McKinsey & Company Academic Partnership

Our goal at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) is to create a learning environment that attracts the widest possible diversity of the greatest talent to the field of medicine. We have a proven record of developing novel pathways to medical education. This collaboration with McKinsey & Company allows us to recruit candidates to medical school who will be given the opportunity to acquire, or have already acquired, an impeccable credential in business, finance, leadership, as well as having demonstrated teamwork skills required of health care leaders. There are three distinct pathways by which to access the benefits of this partnership.

MD/Management Consulting Program

(Scholarly Year for Current ISMMS Medical Students)

About one-third of third-year medical students at ISMMS choose to take a scholarly leave of absence to pursue other academic interests before completing medical studies. Now, as a third-year ISMMS student, you have the opportunity to apply to McKinsey's two-year paid Fellowship in Health Care Consulting before returning for your fourth and final year of medical school. As an MD fellow, you will serve on client project teams alongside traditional consultants, gaining broad exposure to the business challenges and operations of the health care sector. You will have many opportunities to develop and expand your business acumen.

After completing the two years as an analyst and the fourth year of medical school, if you have done well at McKinsey you will have the option of applying to join the firm full-time or continuing on to residency training.

For more information, contact the ISMMS Medical Student Research Office.

Business Analyst Pathway

If you have completed two years at McKinsey and have an outstanding undergraduate academic record, you will have the opportunity to apply to ISMMS without the traditional science qualifications or sitting for the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT). The initiative encourages talented analysts from any academic discipline to apply to the early assurance program at ISMMS.

Please review admission requirements below. If you have additional questions or are interested in applying to ISMMS, please contact the ISMMS Office of Admissions.

Frequently Asked Questions

The application opens in mid-August and the deadline to submit an application is November 15.

Applicants who apply for admission through the McKinsey/ISMMS Business Analyst Pathway must have the following completed prior to applying:

  • Endorsement from McKinsey
  • Two semesters of college Biology, two semesters of college Chemistry, or two semesters of college Physics
  • Involved in an impactful role on a healthcare-related project
  • Standardized testing (SAT or ACT)
  • Bachelor Degree from an accredited college or university

Applicants who are offered early assurance (admitted) to ISMMS, must meet the following requirements prior to matriculating to ISMMS:

  • Two semesters of Biology
  • Two semesters of Chemistry
  • One semester of Physics
  • Two semesters of laboratory work in any science
  • Leadership of a consulting project in healthcare policy, industry, finance, innovation, or entrepreneurship
  • 100-hours of clinical work any time since starting college

Your application to the McKinsey & Company Academic Partnership does not require an AMCAS application; however, matriculation to our institution does. If you are accepted into the program, you will be asked to fill out an AMCAS application during the year preceding your matriculation. At that time, you will also be required to complete our supplemental application, with the exception of the essay questions. You will not be required to pay the supplemental application fee. Completing these applications is a clerical necessity and does not imply that you are reapplying to medical school. Once you are accepted into the pathway, you are accepted into medical school.

We require three letters of recommendation. Typically, applicants request letters from:

  • Endorsement from your supervisor
  • College professor/faculty advisor
  • Other person who knows you well academically or professionally. This person could be another teacher/professor, employer, etc.

Once you are accepted into the pathway, you are accepted into medical school but there are no tuition fees until you matriculate. Tuition is based on the individual years in which you enroll, and may differ from year to year. You may view current tuition rates in our Tuition and Financial Aid section.