USMLE & COMLEX Tutor in Alaska

Alaska has no medical school of its own on the LCME and COCA lists, so its students are served by WWAMI, the University of Washington School of Medicine's regional program. Alaska was the first state to join, starting classes at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1971 and moving the program to the University of Alaska Anchorage in 1989 (UAA history). Students are enrolled at the University of Alaska and the UW School of Medicine and finish the 18-month foundations phase in Anchorage (UAA).

Students on the Alaska Track can complete nearly all third- and fourth-year clerkships in Alaska (UAA history). Alaska programs offered 14 residency positions in the 2025 Match, 12 in family medicine and 2 in internal medicine (NRMP).

Medical schools in Alaska

Schools based in other states also teach in Alaska: University of Washington School of Medicine (MD, based in Seattle, Washington) lists a campus at Anchorage.

School list: LCME and COCA accreditation lists, via the list of medical schools in the United States, checked October 2026.

Teaching hospitals in Alaska by city

• Anchorage: Providence Alaska Medical Center

Facts about Alaska

• Alaska was the first state to join the University of Washington School of Medicine's WWAMI program, with classes starting at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1971; Alaska WWAMI moved to the University of Alaska Anchorage in 1989. (University of Alaska Anchorage)
• Alaska WWAMI students who choose the Alaska Track can complete nearly all of their third- and fourth-year clerkships in Alaska. (University of Alaska Anchorage)
• Alaska WWAMI students are enrolled at both the University of Alaska and the University of Washington School of Medicine and complete the 18-month foundations phase of medical school at the University of Alaska Anchorage. (University of Alaska Anchorage)
• To apply through Alaska WWAMI, an applicant must have lived in Alaska for two years, or considered Alaska their permanent residence for that time, and hold a bachelor's degree, which can be in any field. (University of Alaska Anchorage)
• Alaska WWAMI's admissions calendar sets September 30 as the last day to take the MCAT and November 15 as the deadline for the Alaska WWAMI Eligibility Form and the UW secondary application; Alaska interviews are held virtually from January to March. (University of Alaska Anchorage)
• The State of Alaska treats the subsidies it pays for Alaska WWAMI students as loans: repayment can be deferred during residency, and for students who entered in fall 2007 or later the loan is forgiven by three years of practice in a rural setting in Alaska or five years in an urban location in the state. (University of Alaska Anchorage)
• The first Alaska WAMI class, in 1971, had five Alaskan students and four from Washington; Alaska admitted ten students a year until a 59-1 vote of the Alaska Legislature doubled the class to twenty for the entering class of 2007. (University of Alaska Anchorage)
• On average, more than half of the WWAMI-trained physicians from Alaska's state-funded seats have entered practice in the state, according to the University of Alaska Anchorage. (University of Alaska Anchorage)
• The UW School of Medicine's Foundations Phase, taught in Anchorage for Alaska students, ends with the Consolidation and Transition to Clerkships courses, which leave time to prepare for USMLE Step 1 before the Patient Care Phase. (University of Washington School of Medicine)
• In the 2025 Main Residency Match, programs in Alaska offered 14 residency positions: family medicine (12) and internal medicine (2). (NRMP)
• Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage is on the CMS teaching hospital list for Alaska. (CMS Open Payments)

Sources: University of Alaska Anchorage, Alaska WWAMI history (checked November 1, 2026); University of Alaska Anchorage, About the WWAMI Program (checked October 29, 2026); University of Alaska Anchorage, WWAMI application process and admissions calendar (checked November 1, 2026); University of Alaska Anchorage, WWAMI payback (checked November 1, 2026); University of Washington School of Medicine, MD Program Curriculum (checked November 1, 2026); NRMP, 2025 Main Residency Match by state and specialty (checked October 29, 2026); CMS Open Payments, teaching hospital list (checked October 22, 2026).

Getting into Alaska WWAMI

Alaska's route into medical school has its own entry rules. An applicant must have lived in Alaska for two years, or considered Alaska their permanent residence for that time, and hold a bachelor's degree, which can be in any field (UAA WWAMI application process). The admissions calendar sets September 30 as the last day to take the MCAT and November 15 as the deadline for both the Alaska WWAMI Eligibility Form and the UW secondary application; Alaska interviews are held virtually from January to March (UAA WWAMI application process).

The program has grown from a small start. The first Alaska WAMI class, in 1971, had five Alaskan students and four from Washington; Alaska admitted ten a year until a 59-1 vote of the Alaska Legislature doubled the class to twenty for the entering class of 2007 (UAA history). On average, more than half of the WWAMI-trained physicians from Alaska's state-funded seats have entered practice in the state (UAA history).

The WWAMI loan, Step 1 and the two-attempt rule

Alaska pays for its WWAMI seats and treats the subsidy as a loan. Repayment can be deferred during residency, and for students who entered in fall 2007 or later it is forgiven by three years of practice in a rural setting in Alaska or five years in an urban one (UAA WWAMI payback). A student planning to come home to practice is also planning to license under Alaska's rules.

Those rules are stricter than the USMLE program's own: 2 attempts per USMLE Step, against its four (FSMB). The first of them comes at the end of the 18-month Foundations Phase in Anchorage, which closes with the Consolidation and Transition to Clerkships courses that the UW School of Medicine sets aside for Step 1 preparation before the Patient Care Phase (UW School of Medicine curriculum).

So an Alaska WWAMI student's Step 1 plan starts during Foundations, not after it. We take an NBME practice exam early to find the gap, use the Consolidation weeks for the systems that are still weak, and set the test date only when practice scores hold steady, because under Alaska's cap a second fail at a Step rules out an Alaska license. Students on the Alaska Track then complete nearly all third- and fourth-year clerkships in the state (UAA history), where Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage is the one entry on the CMS teaching hospital list (CMS teaching hospital list).

Which board exams Alaska students take

On the Alaska list, the one school with a campus in the state is the University of Washington School of Medicine, an MD school, so Alaska's exam series is the USMLE: Step 1 (reported pass/fail since January 26, 2022), Step 2 CK and, after graduation, Step 3 (USMLE).

The list has no DO school. DO students from other states who train in Alaska's hospitals sit COMLEX-USA instead: Level 1, Level 2-CE and Level 3 (NBOME). Alaska's licensing line gives COMLEX Levels the same two-attempt cap as USMLE Steps (FSMB).

Alaska licensing rules that affect your exam plan

Alaska's board sets the same two-attempt cap on both exam series. FSMB lists 2 years of training before a first license, or 3 for international medical graduates; 2 attempts per USMLE Step and per COMLEX Level; and 7 years to complete the USMLE, 10 years for MD/PhD candidates, and 7 years to complete COMLEX (FSMB).

Source: FSMB state licensure requirements, checked October 2026; confirm with the board before relying on them.

What Alaska's rules mean for how you study

• Alaska allows 2 attempts per USMLE Step and per COMLEX Level, half the USMLE program's cap of four per Step (FSMB, USMLE eligibility rules). A first fail leaves one try, so sit each exam when practice scores are steady.
• The same two-attempt line covers COMLEX Levels, so a DO applicant meets the same cap as an MD applicant at every Level and Step (FSMB).
• Alaska gives 7 years to complete the USMLE, 10 for MD/PhD candidates, and 7 years to complete COMLEX (FSMB). The table gives no start date, so confirm with the board before a research year or a leave.
• Alaska asks for 2 years of training before a first license, or 3 for international medical graduates (FSMB), so an IMG should plan for the extra year from the start.

How much Alaska searches for board prep

Alaska ranks last, 51st of 51 among the 50 states and DC, on four of the five terms Google Trends measured: USMLE, USMLE Step 1, USMLE Step 2 and shelf exam. Its one rank above the floor is COMLEX at 39th, the DO students' exam series, even though no DO school appears on its list (Google Trends, October 2021 to October 2026).

Source: Google Trends, United States, past 5 years, retrieved October 2026; ranks show relative interest, not student numbers.