Best Medical Schools in Pennsylvania

The list and details of the best medical schools in Pennsylvania have been provided in this blog post to help facilitate your admission into med schools in the region.

If you are a resident of the Pennsylvania region or considering going there for medical studies, then you will find this article very useful for your admission application into the med schools there. Also, if you haven’t given it a thought, you may start doing so now, as Pennsylvania has some of the best medical schools in the United States guaranteed to offer you world-class medical education.

We will be reviewing all of the medical schools in Pennsylvania here for you to choose the one that suits you best but before getting into that, take a look at the FAQs below.

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How much is a medical school in Pennsylvania?

The cost of medical school in Pennsylvania varies by the medical field you want to get into, the type of student you are (whether you are an international or domestic student), and the med school as well.

However, the cost of medical school in Pennsylvania ranges between $52,049 and $59,910 for domestic or in-state students while for international or out-of-state students, its ranges between $55,121 and $70,212 annually.

Does Pennsylvania have good medical schools?

Pennsylvania sure has good medical schools that will offer you hands-on medical experience and train you to become a qualified medical practitioner. Some of the medical schools include Drexel University College of Medicine, Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, and others.

How many medical schools are in Pennsylvania?

There are 14 medical schools in Pennsylvania

Does Pennsylvania have a state medical school?

Yes, Pennsylvania does have a medical school – the Penn State College of Medicine.

With clarity in order, it is high time we went on to the main subject matter…

7 Best Medical Schools in Pennsylvania

The following are the best medical schools in Pennsylvania along with their details;

1.      Perelman School of Medicine

Perelman School of Medicine, popularly known as Penn Med, is the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania – an Ivy League school – and one of the best medical schools in Pennsylvania, if not the overall best in the region. The medical school was founded in 1765 and is the oldest medical school in the US.

Penn Med offers a wide range of medical education such as Critical Care, Neurosurgery, Radiation Oncology, Dermatology, Pediatrics, Medical Ethics, and Health Policy, Anesthesiology, Ophthalmology, Orthopedic Surgery, Psychiatry, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pharmacology, and more. These courses are taught in any of the school’s four primary teaching hospitals: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Pennsylvania Hospital, and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Official website

2.      Lewis Katz School of Medicine

The Lewis Katz School of Medicine is the medical school of Temple University, established in 1901 and recognized among the best medical schools in Pennsylvania due to its many achievements such as being the first to remove HIV from human cells among other rankings and achievements.

The medical college offers programs in MD, MA, joint programs (MD/MA, MD/Ph.D.), Physician Assistant, Post-baccalaureate, and Narrative Medicine Program. Students are offered hands-on experiential learning through one of the many hospitals partnering with the Katz school.

Official website

3.      The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Popularly known as Pitt Med and nationally recognized for its achievement in biomedical research, it is one of the medical schools in Pennsylvania. Partnering with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, students are able to gain extensive skills and knowledge of modern medical practices and the use of cutting-edge technology in the use of the medical practice.

Just like the other medical schools on this list, the University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine is highly competitive, requiring an average MCAT score of 517 with an average GPA of 3.86. The school covers both a medical program, offering the doctor of medicine, and graduate programs, offering doctor of philosophy and master’s degrees in several areas of biomedical science, clinical research, medical education, and medical informatics.

Official website

4.      Sidney Kimmel Medical College

Established in 1824 and one of the oldest medical schools in the United States, Sidney Kimmel Medical College is the medical school of Thomas Jefferson University. With its newly structured medical program, designed to meet the needs of the modern healthcare field, equipping students with the fundamentals of medicine then providing them with practical education in teaching hospitals to fully sharpen their skills.

Official website

5.      Drexel University College of Medicine

Recognized as the first medical school in the US for women and also the first college of homeopathy in the country, the Drexel University College of Medicine is one of the medical schools in Pennsylvania. It was established in 1848 and offers quality medical education designed to train future physicians in the science and art of medicine. The medical students at Drexel learn to combine cutting-edge technology with the highest level of compassion in the practice of medicine.

Drexel University College of Medicine may not be as competitive as the other medical schools on this list as it is the second most applied medical school in the US.

Official website

6.      Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM)

Founded in 1992 as a private graduate school of medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy conferring degrees in osteopathic medicine (D.O.), pharmacy (PharmD), and dentistry (DMD), as well as master’s degrees in Health Services Administration, Biomedical Sciences, and Medical Education. The medical school offers an accelerated three-year pharmacy program in the country and a distance education program.

With over 2,200 enrolled medical students, the College of Osteopathic Medicine at LECOM is the largest medical school in the United States. The competition here isn’t high either and you may want to consider applying here to gain cutting-edge medical knowledge and skills.

Official website

7.      Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine

This is one of the private medical schools in Pennsylvania, it is established in 2008 and associated with the Geisinger Health System and located in northeastern and north-central Pennsylvania. The school offers a community-based model of medical education and also provides a Doctor of Medicine (MD) Program and a Biomedical Sciences (MBS) Program.

The admission here isn’t so competitive with an MCAT requirement of 511 and an average GPA of 3.66.

Official website

These are the best medical schools in Pennsylvania and this also means that they’d be competitive and costly. Anyways, I have compiled the list of cheapest medical schools in Pennsylvania which can be affordable for you. Keep reading!

5 Cheapest Medical Schools in Pennsylvania

The following are the cheapest medical schools in Pennsylvania listed in no particular order:

#1 Drexel University College of Medicine

On our top list of cheapest medical schools in Pennsylvania is the Drexel University, College of Medicine, and it is also listed above among the best medical schools in Pennsylvania. It’s surprising that the tuition fee of such a school is actually cheap and not only that, it is also the second most-applied medical school in the nation.

The estimated tuition fee per year at Drexel med school is $30,000.

#2 Temple University

The tuition fee difference between Temple and Drexel is huge or it seems Drexel is just really cheap and making Temple seem like the outrageous one. However, when compared to other medical schools in the country you’d see that the cost of Temple University isn’t that outrageous.

Lewis Katz School of Medicine is the medical school of Temple University, and here, residents, that is, permanent residents and citizens of Pennsylvania pay an estimated sum of $55,000 per annum on tuition fees. While Non-residents and international students pay the sum of $58,000 per year.

#3 Pennsylvania State University – College of Medicine

Looks like from here on tuition fees will be in the 50ks and above and sincerely, they are still cheap. Others range from the 80ks to the 100ks, so, this is still kind of cheap. The tuition fee for medical students here is $52,000 per year.

#4 The University of Pittsburg

Pitt Med, as the medical school here is popularly called, is also one of the best and cheapest medical schools in Pennsylvania. Annually, medical students who are residents get to pay an estimated cost of $59,000 and non-residents pay $62,000.

#5 Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine

The  Penn State College of Medicine is one of the cheapest medical schools in Pennsylvania in the country as a whole, allowing both in-state and out-of-state students to pay the same tuition cost. The tuition fee here is $50,534 per year.

So, these are the cheapest medical schools in Pennsylvania, trust me, they aren’t exactly expensive as other top medical schools and they still offer you quality medical education in your specialized field.

Medical Billing and Coding Schools in Pennsylvania

Medical billing and coding is the process of identifying diagnoses, medical tests, treatments, and procedures found in clinical documentation and then transcribing this patient data into standardized codes to bill government and commercial payers for physician reimbursement.

The medical billing and coding program can be completed in four years by earning a bachelor’s degree or nine months to one year if you decide to take a certificate or diploma program in the course. There’s also an associate degree program in medical and billing course which typically takes 2 years to complete.

Medical coders work with licensed physicians and can be a great option for individuals who can’t make it into med school. With this skill you can be earning a huge sum of money annually, ranging from $42,000 to $64,900, the higher your degree, the higher your salary, so, you may want to get a bachelor’s degree for the program and earn higher.

Below is the compiled list of medical billing and coding schools in Pennsylvania that may interest you to apply for.

  • Mercyhurst University
  • Pennsylvania College of Technology
  • Kaplan Career Institute
  • Keystone Technical Institute
  • Luzerne County Community College
  • Montgomery County Community College
  • Pittsburgh Technical Institute
  • Westmoreland County Community College
  • Laurel Technical Institute
  • Lehigh Carbon Community College
  • Institute of Medical Centers
  • Drexel University
  • Butler County Community College
  • Bucks County Community College
  • Pierce College
  • Fortis Institute
  • Delaware County Community College
  • Berks Technical Institute
  • McCann School of Business & Technology
  • Lansdale School of Business
  • Northampton County Area Community College
  • Reading Area Community College

Some of these institutions offer online and distance learning education of medical billing and coding programs. You can decide to pursue a diploma, certificate, associate degree, or bachelor’s degree in the program, whichever works better for you.

Before applying for this program you must have completed high school and earned your diploma or a GED in a science course such as biology, chemistry, physics, and sometimes, math. To become a licensed medical biller and coder, you must take an exam that will assess your skill and knowledge of the course, if you get a satisfactory score then you can earn your license.

List of all Medical Schools in Pennsylvania

All medical schools in Pennsylvania are:

  • Perelman School of Medicine
  • Atlantic School of Osteopathy
  • Drexel University College of Medicine
  • Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
  • Eclectic Medical College of Pennsylvania
  • Jefferson Medical College
  • Lewis Katz School of Medicine
  • The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
  • Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Philadelphia School of Anatomy
  • Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Penn Medical University
  • Penn State University College of Medicine

These are all the medical schools in Pennsylvania, and if you want more, you may want to check the recommendations below.

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