SI MedSchool is a comprehensive, plain-language guide to U.S. medical school — organized by topic, not by audience. Applying and admissions, the MCAT, how grading works, the Step exams, the residency match, and the national data behind it all: AAMC applicant and matriculant tables, NBME performance data, NRMP match outcomes. Every figure cited with year and source — built so that students, faculty, advisors, admissions and curriculum committees, and anyone else can find the data, analysis, and feedback useful.
Unofficial guide. This site is independent — not affiliated with the AAMC, NBME, USMLE, LCME, or NRMP — and is not advice from a counselor. Dates, fees, and requirements change; always confirm current-year details on the official sites (see Resources). All data pages use public national data only — no school-specific data anywhere.
Why this exists
Commercial prep companies charge a fortune for exam tools built on the same public data anyone can read. This hub takes a different route: everything here is built from public data and original work — NRMP Charting Outcomes, NBME and AAMC published performance reports, peer-reviewed validity research, and content written fresh for this site. No paywalls, no proprietary question banks, no borrowed predictor algorithms.
That's why you'll find a match explorer running on the NRMP's own published tables, a Step estimator that shows you its entire methodology, and practice questions that are 100% original and free forever. The knowledge behind the exams belongs to everyone studying for them.
Getting in
The application timeline month by month — primary, secondaries, interviews, decisions — plus what admissions committees actually evaluate, the DO and Texas pathways, and gap-year planning.
See the timeline →GPA, the MCAT, clinical experience, service, leadership, research, letters, essays, and interviews — how admissions committees weigh the whole file.
Read the breakdown →What the MCAT covers and how it's scored (472–528), how long to study, and the prep principles that work — content review, passage practice, and full-length exams under timed conditions.
Plan your prep →The official sources worth bookmarking: the AAMC, the application services, school-search databases, and official MCAT materials — each with a note on what it's for.
Browse resources →Getting through
How medical school grading works in general terms: pass/fail preclinical years, tiered clinical grading, class rank, and AOA — national patterns only, no school-specific data.
Understand grading →What Step 1 (pass/fail) and Step 2 CK (scored) mean for you, why Step 2 is the score residency programs see, and links to the dedicated SI exam resources.
Learn about the Steps →Free, 100% original Step-style questions with full explanations — written for this site, not from any exam or commercial bank.
Practice free →Eighteen questions answered plainly: when to apply, gap years, how many schools, reapplying, DO vs. MD, costs, MCAT scores, grading, and the Step exams.
Read the FAQs →The numbers
The national Step pass rates and score norms that define the playing field — every figure cited with year and source.
See the numbers →Enter your MCAT and preclinical performance for a benchmark-based estimate of Step 1 pass likelihood and projected Step 2 CK range — with full methodology.
Try the estimator →What Step 2 CK scores actually matched to each specialty in the 2024 NRMP Charting Outcomes — observed rates by score band, all 16 specialties.
Explore the match data →Trends & national data
Admissions committees, curriculum committees, assessment staff — and any student who wants the big picture — need the same public facts, organized for analysis: reading a funnel, placing a cohort against the nation, and improving outcomes over time. Everything here is built from published AAMC, NBME, and NRMP data, with year and source on every number. No school-specific data anywhere.
The national public record in one place — what this data section offers, how to read it, and the ground rules for using benchmarks well.
Explore the data →National applicant and matriculant volumes, acceptance rates, and GPA/MCAT distributions from AAMC FACTS — tables with year and source on every figure.
See the funnel data →National Step 1 and Step 2 CK pass-rate trends, what "distance from national average" means, and how committees use cohort trends for continuous improvement.
Track the trends →Choosing comparison groups, denominator discipline, and small-n caution — how to use national data without letting it misuse you.
Read the guidance →Which AAMC tables to pull, how often benchmarks update, how to present funnel data to leadership, and more questions about the national data answered.
Read the FAQs →The journey in brief
Getting in. The application cycle starts the spring before your application year: one primary application in early summer, school-specific secondaries through the summer, interviews in fall and winter, rolling acceptances from mid-October. Apply early — rolling admissions rewards it. (Timeline · what schools look for)
Getting through the MCAT. The exam is scored 472–528 across four sections; most students prepare three to five months, building content knowledge, then passage practice, then timed full-length exams. The AAMC's official materials are the backbone. (MCAT prep)
Getting through medical school. Expect pass/fail grading in the preclinical years at most schools, tiered grading (honors/high pass/pass/fail) in clerkships, then Step 1 (pass/fail) and Step 2 CK (scored — the number residency programs see). (Grades · Step exams)
The one principle: at every stage — applying, MCAT, clerkships, Steps — the system rewards starting early and showing up consistently. Everything else on this site is detail around that habit.
The SI med-ed universe
The flagship portal — the front door to the whole SI med-ed family, linking every hub in one place.
simeded.pages.dev →The LCME accreditation hub for faculty and staff — what SI MedSchool is to students, SILME is to the educators who run the schools.
silcme.pages.dev →The exam-series hub: the full USMLE picture, timing, and how the pieces fit together.
siusmle.pages.dev →Preparing for the pass/fail Step 1: study approach, resources, and how to know you're ready.
sistep1.pages.dev →Step 2 CK strategy: clinical reasoning, shelf exams, and the score residency programs see.
sistep2.pages.dev →The cross-exam hub: MCAT through Step 3, and how each exam connects to the next stage of training.
simedexams.pages.dev →Who it's for
Planning coursework, extracurriculars, and MCAT timing — see what the finished picture looks like, then work backward.
Navigating the cycle: primaries, secondaries, interviews, and decisions — with the timeline that keeps you on schedule.
Understanding grading, preparing for the Steps, and seeing how each stage connects to the next one.
Advising students with the national picture behind you — funnel data, score norms, and match outcomes, all cited with year and source.
Placing your pipeline and your outcomes against national benchmarks — see trends & national data.
Why it exists
The official services publish the facts — dates, fees, requirements — but they don't always explain how the whole machine fits together. This site is a plain-language map of the student journey: getting in, the MCAT, how grading works, and the Step exams. It is independent and unofficial. It doesn't replace a pre-health advisor or a medical school's own resources — but it should make the journey feel navigable instead of mysterious.