(Note: We recommend using this resource alongside our free, 102-page comprehensive guide to medical school applications, Get Into Medical School: 6 Practical Lessons to Stand Out and Earn Your White Coat.)
If you’re gearing up to apply to U.S. medical schools, you’re probably familiar with AMCAS, the centralized application system that you can use to apply to nearly any med school in the country. But, if you’re planning to apply to medical schools in Texas, you’ll also need to get to know another system: TMDSAS.
TMDSAS (Texas Medical & Dental Schools Application Service) provides a centralized application that you can use to apply to all public medical, dental, and veterinary schools in Texas. In February 2021, Baylor College of Medicine became the first private medical school to join the TMDSAS network, further simplifying applications for those hoping to earn their MD in Texas.
Given that Texas is the second-most populous state in the nation and that its med schools carry strong reputations and relatively low tuition costs, in-state and out-of-state applicants alike are often on the hunt for more details about the TMDSAS application process. Yet, there is relatively little information available covering this.
For that reason, we’ve created this guide in order to help you better understand the TMDSAS application. We’ll answer the most common questions that we routinely receive about TMDSAS and Texas medical school admissions, plus we’ll provide guidance that will help you successfully tackle the required TMDSAS essays, with example essays included.
Below is a list of the 14 medical schools in Texas that participate in TMDSAS:
There are currently two Texas med schools that don’t use TMDSAS: TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine is part of the AMCAS system, and University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine requires you to apply through AACOMAS.
In addition, students applying to Baylor’s MD/PhD program will still apply through AMCAS.
TMDSAS requires a flat fee of $220, regardless of the number of schools you apply to. Compared to AMCAS, which charges $175 for your first application and $46 for each additional application you submit, TMDSAS is relatively economical, especially if you take advantage of the flat fee structure and apply to several Texas med schools.
The most recent TMDSAS admissions statistics show that, among the 2023 applicants, out-of-state applicants comprised ~26% of the TMDSAS applicant pool but only 7% of matriculants. On the other hand, Texas residents accounted for 74% of applicants and 93% of matriculants.
There are a couple of reasons why the vast majority of students at Texas medical schools are coming from in-state. Non-Texas residents tend to apply mostly to non-Texas schools through AMCAS and just a small handful of TMDSAS schools, and then enroll in whichever school they believe is strongest and the best fit for them. On the other hand, Texas residents are more likely than out-of-state applicants to apply to many TMDSAS schools and, in turn, enroll in one for personal (e.g., to be close to family) or financial reasons (e.g., reduced in-state tuition).
On top of this, public medical schools in Texas are legally required to cap their out-of-state enrollment at 10%.
So, how does this translate to acceptance rates for in-state and out-of-state applicants? 49% of applicants from Texas were accepted to at least one TMDSAS school in 2023, whereas only 18% of out-of-state applicants received an acceptance. Therefore, it’s clear that in-state applicants are at a substantial advantage when it comes to getting into Texas medical schools.
For the entering class of 2023, the average undergraduate GPA and MCAT score of successful TMDSAS applicants were 3.84 and 511.5. We encourage you to look up the average GPA and MCAT scores of all Texas medical schools to better understand your odds of getting into each program.
Our general medical school application timeline applies to Texas medical schools as well, but it’s important to note a few TMDSAS-specific dates:
TMDSAS typically takes 2–4 weeks to process your application after submission. However, processing can take up to 6 weeks during the busiest part of the applicant season. You’ll receive an email once your application is processed.
Medical schools may extend pre-match offers (i.e., offers of acceptance) to Texas residents between October 15 and January 29.
You may receive and accept multiple pre-match offers to reserve your spot at those schools. However, it’s courteous to decline pre-match offers at medical schools you don’t intend to enroll at so that other students can be notified of interview invitations and pre-match offers in a timely manner. Offers of acceptance should only be considered valid if an acceptance letter is received.
The TMDSAS Match is a process through which pre-match offers are finalized and remaining med school seats are filled. Only Texas residents who apply to medical school through TMDSAS are eligible for the TMDSAS Match.
Assuming you meet these criteria, here’s how the TMDSAS Match works. You’ll rank all the med schools you interviewed at in your order of preference. Medical schools in turn rank the candidates they’ve interviewed. Then, the Match system, accounting for both lists, attempts to pair you with the school you most prefer, assuming that the school in question has also ranked you highly.
To better understand the nuances and complexities of the Match process, we recommend watching the helpful Match video tutorial offered by TMDSAS.
There are a few important things to note about the TMDSAS Match:
What happens if you don’t match? The standard rolling admissions process will begin after the Match period ends, so medical schools with remaining open slots will continue to accept students throughout the spring and summer.
The majority of TMDSAS schools require you to submit school-specific secondary applications. You can view all of their prompts through our medical school secondary essay prompts database.
TMDSAS and AMCAS ask for similar information, so if you’re also submitting AMCAS applications this cycle, you should be able to adapt your answers from one application to the other without too much struggle. Nevertheless, they do differ in certain ways, so you’ll want to ensure that you put in the time to craft high-quality, tailored responses to each.
The most noteworthy differences between AMCAS and TMDSAS include:
(Note: Academic Recognition, Non-Academic Recognition, and Employment entries allow a 300-character limit.)
Just like the AMCAS personal statement, the TMDSAS personal statement is where you’ll write about why you want to enter medicine and describe the experiences that have led you to your present path. As discussed earlier, the difference between the two is that TMDSAS gives you a slightly shorter character count to work with—5,000 characters including spaces.
Because your personal statement is one of the most important factors in determining your admissions success, you should plan to spend a considerable amount of time crafting a unique, well-written essay that gives adcoms a sense of who you are and what makes you different from other candidates. Our guide to medical school personal statements provides in-depth advice on how to write a standout personal statement, plus numerous full-length examples.
Many applicants wonder if they can use the same personal statement for both their AMCAS and TMDSAS applications. Since the prompts are extremely similar, so long as you adapt your essay to fit within each application’s character limits, you should be able to use it for both applications.
Let’s take a look at the TMDSAS personal statement prompt and an example essay.
Prompt: Explain your motivation to seek a career in medicine. Be sure to include the value of your experiences that prepare you to be a physician (5,000 characters, including spaces).
I could only focus on how hard it was to breathe. The surgical mask felt like a damp cloth over my face from my own sweat. Ten minutes into the C-section, I stepped away to stand under a vent and avoid passing out. When the haze cleared, I focused on the surgeon cutting into each layer of skin and the uterus until, finally, the baby’s piercing cries filled the room. While I had turned 5 shades lighter while struggling to stay conscious, I was filled with curiosity about what I had just seen. That night, I pestered my mother with questions and she made fun of me for almost passing out. I was drawn to how dedicated and knowledgeable she was and wanted to learn more.
That experience was one of my first encounters with medicine and came during my sophomore year of high school while observing my mother, an OB/GYN. My family was based in Dallas, but my mother had to live and work in Houston for over 5 years to have her Hungarian M.D. transferred to an American one. Due to grueling hours during this second residency, I could only see her a few weekends a month when I made the trip south. The more time I spent shadowing her during these weekends, the more I appreciated her sacrifices to pursue medicine and developed my own affinity for it. I was intrigued by the impact and diversity of the medical field, and through my various extracurricular experiences have come to view medicine as resting upon several pillars: a desire to help others and the roles of educator, teammate, leader, and problem solver.
To challenge myself in the role of educator, I took a position as a teaching assistant for the introductory life sciences lab at Emory. During my second quarter teaching, one student struggled to understand the mechanism behind the Lac Operon in E. Coli. In my previous interactions with the student I had learned he loved cars, so I likened lactose and glucose to gas and electricity in a hybrid vehicle. I remember how his face lit up when he finally grasped that concept; it left me with a sense of accomplishment that I was able to use his interests to guide his understanding. Success as a teaching assistant has given me confidence in my ability to educate others and strengthened my motivation to pursue medicine. As a physician I look forward to the opportunity to educate and inspire both patients and colleagues. The sense of fulfillment I feel when a student successfully grasps a concept will be central to my career.
I’ve explored the importance of being a team player in medicine through my research in exercise physiology. A large portion of my lab focuses on using exercise interventions in clinical trials to treat chronic illnesses, such as Friedreich’s Ataxia or COPD. Brian, a patient with whom I have worked frequently, comes to mind. Brian often comes in with his father, a bodybuilder. As we talk, giving each other advice on lifting and diet while motivating Brian during the exercise intervention, we all play a role in working toward the same goal: improving Brian’s maximal exercise tolerance. Having seen the effectiveness of this team-based approach to patient interventions, it has become one of my favorite components of medicine.
Perhaps the most beautiful and rewarding pillar of medicine is interpersonal interaction. Ironically, entering college, my biggest fear was public speaking. During sophomore year, however, I took charge of that fear as a campus tour guide. Two years of giving tours to 5,000 visitors has not only made me a more effective and comfortable orator, but also unearthed a hidden passion. As a tour guide I share a part of my life with a diverse group of strangers in an effort to guide them along their college application path. In turn, visitors sometimes share with me their life story and unique perspectives. I find that meaningfully connecting with others in this way excites me about the prospect of cultivating relationships with my patients throughout my career.
My years as a student have led me to develop a deeper appreciation and love for medicine. I could not have predicted eight years ago that I would be applying to medical school after barely staying conscious during a C-section. Yet, this past summer I found myself observing that very procedure again. This time, I wasn’t woozy—instead, I could see the various pillars in action and the roles I will play in the future.
Why is this personal statement successful?
