Application Information

Dr. Colenda & student

The Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine participates in the Texas Medical and Dental Schools Application Service (TMDSAS). TMDSAS is a centralized application processing service for applicants to first-year entering classes at participating medical schools. TMDSAS provides one standardized form online at: http://www.utsystem.edu/tmdsas/

The application for admission can be submitted as early as May 1 but no later than October 1. The TMDSAS application fee is $55; the fee will increase $10 with each school selected. The fee schedule is detailed on the TMDSAS website. All supporting documents are to be mailed to:

TMDSAS
702 Colorado, Suite 6.400,
Austin, Texas 78701
(512) 499-4785
TMDSAS@utsystem.edu

Questions, corrections, and letters of evaluation regarding admission, should be addressed to:

Office of Admissions
Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine
159 Joe H. Reynolds Medical Building
College Station, TX 77843-1114
(979) 845-7743
admissions@medicine.tamhsc.edu

Secondary Application

October 1 is the deadline for the required secondary application to be completed and submitted online.

The Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine requires all applicants to complete a secondary application and pay a secondary application fee. The deadline for completing and submitting the application is October 1. The $50 application fee must be postmarked October 1.

Applicants will not be considered for evaluation until the primary and secondary applications have been properly completed and the secondary application payment of $50 received. It is imperative that your TMDSAS PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (PIN) is included on your check for identification purposes.

Mail your payment directly to:
The Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine
Office of Admissions
159 Reynolds Medical Bldg
College Station, TX 77843-1114
Attention: Admissions Coordinator.

Checks drawn on a foreign bank must be a cashier's check for U.S. dollars. (No temporary or business checks, please). Make checks and money orders payable to TAMHSC College of Medicine.

Screening of Applications

The process of screening applications for interview is selective. It is critical for us to understand the circumstances of applicants and give careful consideration to their history of academic and MCAT performance. It is just as important to carefully scrutinize the characteristics, backgrounds, and situations which reflect a meaningful record of accomplishment and experience. However, it must be understood that not all of these applications under review will result in either an interview or an offer of admission.

Applicants are screened for interview on academic performance and intellectual capacity, dedication to service and capacity for effective interactions, special life circumstances, and other compelling factors, such as, but not limited to the following:

involvement in community human service activities
leadership in school organizations or community projects
clinical or health care related experiences
quality of personal statement
motivation for medicine as a career
supportive letters of evaluation from faculty and mentors
areas of interest in medicine
circumstances indicative of some hardship or adversity
socioeconomic background
race and ethnicity
first generation to attend or graduate from a college or university
parents having high school or less education
need to work while attending high school and/or college
responsible for the care of others or the rearing of children
region in which applicant resides
region in which applicant's high school district is located
comparative availability of physicians in the applicant's region of residence (underserved or health professions shortage area)
evidence of experience of other cultures and the human condition, including multilingual proficiency
automatic admissions to one of the state's public undergraduate institutions

Letters of Evaluation

Health Professions advisors and/or faculty play an important role in helping the admissions committee assess intellectual ability, personal attributes and promise for medicine as a career. Therefore, prospective applicants are urged to get to know their advisors and teaching faculty early in their undergraduate education experience to ensure support of their application.

Applicants should submit letters of evaluation or a Health Professions Advisory Committee Evaluation packet directly to TMDSAS. All letters of evaluation submitted by the evaluator or advising office must be written in official school business letterhead, and all evaluations must be current, otherwise, they will not be considered official. Letters can be submitted by postal mail in official school/organization envelope or submitted electronically via Interfolio or Virtual Evals. A minimum of two evaluations from professors are required. Letters of reference from employment supervisors, physicians, other medical personnel or research mentors are acceptable, but they must not be used in lieu of the minimum two professor letters. The College of Medicine will authenticate all letters of evaluation/recommendation and health professions advisory committee packets and can request additional letters at any time.

If you are no longer in undergraduate school and cannot obtain an evaluation from your former health professions advisor or health professions advisory committee, you should proceed as follows:

If you are attending graduate school, one of your evaluations must be from your graduate advisor, a major professor or the chairperson of your major department.
If you have been out of college for more than one year and are currently employed or in military service, one of your required evaluations must be written by your immediate supervisor or commanding officer.
If self-employed, one of your recommendation letters must be from a business associate. The evaluation must detail your performance.

If you cannot obtain a letter from a health professions advisor or faculty member because you have been out of school for several years, you must then submit at least three letters from employment supervisors or associates, medical personnel, and/or research mentors to complete your evaluation packet.

Personal Interviews

Applicants are invited for personal interviews based upon their competitiveness in the screening process described above. Interview sessions typically are scheduled from August to December and follow a all-day format. Two independent interview sessions are conducted, one in College Station and another in Temple on Thursday afternoon. Applicants are selected for either location on a random basis. Interviewing at either location will not mandate your attendance at that campus upon acceptance. Each applicant is given two individual thirty-minute interviews by a combination of faculty admissions committee members, student admissions committee members and faculty or administrator guest interviewers. Personal interviews at the College of Medicine are a two-way exchange. Students are encouraged to use this experience to inquire and form opinions about the strengths and opportunities available at the College of Medicine. Although intellectual ability and record of achievement are important factors, the personal interview gives the Admissions Committee another measure by which to evaluate and understand other traits necessary to foster the development of a competent, compassionate and responsible physician. Ability to communicate and interact, social consciousness, maturity, personal integrity, tolerance and motivation for a career in medicine are among the characteristics sought.

Tender of Acceptance Offer

Notification of acceptances is made on a rolling basis between November 15 and December 31 to Texas residents. A match will be conducted on February 1 to fill any remaining positions. Formal offers of acceptance to non-Texas residents, MD/PhD candidates and participants in any special or assured admission program may be extended anytime after October 15. These applicants are not included in the match. For more information on the TMDSAS medical schools acceptance policy and procedures for applicants, refer to General Guidelines for Conduct of the Match on the TMDSAS website http://www.utsystem.edu/tmdsas

International Students

Applicants who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. and/or who have earned degrees at foreign institutions can be eligible for admission provided that they have completed:

At least 90 credit hours of college course work including the prerequisites for medical school in a fully accredited college or university in the United States, or
Earned a baccalaureate degree in a fully accredited college or university in the United States.

Preference is given to students who are U.S. permanent residents or who are in the process of gaining U.S. permanent residency by the time of medical school enrollment (Official documentation will be required at the time of medical school application and before matriculation.)

International students with graduate or professional degrees are considered for admission only to the first-year medical class, regardless of the degrees held.

Canadian students are considered for admission provided they have successfully completed 90 credit hours or earned a baccalaureate degree at a fully accredited Canadian college or university. Please refer to the TMDSAS website for details.

Criminal Background Checks

All applicants accepted to the College of Medicine must submit to and satisfactorily complete a background check review as a condition of matriculation. An offer of admission will not be final until the completion of the background check with results deemed favorable. Admission may be denied based on the review of the background check.

Health care providers are entrusted with the health, safety, and welfare of patients, have access to controlled substances and confidential information, and operate in settings that require the exercise of good judgment and ethical behavior. Thus an assessment of a student or applicant’s suitability to function in such a setting is imperative to promote the highest level of integrity in health care services.

Background check reports and other submitted information are confidential and may only be reviewed by College officials and affiliated clinical facilities in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

Texas A&M Health Science Center - College of Medicine

Application Information