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For an exceptional premed student applying to medical school, the array of choices can be staggering. Many familiar, old guard names are likely to come up in your search—Harvard, Yale, Johns Hopkins, and so on. Now applicants have a new institution to add to their lists: the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, where the inaugural class matriculated in July 2020.
Located in Pasadena, a few miles from Los Angeles, Kaiser Permanente Medical School has a strong focus on patient care, taking advantage of six clinical locations in Southern California. You may have heard of Kaiser Permanente, which has had residency programs since 1946, and offers health insurance and healthcare facilities, primarily in the western U.S.
Kaiser Permanente Medical School is also notable because it promised to waive all four years of tuition for each of its first five classes. The prospect of a tuition-free MD alone made Kaiser Permanente a more-than-appealing option for graduating premeds from 2019 through 2024. However applicants applying in the 2024–2025 cycle onward will need to be informed about the full cost of attendance at Kaiser, as well as the effect that the expiration of the free tuition program might have on acceptance rates.
In this guide, we’ll provide the information you need to get into Kaiser Permanante Medical School, including admissions statistics, requirements, and advice and examples to help you tackle Kaiser’s secondary essays.
Kaiser Permanente offers several combined degree opportunities, in addition to the MD. Additional doctoral and master’s degrees are offered in partnership with other institutions in Southern California, and students must apply and be accepted at both schools.
Here are the paths via which you can earn an MD at Kaiser Permanente Medical School:
Kaiser Permanente Medical School pledged to waive all four years of tuition and fees (including health insurance) for its first five classes—through the 2024 entering class. Students included in those cohorts are still expected to cover the cost of their living expenses, which are estimated at about $38,380.
Matriculants entering Kaiser in the fall of 2025 will be the first to not be covered by the tuition waiver. As such, applicants in 2024 onward should be prepared to cover their own annual tuition, living expenses, and health insurance costs. Tuition is currently estimated at $61,494 per year, and health coverage at $6,725. In addition, Kaiser notes that most costs are subject to a 3 percent increase each year, so paying cohorts should expect to pay more with each year.
However, a variety of scholarships, loans, and grants are available to eligible admitted students, and Kaiser Permanente has a Financial Aid Officer to help you determine your eligibility.
Though the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine is a recent addition to the medical school landscape, the admissions statistics are striking. They accept 48–50 students per class, and the promise to waive tuition has attracted upwards of 7,700 applicants in the most recent application cycle. It’s possible that the expiration of the tuition waiver program could lead to a drop in the number of applications for the 2024–2025 cycle, but applicants should still expect the competition to be fierce.
Who are the students that make the Kaiser cut? Here are some admissions statistics for Kaiser Medical School’s most recent class, the class of 2027:
There are no minimum requirements for GPA and MCAT scores, according to their admissions website. However, based on the admissions data above, we can see that the average GPA and MCAT scores are relatively high. Applicants can assume, based on the class size (48–50 spots), that Kaiser Permanente’s standards will be selective and rigorous, as is the case for most California medical schools.
Kaiser Permanente lists the following required coursework:
In addition, courses in organic chemistry and biochemistry, calculus, statistics, public health (e.g. population health or epidemiology), and foreign language are recommended.
To apply to Kaiser Medical School in the 2024–2025 application cycle, you’ll need to submit an MCAT score earned between July 2022 and September 2024.
Their admissions website stresses, however, that each applicant will be considered holistically, and that admissions officers will look not only at your grades and test scores but also at your achievements in context. They’ll want to understand who you are, what you started with, and how you made the best of your opportunities. There’s no better place to showcase these qualitative aspects of your application than in your secondary essays.
You’ll submit your application to Kaiser Permanente Medical School via AMCAS. Here is a timeline of dates you’ll need to be aware of during the admissions process.
Kaiser Medical School employs rolling admissions, so you should plan to submit your primary and secondary applications as early as possible without sacrificing quality. Kaiser does not pre-screen for its secondary application, so all applicants who complete the AMCAS application will be invited to complete the secondary application as well.
With your AMCAS application behind you, you can devote your energy to crafting exceptional secondary essays. These essays tell the story of who you are in a way that can’t be accomplished with grades and test scores alone, and for this reason, they’re a vital part of your Kaiser Permanente Medical School application.
The 2024–2025 Kaiser secondary prompts are listed below, as well as strategies and sample essays.
Question 1: During your career as a physician, you will likely encounter obstacles, and be required to overcome challenges. Please describe your experience with a situation that had an unfavorable outcome, including your reaction, how you might have responded differently, and what you learned about yourself. (250 words)
This is similar to the standard “adversity prompt,” which we cover in our guide to secondary essays. The difference is that, rather than ask how you overcame an obstacle, this prompt asks how you dealt with “an unfavorable outcome” and grew as a person because of it. Instead of asking for an example of success, as one would expect, it asks essentially for an example of disappointment. This is tricky, as there are obvious pitfalls to admitting an unfavorable outcome.
As with the standard adversity prompt, admissions officers want to see that you’ve handled obstacles and disappointments with grace, and that you emerged a better, wiser person after these experiences. Obviously, you don’t want to list an unfavorable outcome that makes you look really bad or negligent.
But disappointing outcomes are par for the course in the medical field, and how you deal with them will be an important part of what makes you an exceptional physician. Your focus with this prompt should be on your growth as a person—“what you learned about yourself”—rather than the unfavorable outcome itself.
Here's an example:
For the past few years, I’ve volunteered for Mountain Spices, a community garden in Denver. We work with local food banks and community organizers, delivering fresh produce in warmer months to low-income residents, as well as advocating for plant-based diets. During my first year, I grew close to Hector, a program recipient, and his Boston terrier, Kermit. Hector was in his 50s and had diabetes. His left leg had been amputated, and he was wheelchair-bound. We delivered to him three times a month, discussing how a plant-based diet could improve health outcomes and help him manage his diabetes.
Hector was one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. We talked about the Broncos, which he loved and, if his delivery was at the end of my route, I accompanied him and Kermit outside for fresh air. I hoped we could help Hector change his situation, and while we did improve his quality of life, enabling him to manage his diabetes better, he passed away within a year. His death broke my heart. I saw that our intervention had been “too late,” which made me determined to become involved in patients’ lives earlier, on personal and population levels. Nevertheless, I also understood that, as a healthcare professional, sometimes the most you can do is help manage an existing illness, and I want to be the best physician I can be for that, too. I will bring this understanding of delivering unique and person-centered care to Kaiser.
What makes this a good response?
Question 2: Kaiser Permanente is committed to advancing equity, inclusion, and diversity for all. How will you contribute to the diversity of the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine? (250 words)
Question 3: Lifelong learning is an essential process for continued professional development. This includes reflection and being open and responsive to constructive feedback. Please tell us about an area of intellectual exploration you’re passionate about, and your approach to exploring this area. (250 words)
Question 4: Based on your own experiences, how do you believe an understanding of the social determinants of health can be applied to address social justice issues within healthcare? (250 words)
Question 5: (Optional) Have you previously applied to medical school? If yes, please describe your accomplishments since you last applied that would promote your acceptance? (250 words)
