MCAT Tutor in Philadelphia

All four of Philadelphia's MD schools have held LCME accreditation since before 1942 (LCME), but they are not equally crowded. In 2025-26 Temple's Lewis Katz school drew about 63 applications per seat (14,278 for 227), Drexel about 54 (16,547 for 305), Penn's Perelman school about 46 (7,097 for 153) and Jefferson's Sidney Kimmel about 42 (12,033 for 286) (AAMC FACTS, Table A-1).

Pennsylvanians are a small share of the applicants everywhere and a much larger share of who gets in: 8.2% of Temple's applications but 41.4% of its class, 9.5% and 30.4% at Jefferson, 6.9% and 14.8% at Drexel, 8.4% and 11.8% at Penn (AAMC FACTS, Table A-1). The Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, the city's DO school, also takes the MCAT, through AACOMAS.

Facts about Philadelphia

Accreditation: LCME directory.

• The Perelman School of Medicine's 154 incoming students in 2026-27 (129 MD and 25 MD/PhD) had a median MCAT of 522 and a mean of 521.4, with scores from 510 to 528. (Perelman School of Medicine)
• Penn's entering class had median MCAT section scores of 129 in CARS and 131 in each of the other three sections, and a median overall GPA of 3.98 (range 3.66 to 4.00). (Perelman School of Medicine)
• In Penn's entering class, 19% were non-science majors and 72% had post-undergraduate experience before medical school. (Perelman School of Medicine)
• Penn requires the MCAT within three years of applying: for fall 2027 entry, between January 2023 and September 2026; its AMCAS deadline is October 15 and its secondary deadline November 15. (Perelman School of Medicine)
• Sidney Kimmel Medical College selects a class of 272 each year; for its 2026 entering class it reports 13,758 AMCAS applications, an average total MCAT of 514 and an average BCPM GPA of 3.80. (Sidney Kimmel Medical College)
• Jefferson invites approximately 600 applicants to interview each year, and its 2026 entering class came from 125 schools and 27 states. (Sidney Kimmel Medical College)
• Jefferson asks that MCAT scores be no older than three years at the time of application. (Sidney Kimmel Medical College)
• Drexel University College of Medicine reviews every MCAT score, paying most attention to the most recent, and does not use "best of" scores; for 2027 applicants it takes MCATs no older than 2024 and scores through December 2026, but not January 2027. (Drexel University College of Medicine)
• Drexel takes AMCAS applications from June 1 through December 1 and reviews completed applications as they arrive. (Drexel University College of Medicine)
• Temple's Lewis Katz School of Medicine reads the most recent MCAT, both section and total scores; for 2027 entry it considers MCATs from 2024, 2025 and 2026, through September 2026. (Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University)
• Katz requires the Casper test, does not use the AAMC PREview exam, and has an AMCAS deadline of December 15. (Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University)

Sources: LCME, directory of accredited U.S. programs (checked October 29, 2026); AAMC FACTS, Table A-1, 2025-2026 (checked October 29, 2026); Perelman School of Medicine, 2026-27 Entering Class Profile (checked November 1, 2026); Perelman School of Medicine, MD Admissions FAQ (checked November 1, 2026); Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Selection Factors (checked November 1, 2026); Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Admissions FAQ (checked November 1, 2026); Drexel University College of Medicine, MD Application Process (checked November 1, 2026); Drexel University College of Medicine, MD Admissions FAQ (checked November 1, 2026); Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, How to Apply (checked November 1, 2026).

Penn and Jefferson publish their entering classes

Penn's Perelman school lists 154 incoming students for 2026-27, 129 MD and 25 MD/PhD, with a median MCAT of 522, a mean of 521.4 and scores from 510 to 528 (Penn entering class profile). The section medians were 129 in CARS and 131 in each of the other three, and the median overall GPA was 3.98, in a range of 3.66 to 4.00. Of the class, 19% were non-science majors and 72% had post-undergraduate experience before medical school.

Jefferson's Sidney Kimmel Medical College selects a class of 272 each year and reports 13,758 AMCAS applications for its 2026 entering class, which averaged 514 on the MCAT and 3.80 in BCPM GPA (SKMC selection factors). It invites approximately 600 applicants to interview each year, and the 2026 class came from 125 schools and 27 states.

Those two schools sit eight MCAT points apart, and that gap is the main planning fact for a Philadelphia pre-med. Jefferson's 514 average is just above the Pennsylvanians who started medical school (513.3); the lowest score in Penn's entering class, 510, is above the average Pennsylvania applicant, and its CARS median of 129 is the section to watch, two points below its other three medians.

Four schools, four ways of reading a retake

The Philadelphia schools disagree about which MCAT counts. Drexel reviews every score, pays most attention to the most recent and does not combine “best of” scores (Drexel application process). Temple's Katz school reads the most recent MCAT, section and total (Temple how to apply). At both, a retake replaces the first score in the reading that matters most, so a lower second score is a real risk.

The windows differ too. Penn wants the MCAT within three years of applying, January 2023 to September 2026 for fall 2027 (Penn admissions FAQ); Jefferson asks for scores no older than three years at application (SKMC admissions FAQ). Drexel takes 2024 scores at the oldest and accepts scores through December 2026, but not January 2027; Temple considers 2024, 2025 and 2026 MCATs, through September 2026.

Deadlines run from Penn's October 15 AMCAS date, with its secondary due November 15, to Temple's December 15; Drexel takes AMCAS applications from June 1 through December 1 and reviews completed ones as they arrive (Drexel admissions FAQ). Temple also requires the Casper test and does not use the AAMC PREview exam.

How we plan a Philadelphia MCAT

Because Drexel and Temple weigh the latest MCAT most, we treat a second sitting for those schools as a commitment and schedule it only when full-length practice tests are clearly above the first score. Drexel's later score deadline, December 2026, gives a late tester more room there than at Temple, whose last MCAT for the cycle is September 2026.

For students with Penn on the list we plan section by section, since Penn's medians are 131 in three sections and 129 in CARS. A total near Jefferson's 514 average is a realistic target for many of the city's pre-meds; a Penn-level score usually takes more study weeks, which is why we start from your latest practice test and your test date.

Medical schools in and around Philadelphia

Total for the four Philadelphia-area MD schools: 49,955 applications, 971 first-year seats, 51 per seat (AAMC 2025 FACTS, Table A-1, AAMC short names; DO schools apply through AACOMAS, outside AAMC's data).

Philadelphia's DO option: Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Philadelphia (founded 1899, private). DO schools also accept the MCAT, so the same Philadelphia prep covers both routes.

Most applications: Drexel (16,547). Largest Pennsylvania-resident share of a new class: Temple-Katz (41.4%).

Other Pennsylvania MD schools Philadelphia applicants weigh

Across all 7 of Pennsylvania's MD schools, 1,396 students started in 2025-26; the Philadelphia schools above account for 70% of those seats (AAMC Table A-1).

Of 1,626 Pennsylvania applicants in 2025-26 (Philadelphia included), 448 (27.6%) started at an MD school in Pennsylvania, 325 (20%) started out of state and 853 (52.5%) did not start at any US MD school that year (AAMC Table A-5).

Pennsylvania pre-meds by the numbers (the pool Philadelphia applicants are in)

In 2025-26, 1,626 Pennsylvanians applied to MD schools and 773 started one. The applicants averaged 507.6 on the MCAT and 3.69 in GPA, those who started 513.3 and 3.81 (AAMC FACTS, Tables A-19 and A-20). By section, the 5.7-point difference splits into 1.6 in Chemical and Physical (CPBS), 1.5 in Biological and Biochemical (BBLS), 1.4 in Psychological and Social (PSBB) and 1.2 in CARS.

Over ten years the Pennsylvania pool shrank from 1,744 to 1,626 while starters rose from 751 to 773, so the share who started climbed from 43.1% to 47.5% (AAMC FACTS, Tables A-3 and A-4). Of this year's 773, 448 enrolled in Pennsylvania and 325, or 42%, left the state (AAMC FACTS, Table A-5).

MCAT section averages for Pennsylvania applicants vs. new students

Ten years of Pennsylvania medical school applicants, as seen from Philadelphia

Source: AAMC 2025 FACTS, Tables A-3 and A-4.

What MCAT score Philadelphia applicants need

AAMC's pooled 2023-24 to 2025-26 acceptance table works as a Philadelphia yardstick because fewer than one in ten applications to the four city schools comes from Pennsylvania (AAMC FACTS, Tables A-1 and A-23). A Pennsylvania applicant at 507.6 and 3.69 lands in the 3.60-3.79 row at 506-509, where 45.4% were accepted. A Pennsylvanian who started, at 513.3 and 3.81, is in the top GPA row at the upper edge of 510-513 (70.5%), next to 77.2% at 514-517.

Above 513 the table flattens. In the top GPA row, each band from 494-497 up to 510-513 adds 12.1 to 14.3 points; 510-513 to 514-517 adds 6.7, and the band above that 6.1 (AAMC FACTS, Table A-23). That is national data; Penn's and Jefferson's own class figures, in the sections above, show where the city's bars actually sit.

National AAMC grids (acceptance by MCAT and GPA, six years of averages): MCAT tutoring by city.

How many people in Philadelphia search for MCAT tutoring

Google Trends places the Philadelphia metro 35th of the 209 it ranks for MCAT search interest over five years, with a score of 21 out of 100 (retrieved October 2026). Semrush lists “mcat tutor philadelphia” at about 20 US searches a month, against 1,600 for “mcat tutor” (Semrush, October 2026).