| 20 | $1,092 |
| 25 | $1,332 |
| 30 | $1,572 |
Secondaries: the cost people forget
After schools get your primary, most send a secondary application with its own fee. Princeton's health professions office puts MD secondary fees at anywhere from free to about $150. This is often the biggest line in the whole budget, because it scales with your list and it hits all at once in July and August. Don't let it sneak up on you!
You can't know your exact total until you have your list, so look up each school's secondary fee in its admissions page or the MSAR and write it next to the school. If you just want a rough number, multiply your school count by $100 and you'll be in the right neighborhood. That's a planning guess, not a quoted average.
Tests some schools add
Some schools require a situational judgment test such as Casper or the AAMC PREview. Each has its own fee and its own list of schools that want it. Check which of your schools require one before you register, so you only take (and pay for) what you need.
Interviews
Most med school interviews are virtual now, which is a big change and honestly great news for your wallet! Before that, Princeton notes that the median applicant spent about $600 on interviews (2020 survey data), and over 20% spent $2,000 or more. Today the main costs are a decent webcam setup, a quiet room and maybe one outfit. If a school offers an optional in-person visit, it stays optional.
A worked example: 20 schools
| Line | Cost |
|---|---|
| MCAT (one attempt) | $360 |
| AMCAS, 20 schools | $1,092 |
| Secondaries, planning guess of $100 x 20 | about $2,000 |
| Transcripts (varies by college) | your number |
| Interviews (virtual) | about $0 to $100 |
| Rough total | about $3,500 |
That's before any prep course, which can easily cost more than everything above. The good news: free and low-cost prep exists, and the AAMC's own official prep materials come free with Fee Assistance!
The Fee Assistance Program, in one paragraph
If your family income is within the federal poverty guidelines the AAMC uses, apply for FAP before you pay for anything, because the benefits aren't retroactive. The AAMC's 2027 materials list what it covers: AMCAS fees waived for up to 20 schools, a reduced MCAT fee ($145 instead of $360), free MCAT Official Prep, free MSAR access, waived PREview registration, and later a 60% discount on up to 50 ERAS applications for residency. Many schools also waive their secondary fee if you have FAP, so ask each one. It never hurts to ask!
Ways to spend less without hurting your chances
- Build your list on fit, not volume. Twenty schools you'd actually attend beat thirty you added out of panic, and the extra ten cost about $480 in AMCAS fees plus their secondaries.
- Take the MCAT once, on purpose. Pick a date you're ready for, and avoid late reschedule fees.
- Ask about secondary fee waivers. Some schools waive them for FAP recipients or on request.
- Track every charge as it happens. A single sheet with each school, its fees and what you've paid keeps July from being a surprise. Future you will be so grateful!
How to use the printable
The worksheet walks through each line above with blanks for your own numbers: your MCAT date, your school count, each school's secondary fee, and a running total. If you'd rather have the math done for you, my tracker adds up the AMCAS and secondary fees automatically as you add schools:
Planning the rest of the cycle? You've got this! Start with the month-by-month application timeline.
