Yes. The Donald and Vera Blinken FlexMed Program allows college sophomores in any major to apply for early assurance of acceptance to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Please refer to FlexMed requirements for mandatory courses.

No. This program is specifically designed for students entering their second year of college as a full-time student at a four-year university, working toward their first bachelor's degree with two years of college remaining after acceptance. If you are in a five-year undergraduate program, you can apply either in your second or third year of college. You are not eligible to apply if you already hold a bachelor's degree.

Yes. We expect students to apply during the fall semester of the second year of full-time study at their college or university, irrespective of how many college-level credits they received in high school.

Applicants to FlexMed must be a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident pursuing their first bachelor’s degree at an accredited four-year college or university in the United States or Canada with two years of college remaining after acceptance.

Yes. You do not need to repeat introductory biology, but you must take a year of college biology. Molecular content is required. We recommend choosing biology courses which will best prepare you for medical school, such as cell biology, molecular biology, genetics, physiology, immunology, etc.

Yes. Prior to matriculation, you are required to complete a year of lab in biology and/or chemistry.

We do not require that you complete the college biology or chemistry courses at your undergraduate institution. However, you should take these courses at an institution that is an accredited four-year college of similar quality to your undergraduate institution.

If you plan to take the required coursework at another institution, you must receive approval from our leadership team. We additionally recommend that you consider courses that will provide you with the requisite background for medical school, such as biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, pharmacology, cell biology, physiology, microbiology, immunobiology, etc.

No. You do not need to complete all the required courses before applying. For both FlexMed and the U.S. Military Institutional Partnership, you need to have completed two semesters of college biology or chemistry prior to the application deadline of the academic year you apply. If accepted, you must complete the remaining courses before matriculating. Please review our Early Assurance application requirements for more information on eligibility criteria.

Yes. Applicants must have taken the ACT and/or SAT to apply.

Yes. Applicants must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.5 (or equivalent) or higher to apply. Please review our Early Assurance application requirements for more information.

You are encouraged to provide one letter from a high school teacher or guidance counselor, one from a college professor or faculty advisor, and the third from other academic and/or professional references, such as research mentors and supervisors. A letter from professors or faculty in the sciences should be highly considered.

Recommendation letters should provide the MD Admissions Committee with insight into the applicant’s motivation for a career in medicine.

We fully endorse the guidance provided in the AMCAS 2026 Applicant Guide (“You may use artificial intelligence tools for brainstorming, proofreading, or editing your essays; however, it is essential that the final submission accurately reflects your own work and experiences.”) and add the following for amplification of the AMCAS message and for context:

We hope that your application will help us to get to know you and understand how you might fit within our medical school community. Therefore, it is most important that we hear from you and in your voice. Relying on generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools (such as ChatGPT) will result in less authentic writing that does not showcase your unique attributes or personal narrative or help us get to know you as an individual. In following the AMCAS guidelines, if you choose to use generative AI in your application process, we expect you to do so ethically. Ethical uses of generative AI include researching medical schools, brainstorming essay topics, and reviewing the grammar and spelling of your completed application. Unethical uses include (but are not limited to) using generative AI to outline, draft, or write your essays and experience descriptions, copying and pasting directly from an AI generator, and translating an essay written in another language.

No. Only selected applicants will be invited for interviews at the Icahn Mount Sinai.

There is not one thing to do to set your application apart; every applicant is unique. We are looking for applicants to tell us their story/path to medicine and attributes that would make you an excellent future physician.

Integrity, professionalism and authenticity are fundamental expectations of the admissions process at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. We fully endorse the guidance provided in the AMCAS 2026 Applicant Guide regarding the use of artificial intelligence tools in the application process.

However, to preserve the fairness and integrity of the interview process, ISMMS does not allow interviewees to use any form of artificial intelligence during their interview. This includes using AI-generated scripts, real-time response aids, or tools that process and answer live interview questions. We are committed to preserving the authenticity of your personal voice and ensuring that each applicant’s responses reflect their own thoughts and experiences.

Please refer to our Early Assurance application timeline for more information.

Once you accept our offer of admission, you are required to sign a formal written agreement demonstrating your commitment to making the Icahn School your future home for medical education. Should you eventually choose not to attend, you may do so without penalty. If you choose to apply to another medical school and/or take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), your acceptance into the Early Assurance Program will be revoked.

As part of your admission, 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 access current tuition rates through the Office of Student Financial Services.

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai awards financial aid to all students who demonstrate financial need. Financial need is determined by our institutional need analysis formula, which calculates the difference between your available resources and total anticipated school-related and basic living expenses for a given academic year. Early Assurance students should apply for financial aid in the winter prior to matriculation.

Students applying for federal student loans, need-based loans from the Icahn School, and scholarships, must complete the FAFSA application, CSS profile, andand our financial aid application. In addition, applicants must provide year appropriate financial documentation to determine eligibility for financial assistance. To complete these forms, students should access our Office of Student Financial Services.

If it is imperative that you compare financial aid packages from different schools, it may be in your best interest to apply through the traditional application process.

Your application to the Early Assurance Program does not require an AMCAS application—however, matriculation to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai does. If you are accepted into one of our Early Assurance Programs, 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 but will not be required to pay the supplemental application fee. Please note that completing these applications does not imply that you are reapplying to medical school.

If you are accepted into the FlexMed or U.S. Military Institutional Partnership program, you have a guaranteed acceptance into our MD program provided that you adhere to all requirements, including:

• You maintain the high standards of your present credentials, including a cumulative grade point average of 3.5, cumulative Science (biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics) GPA of 3.6 or higher, and receive your bachelor's degree.
• You are not disciplined for any unprofessional/unethical behavior.
• You promptly respond to all deadlines from the Icahn School.
• You are physically and emotionally capable of meeting the rigorous demands of medical school.

Please review our Early Assurance application requirements for more information.

At the time of application to either of our Early Assurance Programs, you are only considered for admission into the MD Program. That said, admitted students with an exceptional track record in research and strong evidence of science coursework may apply to the MD-PhD Program in the year prior to matriculation, within the same pool as traditional MD-PhD applicants.

If you are admitted to one of our Early Assurance Programs and are interested in applying to the MD-PhD Program in the future, you should contact our Early Assurance leadership for further advisement.

Please note that Early Assurance acceptance does not guarantee admission to the MD-PhD Program. If pursuing a career as a physician-scientist with a dual MD-PhD in biomedical science is critically important to your professional goals, it may be in your best interest to apply through our traditional process.

Information regarding student housing, student government, and a list of student organizations and services is provided through our Student Life and Resources. Additionally, you’ll have the opportunity to meet students representing these organizations throughout the planned events of orientation.

There are many ways that students create community here on campus and in the East Harlem community. We have 100+ student groups, various community-engagement and advocacy opportunities, and inclusive on campus student housing.

Students are centered in our learning environment and participate on all decision making committees - including curriculum, student advancement and promotion and admissions.

Every student receives a career and wellness advisor in their first year of medical school. Career advisors assist students in adjusting to medical school, advice on courses to take/specialty’s to look at, and residency applications/interviews. Wellness advisors and the IcahnBeWell program are put in place to improve the well-being of every student. To learn more about the IcahnBeWell Wellness Program and our Career advisors, please see the links below.

https://icahn.mssm.edu/education/students/health
https://icahn.mssm.edu/education/students

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is a medical school that grew out of a hospital. Because of this, our medical students are exposed to clinical experience and patient interaction early on in their medical education journey. As a medical student here, you will have access to our entire health system to volunteer, shadow, conduct research and find mentors.

We have a robust student affairs / student support infrastructure. Each student has a career advisor and peer advising. We also have a Director of Programs and Resources for Academic Excellence and a Learning Coach that work with students to ensure they have academic success.

We foster a sense of belonging among students from various backgrounds through a robust network of affinity and student groups, alongside institutional support structures.

We have a large range of affinity groups that provide safe spaces for students to connect over shared identities, experiences and interests. These groups are instrumental in promoting inclusivity and community engagement among our student body.