Complete Guide to Texas Medical School Applications

August 17


Table of Contents

The application process for medical schools in Texas differs from that for medical colleges in the rest of the United States. Incredible medical centers on the cutting edge of medicine and medical institutions with beautiful campuses and world-class education can be found in Texas.

There are even more potential benefits for Texans, including affordable tuition, higher acceptance rates, and earlier notification of acceptance.

Suppose you are planning to enroll in a medical school in Texas. In that case, this article will guide you through the specifics of the TMDSAS medical school application process.

What is Texas Medical and Dental Schools Application Service (TMDSAS)? 

The Texas Medical and Dental Schools Application Service (TMDSAS) is the primary application processing service for Texas public medical, dental, and veterinary institutions. It has benefited applicants and participating institutions since its inception.

Applicants can submit a single application to multiple institutions for a flat fee. 

The participating institutions receive an application for the TMDSAS that has been reviewed for integrity and uniformly interpreted following state admissions laws.

What are the TMDSAS Participating Medical Schools?

There are numerous reasons why Texas's medical school is an attractive option for many students. 

Notably, Texas medical colleges have relatively low tuition rates, particularly for out-of-state students and out-of-state students.

In addition, Texas has a low cost of living, and many Texas medical institutions have excellent reputations and support diverse communities throughout the state.

Below is a list of medical schools in Texas that use the TMDSAS application:

Medical Schools in Texas:

Dental Schools in Texas

Veterinary  Schools in Texas

TMDSAS Application Timeline

Once you press the submit button, the assignment is placed in a queue. TMDSAS examines the application. They examine how students have categorized their courses.

The application is then transmitted to medical institutions via a separate queue. The season will determine how long it takes TMDSAS to submit school applications.

For your reference, here is the TMDSAS timeline to help you with your application.

  • May 1 – Applications open
  • August 1 – Deadline for Early Decision Program (EDP) application
  • September 15 – Deadline for EDP transcripts, letters, and test scores
  • October 15 – Med schools start releasing offers of acceptance
  • October 30 – Deadline for med and dental application
  • November 15 – Deadline for letters of evaluation
  • December 15 – Dental schools start releasing offers of acceptance
  • February 19 – Deadline for Ranking of School Preference submission
  • March 5 – Match outcomes are announced, and the rolling admissions period starts
  • April 30 – Applicants with multiple acceptances must choose one program and withdraw from the others

How to Apply to Medical Schools with TMDSAS?

Tmdsas Application Registration

Source: TMDSAS Official Website

TMDSAS transmits every available data point to each Texas medical institution. The medical colleges are then responsible for loading whatever information they desire into their admissions system.

This differs between schools. TMDSAS is communicating with medical institutions, so they have access to all of its data.

Below is a comprehensive explanation of details you need when applying to Texas medical schools using TMDSAS.

Section 1: TMDSAS Applicant History and Personal Information

The initial stage in completing your TMDSAS application is to provide your personal and background information. 

This consists of the following:

  • A photograph of yourself
  • Includes legal name, phone number, email address, and mailing address.
  • Information relative to demographics
  • Socioeconomic knowledge and language proficiency
  • Military obligation
  • Family information – indicate if you have a parent who is a physician or if you have any practicing dentists in your immediate family.
  • Financial information
  • Felonies and infractions

You will be considered a reapplicant if you have previously completed and submitted a TMDSAS application. 

Your previous application materials will not carry over, and you must submit an entirely new application. This includes submitting your evaluation letters and transcripts again.

If you have already submitted your MCAT or DAT score to TMDSAS, you do not need to resubmit it. You have not been deemed a reapplicant if your application was never offered or was withdrawn during processing.

Section 2: TMDSAS Education History and Coursework

You may arrange for transcripts so long as they appear in an official, sealed envelope from the school's registrar within one year. 

You can submit an official request for transcripts to your educational institution(s) via the application system using the TMDSAS Transcript Request Form.

Please do not submit your transcripts until TMDSAS sends you a request for them. Otherwise, they will be discarded.

Additionally, TMDSAS requests that you include information on all institutions attended, coursework, grades indicated on your transcript, and credit hours. 

This section also contains a space for information on any disciplinary action, violation of conduct, or similar institutional punitive action that may be present in your permanent/academic record.

Each TMDSAS institution may have distinct minimum GPA and MCAT score requirements

Suppose you are applying to specific medical schools in Texas. In that case, you can use MSAR to ascertain which schools you are eligible to attend.

Section 3: TMDSAS Employment and Activities

There are varying regulations for filling out your activities and descriptions of those activities depending on the program to which you apply: Medical, Dental, or Veterinary.

The majority of the application process up to this point is universal across programs, so you must be very careful to follow the program-specific instructions moving forward. 

To assist you in focusing your efforts as you prepare your medical school application, we will highlight aspects unique to medical school applicants.

TMDSAS Medical and Dental School Applicants

Since graduating from high school, you may list employment, extracurricular activities, and awards. You may submit unlimited entries, but each access is limited to 300 characters.

When filling out your Employment and Activities sections, include all relevant activities from when you graduated high school until the present. It would also help to exclude pauses longer than three months.

Each activity must be categorized and include full details, such as your function or title, pertinent start and end dates, location information, and hours.

TMDSAS Veterinary School Applicants

Applicants to veterinary schools can list activities from the outset of their high school careers. 

For activity entries, the same rules and formatting apply, but there are two additional categories for vet school applicants:

  • Veterinary Supervised Experience - This incorporates clinical, agribusiness, and health science experiences with veterinarians. Includes voluntary, paid, or academic affairs.
  • Animal experience - This includes pet ownership (over 100 hours), farm and ranch experiences, 4-H membership, animal training, boarding kennel labor, and other activities. Indicate only if your experience was not supervised by a veterinarian.

Section 4: TMDSAS Chronology of Activities

It is important to note that the TMDSAS application system will automatically generate a "Chronology of Activities" as you input your employment and activities information. 

The Chronology of Activities is a summary document with the school information. Only the initial 50 characters (including spaces) of your activity description are transferred to this document. Therefore, it is essential to structure the information you provide strategically, emphasizing the most important aspects of your activity description in the first 50 characters.

Schools can access the complete description of each activity in your application. Still, this summary serves as an enticing cover sheet to encourage a thorough examination of your actions. 

It would be best if you also were strategic about which information you highlight in each entry. Doing so will make this summary provide a complete picture of your activities, employment, and other experiences. 

Remember that you can modify your Chronology of Activities by deleting or revising entries until you are satisfied with the outline. 

Once the data from your activities have been imported into the Chronology of Activities, you can view a calendar displaying your timeline. You can note any gaps in your chronology and add items to complete them in this section. Any hiatus exceeding three months must be addressed.

Section 5: TMDSAS Letters of Evaluation

The types of acceptable recommendation letters for medical school depend on the program you are enrolling in. 

In general, however, these letters are composed of evaluators (sometimes called "referees") who know you well and can evaluate you academically and personally.

Most evaluators will be professors who can speak to your discipline-specific competencies, academic achievements and strengths, general collegiality, etc. 

Each evaluation letter must be on official letterhead, containing the evaluator's contact information (phone number and/or email address), the evaluator's signature, the applicant's name, and the date.

The letter will not be considered part of your application if any of these requirements are unmet.

Section 6: TMDSAS Test Scores

TMDSAS requires your scores from the following standardized tests:

MCAT

Every medical school program in Texas requires applicants to take the MCAT. Your MCAT score must be within the past five years to be eligible.

The only exception is if you are applying to Baylor College of Medicine, which has a three-year MCAT score cutoff.

Plan carefully when to take the MCAT to ensure your scores are genuine, as scores from within the enrollment year will not be accepted. 

Check the most recent MCAT test and release dates for planning purposes. 

Applicants must request that TMDSAS receive their scores as soon as they become available.

DAT

In Texas, dental institutions require the DAT for admission. 

Your DAT score cannot be more than five years old. 

To ensure the timely processing of your scores, it is recommended that you take the DAT in the spring or summer before applying. This is because dental schools begin extending acceptance offers in December.

MCAT vs. DAT: What's the Difference?

GRE

GRE applicants to veterinary schools are not required to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). 

Still, they may submit their scores if they choose. Like the MCAT, your GRE scores can be sent to TMDSAS online. Your GRE scores are valid only if earned within the past five years.

GRE vs. MCAT: What's the Difference?

Section 7: TMDSAS Essays

In the personal essay, you must explain why you wish to pursue a medical, dentistry, or veterinary vocation. 

It would help if you described how your experiences have prepared you for a career as a physician.

Your personal statement should be a coherent account of how and why you chose to pursue a medical career. 

Your personal statement will include an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion, much like an academic essay.

Section 8: TMDSAS Residency Status

The Texas legislature places a 10% cap on the number of non-residents admitted to each medical institution in the state. Therefore, you will be classified as a "resident" or "non-resident" of Texas during the application period. Then, you will be placed in a pool of applicants.

Not all schools and programs that use TMDSAS will evaluate and consider international applicants. Some will only review and consider U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents. 

In addition, whether or not you are a Texas resident will impact the evaluation of your application and the medical school tuition you will pay if accepted.

Section 9: TMDSAS Secondary Applications

After submitting your primary TMDSAS, you must submit your secondary essays separately to each medical school. Fees, supplemental materials, and other secondary application components must be sent directly to the institutions, not through TMDSAS.

Each TMDSAS-participating medical school will have its own secondary application process. 

Remember that you are responsible for your secondary responsibilities. Some institutions will email you an invitation to submit the secondary application, while others will not provide any notification.

To submit your secondary application to ensure these institutions, you must create your own login account. 

Do not wait for email invitations from institutions before submitting your application.

Additional FAQs – Guide to TMDSAS Application

How Much is the TMDSAS Application Fee?

The application fee for the TMDSAS is USD 200. This is regardless of the number of institutions to which you apply.

How Long Does it Take for TMDSAS to Process My Application?

TMDSAS typically requires two to four weeks to process a submitted application. 

Nevertheless, processing can take up to six weeks during the peak applicant season. 

Once your application has been processed, you will receive an email. Remember to check your emails more often during this period.

How Does the TMDSAS Match Work?

Through the TMDSAS Match, pre-match proposals are finalized, and remaining open medical school seats are filled. 

The TMDSAS Match is only available to Texas residents who apply to medical school through the TMDSAS. 

Assuming you meet these requirements, the TMDSAS Match operates as follows. First, you will rank the medical institutions you were interviewed in order of preference. 

In turn, medical institutions rank the applicants they have interviewed. 

Then, considering both lists, the Match system attempts to pair you with the school you prefer the most, assuming that the school has also ranked you highly.

Do I Need to Live in Texas to Apply for TMDSAS?

No. You are not required to reside in Texas to apply to a Texas medical school. 

However, your chances of acceptance increase dramatically if you are from Texas.

You're no longer alone on your journey to becoming a physician

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