USMLE & COMLEX Tutor in Louisiana

Tulane, the oldest school on the list, and LSU Health New Orleans share one city. Edward Via's osteopathic college in Monroe is the newest school in the table and the only DO program. A fourth MD school, Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine in New Orleans, holds preliminary LCME accreditation (2026) and is not yet in the table (LCME).

Tulane drew 13,814 applications for 190 places, and 15.3% of its class is from Louisiana; LSU Health New Orleans and LSU Health Shreveport fill 87.7% and 81.3% of theirs with Louisianans (AAMC FACTS). The CMS list counts 26 teaching hospitals, led by New Orleans with 5, Baton Rouge with 4 and Shreveport with 3 (CMS list).

Medical schools in Louisiana

Several of these schools teach students at more than one site: LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine also lists Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Lafayette, Louisiana.

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

Teaching hospitals in Louisiana by city

• New Orleans: University Medical Ctr. at New Orleans; Ochsner Clinic Foundation; Touro Infirmary; Ochsner Baptist Medical Center; Childrens Hospital
• Baton Rouge: Our Lady of the Lake RMC; Baton Rouge General; Earl K. Long Medical Center; Womans Hospital
• Shreveport: Highland Medical Center; Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport; Willis-Knighton Health Systems
• Bogalusa: Washington-St.Tammany Med. Ctr.; Our Lady of the Angels Hospital Mc
• Lafayette: Lafayette General Medical Center; University Hospital & Clinics
• Lake Charles: St. Patrick Hospital; Lake Charles Memorial Hospital
• Metairie: East Jefferson General Hospital; Tulane Medical Center
• Monroe: Ochsner LSU Health Monroe
• Alexandria: Rapides Regional Medical Center
• Marrero: West Jefferson Medical Center
• Slidell: Slidell Memorial Hospital
• Houma: Southern Regional Medical Corp
• Kenner: Ochsner Medical Center - Kenner LLC

Facts about Louisiana

Accreditation: LCME directory; applications, places and in-state share: AAMC FACTS, Table A-1.

ABIM internal medicine certification exam by residency program: ABIM residency program pass rates; ABIM says to read rates from under 25 takers with caution.

• At Tulane, specialty-based clinical training begins in May of Year 2, and students must take Step 1 either before all third-year clerkships begin or after they are all completed. (Tulane University School of Medicine)
• Tulane requires a passing Step 1 score before fourth-year rotations and a passing Step 2 CK score to graduate, and notes that students will likely need a passing Step 2 score by the end of September to secure residency interviews. (Tulane University School of Medicine)
• LSU Health New Orleans teaches the preclerkship phase in New Orleans for all students; those based at its Baton Rouge and Lafayette regional campuses complete all of their third-year rotations there. (LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine)
• The LSU Health New Orleans fourth year has four required courses, among them two acting internships, plus four electives and three months of flex time for interests and residency interviews. (LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine)
• LSU Health Shreveport describes itself as the only allopathic medical school in north Louisiana, with students meeting patients from their first semester. (LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine)
• VCOM-Louisiana, a partnership with the University of Louisiana Monroe, welcomed its first class in 2020 and has since graduated its third class, 145 new physicians. (Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine)
• Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine will teach its first- and second-year classes at Benson Tower in the New Orleans BioDistrict, with third- and fourth-year clerkships in Ochsner facilities; Ochsner already trains over 330 residents and fellows a year. (Xavier Ochsner College 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); Tulane University School of Medicine, Medicine (MD), 2026-2027 catalog (checked November 1, 2026); LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, Curriculum (checked November 1, 2026); LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine (checked November 1, 2026); Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Louisiana campus (checked November 1, 2026); Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine, Frequently Asked Questions (checked November 1, 2026); ABIM, residency program pass rates 2023-2025 (checked October 29, 2026).

Step 1 timing is not the same at every Louisiana school

Tulane moves to the wards early: specialty-based clinical training begins in May of Year 2, and students must take Step 1 either before all third-year clerkships begin or wait until after they are all completed. Either way, a passing Step 1 is required before fourth-year rotations, and a passing Step 2 CK is required to graduate; the catalog notes that students will likely need that Step 2 pass by the end of September to secure residency interviews (Tulane MD catalog).

At LSU Health New Orleans every student does the preclerkship phase in New Orleans, then those based at the Baton Rouge and Lafayette regional campuses complete all of their third-year rotations there. The fourth year carries four required courses, two of them acting internships, plus four electives and three months of flex time for interests and interviews (LSU Health New Orleans curriculum). LSU Health Shreveport, the only allopathic school in north Louisiana by its own description, puts students in front of patients from their first semester (LSU Health Shreveport).

For a Tulane student the decision is binary and early: sit Step 1 before the clerkships start, or carry it through the whole third year. We help students make that call from an NBME practice score rather than a calendar, and for the late option we keep a weekly Step 1 question block running alongside each shelf so the material does not go cold.

Monroe, and a new medical school in New Orleans

VCOM-Louisiana, the state's DO college, is a partnership with the University of Louisiana Monroe. It welcomed its first class in 2020 and has since graduated its third class, 145 new physicians (VCOM-Louisiana). Its students sit COMLEX Level 1 and Level 2-CE, and some add the USMLE for residency applications.

Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine is the newest name on the list. It will teach first- and second-year classes at Benson Tower in the New Orleans BioDistrict and place third- and fourth-year clerkships in Ochsner facilities; Ochsner already trains over 330 residents and fellows a year (Xavier Ochsner FAQ). Its first students will take the USMLE like the other MD schools in the state.

Which board exams Louisiana students take

Tulane, LSU Health New Orleans and LSU Health Shreveport grant the MD, so their students sit the USMLE: Step 1, reported pass/fail since January 26, 2022, then Step 2 CK, then Step 3 after graduation (USMLE).

Edward Via's college in Monroe grants the DO, so its students sit COMLEX-USA: Level 1, Level 2-CE and Level 3 (NBOME).

Louisiana's rules cover both series, so a Monroe graduate and a Tulane graduate share the same four-attempt cap at the later stages (FSMB). Internal medicine residents later face the ABIM exam: 88% of 98 first-time takers from Tulane's program passed in 2023-2025, as did 85% of 84 from LSU Shreveport and 94% of 35 from Baton Rouge General (ABIM).

Louisiana licensing rules that affect your exam plan

Louisiana wants two years of training before a first license, and gives you ten years to complete USMLE or COMLEX (FSMB). Attempts are uncapped at Step 1 and Level 1 and capped at four each for Steps 2 and 3 and Levels 2 and 3 (FSMB).

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

What Louisiana's rules mean for how you study

• Louisiana puts no cap on Step 1 or Level 1, but four unsuccessful attempts at one USMLE Step make you ineligible for every Step, so book Step 1 when practice scores are steady (USMLE eligibility rules, FSMB).
• Louisiana allows four attempts each at Steps 2 and 3 and Levels 2 and 3, so a failed Step 2 CK uses one of four chances; review the miss before you rebook (FSMB).
• Louisiana gives you ten years to complete USMLE or COMLEX, so write your Step 1, Step 2 CK and Step 3 target dates against that window and ask the board when the clock starts (FSMB).
• Edward Via students sit COMLEX, where Louisiana applies the same four-attempt cap to Levels 2 and 3; if you add the USMLE for residency, keep a running count of every attempt on both exams (FSMB).

Many Louisiana students rotate, interview or match next door. Louisiana's neighbors on our list: Arkansas (2 MD, 1 DO), Mississippi (1 MD, 1 DO), Texas (13 MD, 3 DO).

How much Louisiana searches for board prep

Louisiana's strongest Google Trends showing is 'Shelf exam', where it ranks 2nd of 51, ahead of every board-exam term. 'USMLE' ranks 7th, 'USMLE Step 2' 9th and 'USMLE Step 1' 12th, while 'COMLEX' sits 17th (Google Trends, United States, past five years, retrieved October 2026).

Shelf exams are the NBME subject exams students sit at the end of clerkships; see our shelf exam tutoring page.

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