What Is TMDSAS?

Fourteen medical schools take applications through TMDSAS, according to Shemmassian Consulting's EY2027 guide and the Texas State pre-health office's list. Twelve grant the MD and two grant the DO.

• MD schools: Baylor College of Medicine, Dell Medical School at UT Austin, Long School of Medicine at UT San Antonio, McGovern Medical School at UT Health Houston, John Sealy School of Medicine at UTMB Galveston, Texas A&M College of Medicine, Texas Tech School of Medicine in Lubbock, Texas Tech Paul L. Foster School of Medicine in El Paso, Fertitta Family College of Medicine at the University of Houston, UT Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical School and UT Tyler School of Medicine.
• DO schools: the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine at UNT Health Fort Worth, and the Sam Houston State University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

If you're weighing the two degree types, the MD vs DO breakdown covers how admissions and the residency match differ between them.

TMDSAS also handles four Texas dental schools, the UT Rio Grande Valley School of Podiatric Medicine, and veterinary admissions. It only processes first-year applications, so transfer and advanced-standing applicants go to the schools directly.

TMDSAS's application overview says Texas residents must apply through TMDSAS to be considered by its participating medical, dental and veterinary schools. A few schools (UT Southwestern, McGovern, Long, Texas A&M and Texas Tech in Lubbock) take AMCAS applications, but only for their MD/PhD and JD/MD programs. For the standard MD, TMDSAS is the way in.

Out-of-state applicants can use TMDSAS too, but the odds are steep. TMDSAS's residency page explains that state law limits non-Texas residents to no more than 10 percent of entering classes, which leaves at least 90 percent of the seats for Texans.

TMDSAS decides residency for admission purposes using one of two routes:

• High school route: you graduated from a Texas high school or earned a Texas GED, lived in Texas for the 36 months before graduating, and have lived there continuously for the 12 months before the application deadline.
• Domicile route: you've lived in Texas for 12 consecutive months before the deadline and established domicile in that time, for example by working in Texas, owning a home or business there, or being married for a year to someone domiciled in Texas.

Residency for tuition is a separate decision that each school makes when you matriculate.

TMDSAS charges one fee that covers every school you select, paid by credit card and non-refundable. Recent 2027-cycle guides from Shemmassian, MedSchoolCoach and Elective list it as $235. TMDSAS's own overview page shows $230, so check the payment screen for the exact amount when you apply.

There are no fee waivers. The AAMC Fee Assistance Program cuts AMCAS costs, but it doesn't apply to TMDSAS. Even so, the flat fee is far cheaper than applying to the same schools through the national services.

The flat fee covers the primary application only. Secondary fees are paid separately to each school, and those add up. The secondaries guide covers which schools screen before sending them.

If you're also applying out of state, you'll fill out both. The two applications ask for similar material in different shapes, and Shemmassian's guide lays out the gaps:

A few of those rows need a closer look.

• Essays: besides the 5,000-character personal essay, TMDSAS asks for a 2,500-character Personal Characteristics essay and offers an optional 2,500-character essay. Shemmassian strongly recommends writing the optional one.
• Activities: with no cap on entries but short descriptions, you'll list more experiences in less space than on AMCAS. Plan to rewrite your AMCAS entries rather than paste them in.
• Coursework: you enter every course by hand, one at a time, coded with the TMDSAS course listings, and labs go in separately from lectures. The page times out after 60 minutes, so save as you go.
• MCAT scores: because the release is manual, your score doesn't reach TMDSAS until you authorize it. Do that as soon as your score is out, and look it up in the PurpleCAT MCAT score guide to see where it ranks.
• Letters: you need 3 letters of evaluation or one health professions committee packet, with an optional fourth letter.

If one of your schools requires CASPer, you register for it outside TMDSAS using your TMDSAS ID. The CASPer guide explains the format and scoring.

Offers work differently too. Texas medical schools use a match for Texas residents, with two phases.

In pre-match, which starts October 15, schools make offers to applicants they've interviewed. You can hold more than one pre-match offer at the same time without penalty. Then every Texas resident who interviewed at one or more TMDSAS medical schools ranks their schools by the ranking deadline. TMDSAS uses those rankings to confirm pre-match offers and fill the remaining seats, and Match results come out in February. After that, schools admit on a rolling basis.

Shemmassian notes that missing the ranking deadline withdraws you from every TMDSAS medical school, so put it in your calendar the day you submit.

These are TMDSAS's published deadlines for medical applicants entering in 2027. All times are Central.

Some Early Decision programs have submission deadlines in August, and their decisions come out October 1. For everyone else, remember that processing takes 2 to 4 weeks and offers start going out on October 15 to applicants who've already interviewed. Submitting on October 1 leaves almost no room for that, so aim for late May or June. The MCAT timing guide walks through how your test date lines up with an early submission.

If you're a Texas resident applying next cycle, a short checklist covers most of it.

• Get your coursework in early. Entering every course by hand is slow, and you can do it before your essays are finished.
• Lock in your MCAT date. You release your score to TMDSAS yourself, and schools can't see it until you do.
• Line up 3 letters or a committee packet. Letters are due to TMDSAS by October 15. TMDSAS accepts late letters, but individual schools may not.
• Budget for secondaries. The primary fee is flat, but each school's secondary fee is paid separately.

Last verified October 30, 2026, against the TMDSAS deadlines, application overview and residency pages for Entry Year 2027.