Early Decision Programs Both Texas Tech University HSC School of Medicine (TTUHSC-SOM) & the University of North Texas HSC-Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNTHSC-TCOM) offer an Early Decision Program (EDP) to interested applicants. It should be emphasized that only applicants with an excellent chance of admission to TTUHSC-SOM or UNTHSC-TCOM should apply under EDP because only a small portion of the first-year class is admitted through this program. Applicants whose GPA is lower than 3.5 or whose MCAT score is lower than 28 are unlikely to be accepted through EDP. However, for strong candidates who have made a definite decision that they wish to attend TTUHSC-SOM or UNTHSC-TCOM, admission through EDP can greatly reduce the financial and psychological costs of applying to and interviewing at several schools. To apply to the TTUHSC-SOM EDP or UNTHSC-TCOM EDP an applicant must submit the standard online application to TMDSAS, checking [YES] to the TTUHSC-SOM Early Decision Program or [YES] to the UNTHSC-TCOM Early Decision Program and [NO] for all other selections. The application must be submitted to TMDSAS by the Early Decision Program deadline of August 1st. A secondary application must also be submitted directly to the selected school by their indicated deadline. The applicant is required to: Apply to the selected school's Early Decision Program by completing and submitting the TMDSAS primary application by August 1st. The signed certification page, application fee and photos must be received at TMDSAS by August 15th. Submit MCAT scores to TMDSAS by August 1st. Scores from MCAT's taken after August 1st are not eligible to be considered for the EDP cycle. Submit all required official transcripts and evaluation letters to TMDSAS by August 15th. Attend the selected school if offered acceptance through the Early Decision Program. The program provides: An interview in August or September to selected applicants. Prompt admission decision from the school (no later than October 1st). The opportunity to apply to other TMDSAS participating schools without having to submit an additional application if the applicant is not accepted as an EDP candidate. The rules of a formal Early Decision Program stipulate that an applicant applying must apply to that program ONLY and cannot apply to ANY OTHER school or program in the U.S. until he/she receives the EDP decision. If accepted as an EDP candidate, the applicant is OBLIGATED to attend TTUHSC-SOM or UNTHSC-TCOM or must obtain a formal release from TTUHSC-SOM or UNTHSC-TCOM to be eligible to apply to other schools If not accepted as an EDP candidate, the applicant is eligible to apply to other schools as soon as the formal notification letter is received from the school. An applicant who is not accepted as a EDP candidate but wishes to apply to other TMDSAS schools for regular admission consideration must send a letter to TMDSAS indicating the additional schools to which he/she wishes to apply. The letter must be accompanied with a copy of the EDP notification letter, the additional application fee of $10 per school and 1 photo per school being added.

MD/PhD & DO/PhD Applicant Information The UT System, Texas Tech and Texas A&M Medical Schools and UNT Health Science Center/TCOM along with their Graduate schools offer combined MD/PhD or DO/PhD Programs. The Combined Degree Program is a 6-8 year course of study designed specifically to meet the training needs of individuals dedicated to a career in biomedical research. Successful applicants should have significant research experiences prior to application to the program. Additional application procedures are required when applying to the combined programs as one is applying to two different entities, the medical school and the graduate school. Most of the programs require that information be sent directly to the respective graduate office in addition to submitting the medical school application to TMDSAS. Marking the MD/PhD and/or DO/PhD boxes on the medical school application form simply alerts the graduate schools to your interest in applying to the combined programs, so please follow the instructions for each school indicated below. Also, keep in mind that application to the MD/PhD and/or DO/PhD Programs will require an additional interview. While the schools try to complete both interviews on the same day, it may be necessary to schedule the graduate school interview on the day before or after your medical school interview. Applicants to the joint MD/PhD program at UT Southwestern, UT Medical Branch at Galveston, UT HSC at Houston and Texas A&M HSC College of Medicine must complete the AMCAS application as the primary application and pay the required application fee to AMCAS. Those joint degree applicants who also want to be considered for the MD only program at the above schools must submit a TMDSAS application in addition to the AMCAS application as applicants cannot apply to the MD only program through AMCAS. Applicants to the MD/PhD programs at UT School of Medicine at San Antonio, Texas Tech HSC and the DO/PhD at UNT/TCOM need ONLY to select the appropriate program on the TMDSAS application. Listed below are the schools that offer MD/PhD or DO/PhD programs. Click on the school link to obtain the contact person, mailing address and additional application requirements for the graduate school at each institution. UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas UT Medical Branch at Galveston UT Austin/UT Medical Branch Dual MD/PhD Program UT Health Science Center at Houston/M. D. Anderson Cancer Center UT Health Science Center at San Antonio If you are interested in applying to the MD/PhD program, you MUST reflect this on your TMDSAS application. Additional material is required and a personal interview will be arranged. In addition to the HPE/evaluation letters required for the MD program, two to three letters attesting to your specific research experience are required for the PhD portion. Contact the MD/PhD office below for more information. For more information, please contact Dr. Adamo using the contact information below. Dr. Martin L. Adamo, Director, MD/PhD Program UT Health Science Center at San Antonio School of Medicine 7703 Floyd Curl Drive San Antonio, TX 78229-3900 (210) 567-3742 adamo@biochem.uthscsa.edu The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center College of Medicine Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth

MD/MBA Applicant Information

JD/MD Applicant Information

DDS/PhD Applicant Information Baylor College of Dentistry, The University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston and The University of Texas Dental School at San Antonio along with their Graduate Schools offer combined DDS/PhD programs. Successful applicants should have significant research experience prior to application to the program. Additional application procedures are required when applying to the combined programs as one is applying to two different entities, the dental school and the graduate school. Most of the programs require that information be sent directly to the respective graduate office in addition to submitting the dental school application to the TMDSAS. Marking the DDS/PhD boxes on the dental school application form simply alerts the graduate schools to your interest in applying to the combined programs, so please follow the instructions indicated below. Also, keep in mind that the application to the DDS/PhD Programs will require an additional interview. While the schools try to complete both interviews on the same day, it may be necessary to schedule the graduate school interview on the day before or after your dental school interview. Listed below are the institutions. Click on the school to obtain the graduate school contact person, mailing address and additional application requirements for the graduate school at each institution. Baylor College of Dentistry Contact: Dr. Paul C. Dechow Associate Professor and Director, Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences Baylor College of Dentistry The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center P.O. Box 660677 Dallas, Texas  75266-0677 PHONE:: (214) 370-7229 or (214) 828-8260 pdechow@tambcd.edu An additional application for the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences is required and can be obtained by contacting the program director.  Send no additional information until requested to do so by the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program The University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston The University of Texas Dental School at San Antonio

Texas Academic Fresh Start

Texas residents who apply for admission (or re-admission) to a Texas public college or university and enroll as an undergraduate student may be able to begin a new course of study with a clear academic record.

If you are a Texas resident who has credits for college courses taken 10 or more years prior to the planned graduate school enrollment date, the "Academic Fresh Start" law allows you to have those credits ignored for enrollment purposes. (Section 51.931 of the Texas Education Code)

NOTE: THIS IS AN ALL OR NOTHING OPTION. Applicants are not able to pick and choose which courses to ignore and which courses to count. If the applicant applies under the "Academic Fresh Start" option, they will not receive any credit for any courses taken 10 or more years from the date he/she is granted Academic Fresh Start.

Academic Fresh Start Requirements:

The following sequence must occur for an applicant to be eligible to invoke the Academic Fresh Start provision when applying to a post-graduate or professional program.

1. Apply for admission to any undergraduate public institution of higher education under the Academic Fresh Start provision.
2. Be admitted to the institution as an undergraduate student under the Academic Fresh Start provision. Generally a contract or some signed documentation is required.
3. Enroll in the institution under the Academic Fresh Start provision.
4. Complete a course of study. (For TMDSAS purposes, an applicant must complete a minimum of one course in residence during the initial term of enrollment under the Academic Fresh Start provision. This term must be completed before the application deadline.)
5. Earn a baccalaureate degree. (This requirement is waived by applying to Medical, Dental and Veterinary school because a baccalaureate is recommended but not required. A minimum of 90 undergraduate semester hours, including ALL of the required courses, must be earned, after the 10 year cutoff date is established by enrolling under Academic Fresh Start.)
6. Apply for admission to post-graduate or professional school under the Academic Fresh Start provision.
7. TMDSAS must have all transcripts before we can process an Academic Fresh Start applicant.

NOTE: The term in which the applicant was admitted to the undergraduate institution MUST be noted on the institution's transcript. That gives TMDSAS the authority to drop all courses 10 or more years prior to enrollment under Academic Fresh Start in calculating the admission Grade Point Average (GPA). A letter from the institution's Registrar certifying admission and enrollment under Academic Fresh Start is required in lieu of the notation on the institution's transcript.

If more clarification is needed, please contact TMDSAS via email at: TMDSAS@utsystem.edu and include in the subject line: "Academic Fresh Start".

Residency Information

The Texas Appropriations Act limits the number of non-Texas residents that may be admitted to Texas public medical and dental schools. Thus, when considering applicants for admission, Texas public medical and dental schools are required to make a determination of residence status. The Texas Medical and Dental Schools Application Service makes a determination at the time of application in order to place the applicant in the appropriate applicant pool - resident vs. non-resident.

Tuition is based upon residence status at the time of registration. The residence determination for tuition purposes will be made by each school's Registrar's office.

Residency will be determined by applying the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Rules and Regulations for Determining Residence Status at the time of application. TMDSAS does not presume residency. Residency can change during the application period. All schools are notified at the time a change of residency occurs. It will be up to each school's discretion to determine which pool an applicant will be placed in if eligibility for reclassification occurs after the deadline for filing an application but before matriculation into medical or dental school.

If Texas residency is questionable, TMDSAS may request that the applicant provide documentation to support answers to the Core Residency Questions and/or information provided in Section G of the questions. A list of appropriate documents can be found in CHART IV of the rules for determining residency.

Please refer to http://www.utexas.edu/student/admissions/residency for additional information, but keep in mind that TMDSAS applies these rules at the time of application and not at the time of enrollment to determine eligibility for the Texas applicant pool.

The complete Rules and Regulations for determining residency published by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board may be found at http://www.collegefortexans.com/residency. Once there scroll down and click on the Rules & Regulations: Resident Status link.

 

Policies and Procedures for Processing Applications

       (Download Adobe Acrobat)

Withdrawals and Refunds

The application fee is NOT refundable once initial processing has begun.  The following conditions are the only exceptions:

1. A non-resident fee was submitted with the application but the applicant is determined to be a Texas resident upon initial review of the application.
2. Re-applicants who accept admission to a school for the previous entry year.
3. Ineligible applications.  The refund will be the original fee paid minus a $25.00 processing fee.

Requests for withdrawal and/or refunds should be sent via email to TMDSAS@utsystem.edu or mailed to:

Texas Medical & Dental Schools Application Service
702 Colorado, Ste. 6.400
Austin , TX 78701

Verbal requests for withdrawal and/or refunds will not be accepted.

Please pay the correct fee amount that appears on the Summary Page at the end of your application.  Overpayment of fees will not be refunded.

If fee was paid by personal check, refunds cannot be processed until three months after the check is deposited by TMDSAS.  If fee was paid by money order, refunds can be processed immediately following confirmation of deposit by TMDSAS.

The accounting for all TMDSAS application fees is handled by the UT Austin Accounting department which charges a $25.00 fee for cancelled checks.  Therefore, applicants who cancelled a check submitted for the application fee will be given the opportunity to pay the application fee plus the $25.00 cancelled check fee.  If payment is not received, TMDSAS will file an irregularity report to the Association of the American Medical Colleges and to other organizations with a need to know.

General Guidelines for Conduct of the Match

Approved By TMDSAS Advisory Committee March 13, 2008

The Match is the final step in the process of extending initial offers of acceptance for each participating medical school’s entering class. The process for extending offers of acceptance is as follows:

1. Medical School Offers – are extended as follows:

a. Formal offers of acceptance to the Early Decision Programs at Texas Tech University HSC School of Medicine and UNT – Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine will be extended no later than September 15, 2008. These applicants are not included in the match.

b. Formal offers of acceptance to non-Texas residents, MD/PhD, DO/PhD, MD/MBA, JD/MD and OMS/MD candidates may be extended anytime after October 15, 2008. These applicants are not included in the match.

c. Formal offers of acceptance to participants in any special or assured admission program may be extended anytime after October 15, 2008. These applicants are not included in the match. A school may withdraw an assured acceptance agreement from an applicant who applies to other participating schools.

Special/Assured Admission Programs Include :

• Texas A&M COM Partnership in Primary Care Program
• TTU/TTUHSC Honors College Early Acceptance Program
• TTUHSC Austin College Early Acceptance to Med School
• TTUHSC West TX A&M Early Acceptance to Med School
• TTUHSC Texas Tech Undergraduate Initiative to Med School
• TTUHSC El Paso Early Acceptance to Med School
• UTMB Early Medical School Acceptance Program
• UTHSCSA Dental Early Acceptance Program
• UNTHSC Medical Science Program
• UNTHSC Early Medical School Acceptance Program
• UTHSC at Houston Medical School Assured Acceptance Program
• UTHSCSA Facilitated Admissions for South Texas Scholars
• JAMP
• UTDB at Houston Dental Early Admission Program
• BCOD TAMHSC Dental Early Admission Program

d. Formal offers of acceptance to Texas residents may be extended prior to the match for a period between November 15 and December 31, 2008.

• A medical school may extend an offer of acceptance to any Texas resident applicant during this period.
• An applicant may receive offers of acceptance from more than one medical school during this period.

e. Medical schools may take reasonable actions to recruit applicants to whom offers have been made during the pre-match acceptance period.

f. An applicant may hold multiple pre-match offers from TMDSAS schools until January 15, 2009. All but one pre-match offer must be declined by January 15, 2009.

g. The regular match will be conducted on February 1, 2009 to confirm the offers applicants are holding and to fill the remaining slots for the medical schools. Individual match results will be posted on the TMDSAS website on February 1, 2009.

• Applicants not holding an offer will submit a match preference list ranking all schools where they interviewed.
• Applicants holding a pre-match offer and interviewed at school(s) that did not extend an offer may submit match preference list ranking one or more of those schools higher than the pre-match offer school without risk of losing the pre-match offer.
• If the pre-match offer that the applicant is holding is his/her number 1 choice, the applicant needs to rank only that school as the number 1 preference.
• Following the match, the standard rolling admissions will continue through the beginning of orientation at each medical school.

h. The medical school matching process applies to admission into participating schools’ MD and DO programs only.

i. A participating institution may extend offers of acceptance into its combined MD/PhD, DO/PhD, MD/MBA or JD/MD program at any time between October 15, 2008 and the beginning of orientation. See policy below regarding offers extended after June 15. Participating schools have agreed to periodically provide other participating schools with lists of applicants accepted into their combined programs.

j. An MD/PhD, DO/PhD or MD/MBA applicant who receives offers of admission from more than one participating school must choose the one school that he/she prefers and withdraw from the other school(s) in accordance with the terms of the acceptance. Failure to follow this policy may result in withdrawal of acceptance from any of the participating schools.

k. Applicants to the combined MD/PhD, DO/PhD, MD/MBA or JD/MD programs who have not received an offer of acceptance to a combined program before January 15, 2009 may participate in the matching process in order to be eligible for acceptance into an MD or DO only program at participating medical schools at which they interviewed. To participate in the match, the applicant must have submitted an application to TMDSAS and have been interviewed at the respective medical school.

These applicants, even if accepted into an MD or DO program, may still be accepted into a combined MD/PhD, DO/PhD, MD/MBA or JD/MD program at any participating school should they receive an offer before the beginning of orientation of the MD/DO school accepted.

l With the exception of offers received during the pre—match period, only the most unusual of circumstances justify an applicant’s holding a place in the entering class of more than one US school more than two weeks since this may adversely affect other applicants. The schools therefore reserve the right to withdraw offers of acceptance to individuals who hold places for longer periods without specific authorization from the schools involved.

m. After June 15, 2009, no medical school in Texas may offer a position to an applicant already accepted by another medical school in Texas. This is the result of an agreement between the four UT System Medical Schools, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas A&M University HSC College of Medicine, Texas Tech University HSC School of Medicine, Texas Tech University HSC Paul L. Foster School of Medicine at El Paso and UNT-Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. Only extraordinary circumstances warrant an exception to this policy. If this should occur, the Dean/Director of Admissions at the school wishing to extend an offer must receive approval from the Dean/Director of Admissions at the school where the applicant is holding a position BEFORE the offer is extended.

 

The Match is unique to the participating schools in the State of Texas. No other group of medical schools in the U.S. has a comparable process for selecting their entering class that also includes limiting the number of positions an applicant may hold at one time. The selections are made from lists of applicants considered acceptable by the respective schools as a result of an evaluation process. The process is conducted in a spirit of cooperation and trust among the participating schools and respect and consideration for the applicants and their choice of schools.

The Texas Medical and Dental Schools Application Service was created by its participating schools to facilitate applications to medical and dental schools. It presupposes that each school will present

to interested applicants its strengths and advantages of attending it. Nothing in the guidelines below is designed to prohibit a school from presenting itself in the best light and encouraging interested applicants to select that school. The applicants are best served by providing them with information and encouragement. The following guidelines, adopted by representatives from the participating schools, are designed to address these issues and should be applied preceding and following the pre-match acceptance period.

• All recruiting activities should be conducted in a manner preserving the integrity of the admissions process. Integrity is defined as respect for the process that provides applicants the freedom to select the schools they wish to attend according to their preference.

• No statements or inferences indicating “guaranteed admission” are to be made to a non-accepted applicant before the Match.

• Scholarships may be offered only to applicants accepted to the school offering the scholarship. No scholarship may be offered to an applicant before a formal offer of acceptance has been extended.

• Any communication to applicants who have interviewed but who have not yet been accepted should be sent from the Admissions Office and should clearly identify that it is a communication to all interviewed applicants.

• All contacts and correspondence with interviewed applicants by interviewers and other school representatives should be conducted within these guidelines.

• The following information regarding the Match should be clearly communicated to all applicants at interview sessions, recruiting trips and conferences held for potential applicants.

1. Participating schools do not have access to the applicants’ school rankings.
2. Admission decisions at the participating schools are independent of the applicants’ school rankings because the schools have no knowledge of the applicants’ rankings.
3. Two factors are involved in the matching process: the applicants’ ranking of the schools and the schools’ ranking of the applicants. An applicant must be ranked within a schools’ selection range to be matched into that school. The schools’ ranking of the applicants determines who gets matched into a school through the process, not the applicants’ ranking of the school. The applicants’ ranking of the school simply matches the applicant who is ranked high enough to be selected by more than one school into the school most preferred by the applicant.

• Deans/Directors of Admission will distribute these guidelines to all people involved in the admissions process at their school including, but not limited to, admissions committee members, interviewers, alumni, recruiters and staff.

 

 

PROCEDURE FOR HANDLING VIOLATIONS TO THESE GUIDELINES

1. Violation is reported to TMDSAS Director when discovered.
2. TMDSAS Director will notify the Deans/Directors of Admission at all participating schools of the reported violation.
3. TMDSAS Director will appoint a four-member committee composed of Deans/Directors of Admission from two U. T. schools and two non-U. T. schools to evaluate the effect of the reported violation on the status of the current years’ Match and recommend action to be taken.
4. The Committee recommendation will be distributed to Deans/Directors of Admission at all participating schools for approval. A majority vote of participating schools is required for approval.
5. The violation report including the approved Committee recommendation will be distributed to Medical School Deans and Presidents of all participating schools.