The two San Francisco-area MD schools draw similar numbers of applications and offer very different numbers of seats. In 2025-26, UC San Francisco (UCSF) had 10,372 applications for 177 first-year places, about 59 per seat, and Stanford, in Palo Alto, had 9,793 for 90, about 109 per seat (AAMC FACTS, Table A-1).
California residency shapes the two classes differently. California residents sent 46.3% of UCSF's applications and made up 71.8% of its entering class; at Stanford the figures are 33.7% and 40% (AAMC FACTS, Table A-1). Both schools have been LCME-accredited since before 1942, and their next full surveys are due in 2026-27 (UCSF) and 2029-30 (Stanford) (LCME).
Facts about San Francisco
| School | City | LCME accreditation | Next full survey |
|---|
| University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine | San Francisco | Full, since before 1942 | 2026-27 |
| Stanford University School of Medicine | Palo Alto | Full, since before 1942 | 2029-30 |
Accreditation: LCME directory.
- UCSF requires MCAT scores from within three years of matriculation, taken no later than September of the application year, and uses the most recent score when an applicant has several. (UCSF Medical Education)
- UCSF requires one year of biology with lab, one year of chemistry with lab, at least one physics course and at least one biochemistry course, all completed by June of the year of entry. (UCSF Medical Education)
- For the 2027 admissions cycle, Stanford asks for at least 1 MCAT result from an exam taken after January 2023 and before the end of August 22, 2026. (Stanford Medicine)
- Stanford sees all of an applicant's MCAT scores and does not combine section scores to make a cumulative score higher. (Stanford Medicine)
- Stanford's 2023 MD entering class came from 8,837 applications and 498 interviews; the 89 students had a median MCAT of 519, with a 25th to 75th percentile range of 516-522 and a 10th to 90th range of 512-525. (Stanford School of Medicine)
- Stanford's typical MD class is 90, and its five main clinical training sites are Stanford Health Care, Stanford Medicine Children's Health, the Palo Alto VA, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara. (Stanford School of Medicine)
Sources: LCME, directory of accredited U.S. programs (checked October 29, 2026); AAMC FACTS, Table A-1, 2025-2026 (checked October 29, 2026); UCSF Medical Education, MD Program FAQ and Student Selection Admissions Policy (checked November 1, 2026); Stanford Medicine, MD Admissions, Academic Requirements and FAQ (checked November 1, 2026); Stanford School of Medicine, Performance Metrics (checked November 1, 2026).
Two schools, two ways of reading a retake
UCSF and Stanford treat a second MCAT differently, and the difference matters before the first sitting. UCSF requires scores from within three years of matriculation, taken no later than September of the application year, and when an applicant has several scores it uses the most recent one (UCSF MD program FAQ).
Stanford sees every MCAT score an applicant has and does not combine section scores to make a cumulative score higher (Stanford academic requirements). For the 2027 admissions cycle it asks for at least 1 MCAT result from an exam taken after January 2023 and before the end of August 22, 2026 (Stanford academic requirements).
So at UCSF a retake replaces the earlier result, for better or worse, and at Stanford the earlier result stays in view beside it. Neither rewards a sitting taken to "see how it goes". An applicant to both should also treat Stanford's August 22 cut-off, not UCSF's September limit, as the last test date, and we build San Francisco study plans so the first sitting is the one meant to count.
What Stanford publishes about its MCAT range
Stanford's performance dashboard gives a full range, not just a median. Its 2023 MD entering class came from 8,837 applications and 498 interviews; the 89 students had a median MCAT of 519, the middle half fell between 516 and 522, and the 10th to 90th percentiles ran from 512 to 525 (Stanford performance metrics). The school notes that its typical class is 90.
Set against California's own new students, who averaged 513.9 in 2025-26 (AAMC FACTS), Stanford's 10th percentile sits below the state average and its median 5.1 points above it. Clinical training runs through five main sites: Stanford Health Care, Stanford Medicine Children's Health, the Palo Alto VA, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara (Stanford performance metrics).
UCSF's admissions FAQ publishes no MCAT median. What it sets out are prerequisites: one year of biology with lab, one year of chemistry with lab, at least one physics course and at least one biochemistry course, all finished by June of the year of entry, with the MCAT read alongside the level of courses taken and the applicant's academic trajectory (UCSF MD program FAQ).
Medical schools in and around San Francisco
| School | Degree | 2025-26 applications | Applicants from California | New students | New students from California | Women |
|---|
| UC San Francisco | MD | 10,372 | 46.3% | 177 | 71.8% | 62.1% |
| Stanford | MD | 9,793 | 33.7% | 90 | 40% | 55.6% |
| Touro University California College of Osteopathic Medicine | DO | AACOMAS (not in AAMC data) | | | | |
Total for the two San Francisco-area MD schools: 20,165 applications, 267 first-year seats, 76 per seat (AAMC 2025 FACTS, Table A-1, AAMC short names; DO schools apply through AACOMAS, outside AAMC's data).
San Francisco's DO option: Touro University California College of Osteopathic Medicine in Vallejo (founded 1997, private). DO schools also accept the MCAT, so the same San Francisco prep covers both routes.
Most applications: UC San Francisco (10,372). Largest California-resident share of a new class: UC San Francisco (71.8%).
California-wide AAMC figures (every California MD school, where California applicants started, their MCAT averages and ten years of applicants) are on our Los Angeles MCAT page.
What MCAT score San Francisco applicants need
AAMC's grid pools every applicant over three cycles, 2023-24 to 2025-26, so it describes the whole country, not UCSF or Stanford (AAMC FACTS, Table A-23). An applicant at California's applicant average, 508.2 and a 3.65 GPA, sits in the 3.60-3.79 row, where 45.4% were accepted at 506-509 and 60% at 510-513 (AAMC FACTS, Table A-23).
California's new students, at 513.9 and 3.80, fall in the top GPA row, where acceptance is 70.5% at 510-513 and 77.2% at 514-517, and they average above the national new-student figure of 512.1 (AAMC FACTS, Tables A-16, A-20 and A-23). The grid cannot say where UCSF's or Stanford's own bars sit, at 59 and 109 applications per seat: per-school medians are in AAMC's paid MSAR database, which this page does not reproduce (AAMC FACTS, Table A-1).
National AAMC grids (acceptance by MCAT and GPA, six years of averages): MCAT tutoring by city.
How many people in San Francisco search for MCAT tutoring
Google Trends does not measure San Francisco on its own; it groups the city with Oakland and San Jose, and that metro area places 13th of 209 for the share of MCAT searches across five years, at 25 of 100 (retrieved October 2026). Hardly anyone types the city into a tutor search: Semrush counts 20 US searches a month for “mcat tutor san francisco ca”, while “mcat tutor” alone draws 1,600 (October 2026). Most Bay Area pre-meds find help the national way and study online.
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