Many prospective medical students do not realize that podiatrists, physicians and surgeons who treat the foot, ankle, and structures of the leg below the knee, do not attend allopathic or osteopathic medical schools. Rather, these doctors attend a specialized program in podiatric medicine and receive a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM) degree.
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Podiatric programs cost less than MD and DO programs.
All podiatric residencies are surgical (as opposed to DO and MD residencies), and the residencies are shorter in length (3 years). Podiatrists can also opt to extend their training and specialize further.
Podiatric programs, while competitive, tend to have more forgiving admissions requirements (MCAT and GPA), than MD or DO programs. In 2021, the American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine (AACPM) reported that the mean overall GPA for matriculants was 3.4 (Science: 3.2, Non-Science: 3.5), and the mean MCAT was 494.3.
Graduates of DPM programs enter a secure, lucrative field that provides a solid work-life balance, with a humane number of working hours per week.
There are 11 accredited podiatry schools and the AACPM website is an excellent resource for information on them. They have breakdowns of each school's mission, special programs and services, demographics, and social media handles. We’ve included the list of schools below, along with average MCAT scores and GPAs for matriculants.
*Data reflects 2021 matriculating class
If you are interested in podiatric medicine and want to apply, you should plan to submit your application in August or early fall the year before you hope to matriculate (which will be your senior year if you plan to enter after graduation). AACPMAS begins processing primary applications in August for fall admission the following year. For priority consideration, AACPMAS says you should submit before March. While the final application deadline date is June 30th for fall admission of the same year, we don’t typically recommend submitting your application so late in the cycle.