TMDSAS

Dental Application

• How to Apply
  • Application Instructions
  • Education Requirements
  • Foreign Coursework
  • Admissions Tests
  • Special Programs
  • Section Overview
  • Evaluation & Transcript Request Forms
  • Applicant Responsibilities
• After you Apply
• Acceptance Information
• Participating Schools

Resources

• FAQ
• Residency
• Policies
• Texas Academic Fresh Start
• Application Statistics

TMDSAS Application Instructions:

The application for entry year 2013 will be available at 8:00 am CST on May 1, 2012.

The deadline to submit your application is 5:00 pm CST on October 1, 2012.

Early filing is strongly encouraged. TMDSAS does not grant deadline extensions.

Everything needed to complete your application is available on this web site. Reading the Application Instructions below and the Section Overview will give you an edge and will make the application process much easier. We recommend that you print these out to use as a reference when filling out the application.

You are also required to certify that you have read the TMDSAS instructions at the time of submission.

Technical Details

The TMDSAS application supports only the following browsers. Not using one of these will cause you to experience various technical issues.

For PC Users:
Internet Explorer
Firefox

For Mac Users:
Firefox

Important Note: Do not use the back button while completing the application.  Doing so is very likely to cause errors and other unpredictable behavior.  Instead, use the navigation links to move from page to page.

A Complete Application File Consists of:

• Online Application
• Application Fee
• Copy of Visa or Permanent Resident Card (if applicable)
• Official Transcripts
• Letters of Evaluation
• Official DAT Score Report
• Secondary Applications

ONLINE APPLICATION

TMDSAS will begin to process your application once the online application has been submitted and the following items have been received:

• Application Fee (payable by check or money order only; payment cannot be made online)
• Copy of Visa or Permanent Resident card (if applicable)
• Spring 2012 Grades (or Winter 2012 grades if on a quarter system)

Important: Applications are transmitted to schools even if TMDSAS has not received all supporting documents. Schools are updated on a daily basis with supporting documents.

To learn more about each section of the application, visit the Section Overview. You are strongly encouraged to print a copy to refer to while completing the application.

Getting Started - Creating an Account

1. Click on the [Applicant Login] tab in the upper right-hand corner of this page.
2. Click on the [New User? Register Here] link.
3. Fill in the required information and click [Register] to have your account created.
4. The application will come up and you can begin filling out the application.

Do not mail in any supplemental materials until you have created an account and completed the [Colleges Attended] and [Letters of Evaluation] sections. Placeholders for these documents are created when you complete each section.

Re-applicants

If you have already registered for an account or if you applied for entry year 2011 or 2012, it is not necessary to go through the registration process again.  You will sign in to TMDSAS using the same email address and password that you used for the previous application.

The majority of the information entered into the previous year’s application will “roll-over” to the current application for your review. For these sections, you MUST still go to each section, review the information displayed, make corrections where necessary, and then SAVE the page.

Information entered in the following sections will NOT roll-over: Select Schools, Demographic, Family Info, Financial, Essays, Letters of Evaluation, Proof of Residency, Planned Enrollment, Chronology of Activities and Certification Statement. These sections will need to be completed again. After you have saved each section of the application, go to the Certification and Payment sections to complete your application.

You must also re-send your transcripts, letters of evaluation and pay a new application fee. It is recommended that you do not send the same letters from the last application cycle. Letters of evaluation should be updated or come from new evaluators.

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APPLICATION FEE

TMDSAS does not grant fee waivers.

Do not mail in your application fee until you have submitted your application. Any fee received before an application is submitted will be returned to the applicant.

The application fee can only be paid by personal check, money order or cashier's check drawn on a US bank. You cannot pay the application fee online. TMDSAS cannot accept a US dollar account check from a Canadian bank. Checks and money orders should be made payable to TMDSAS.

Please include your TMDSAS ID on the check/money order. If anyone other than the applicant signs the check/ money order, the applicant's name and TMDSAS ID must be printed on the face of the check/money order to facilitate proper identification.

The application fee is non-refundable once initial processing of an application has begun.

The application fee is based upon residence status and the number of schools to which the applicant applies. The application cannot be processed with a Texas resident filing fee if there is reason to question Texas Residency status. If Texas Residency status is questionable, we advise that a non-resident filing fee be submitted with the application along with a written request for a refund of the difference if you are classified as a Texas resident by the application deadline.

The following are considered Application Irregularities and are reported to the appropriate professional associations.

• Non-payment of a returned check
• Placing a stop-payment order or canceling a check in lieu of formally withdrawing an application

Either of these actions could initiate an investigation that would result in all dental schools being notified of the irregularity.

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VISA OR PERMANENT RESIDENT CARD

Applicants who are not US citizens and are here on a Visa or are a Permanent Resident must submit a copy (both front and back) of their Permanent Resident card or visa stamp in their passport to TMDSAS. This documentation can be uploaded directly to the application via the [Residency Documents] section. The documents can also be mailed to TMDSAS. If mailed, include your full name and TMDSAS ID on the copy.

Foreign national applicants whose application for Permanent Resident Status has been preliminarily reviewed should have received a fee/filing receipt or Notice of Action (I-797) from USCIS indicating the I-485 has been reviewed and has not been rejected. These applicants must submit a copy of the fee/filing receipt or Notice of Approval to TMDSAS. This documentation can be uploaded directly to the application or mailed in to TMDSAS. If mailed, include your full name and TMDSAS ID on the copy.

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OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS

You must arrange for a sealed official transcript, accompanied by a Transcript Request Form, to be sent directly to TMDSAS from every accredited US and Canadian institution you have attended. Do not have any transcripts delivered to TMDSAS until you have completed the [Colleges Attended] section of your application.

Official transcripts will be necessary for all undergraduate, graduate and professional coursework. Transcripts must be submitted from each school attended even if:

• Coursework appears as transfer credit on another school’s transcript
• Coursework does not count toward a degree
• Coursework was taken while attending high school

Only one transcript from each school attended is required. Transcripts released to students are considered official ONLY if they have been duly sealed and certified as original and valid by the registrar. TMDSAS will accept a transcript sent by an applicant as long as it is in the official sealed envelope from the Registrar. The transcript MUST be accompanied by the Transcript Request Form.

Transcripts submitted by applicants cannot be more than a year old.

Photocopies or faxed copies are NOT accepted.

TMDSAS recommends that you obtain a personal copy of each official transcript for your records to help you properly complete the [College Coursework] section of your application.

It is your responsibility to verify and ensure that TMDSAS has received all of your official transcripts. Check the status of your transcripts regularly by logging into your application and viewing the [Status] page.

Transcript Request Form

The TMDSAS Transcript Request Form allows you to create and print request forms to send to registrars at schools you have attended. 

1. Complete the [Colleges Attended] section of the application.
2. Download the TMDSAS Transcript Request Form.
3. Fill out the PDF and print it out OR print it and fill it out by hand.
4. Deliver completed form to registrar at each college attended. You can fax the form to the school if necessary.
5. Inform the registrar that the form must accompany the transcript when delivered to TMDSAS.

 Canadian Transcripts

Follow steps 1 – 5 above to have your English-speaking Canadian transcripts to be sent to TMDSAS.

 Study Abroad Transcripts

If you participated in a Study Abroad program under the sponsorship of a US institution and the international coursework appears on the US transcript as regular itemized credit, only list the US institution on your TMDSAS application. DO NOT list the international (foreign) institution. Arrange for only the US transcript to be sent to TMDSAS.

Overseas US Institution Transcripts

Overseas US institutions are:

1. Located outside US borders,
2. Accredited by a regional institutional accrediting agency recognized by the US Department of Education, and
3. Use English as the primary language of instruction and documentation.

If you attended an overseas US institution, report it to TMDSAS in the same manner as your US and (English-speaking) Canadian institutions and arrange for an official transcript to be forwarded to TMDSAS. List all coursework on your TMDSAS application. US institutions with campuses overseas are also considered US colleges for which transcripts are required and all coursework must be listed.

Foreign Transcripts

TMDSAS will accept a photocopy of a foreign transcript since it may be difficult to obtain an official transcript.

By state law, foreign coursework is not included in the calculation of the admission GPA. Transcripts from foreign schools will be forwarded to the schools so they can be evaluated based on criteria established by the Admissions Committee at the respective school. Course work taken at foreign institutions must be evaluated for US equivalence by one of the evaluation services listed on the Foreign Coursework page and an official copy must be sent from the service directly to TMDSAS. Your application will not be complete without an official evaluation.

A separate transcript from a foreign university is not required for formal Study Abroad programs if the enrollment in these courses is through a US sponsoring institution. Grades from these courses must be reported on the US institution transcript as if the course was taken in residence.

* NOTE: Transcripts sent to TMDSAS remain the property of TMDSAS. Transcripts are not forwarded to the dental schools. The transcripts are used by TMDSAS to validate coursework listed on the application. If accepted to dental school, applicants will be required to send transcripts to the accepting school before matriculation.

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LETTERS OF EVALUATION

Applicants are required to submit either:

• ONE Health Professions Committee Packet

OR

• TWO individual letters of evaluation

PLUS

• Texas A&M HSC - Baylor College of Dentistry and UT Dental Branch at Houston applicants must submit an additional evaluation letter from a practicing dentist

Delivering Letters to TMDSAS
Committee Packets:  your health professions office can deliver your packet several ways

1. They can upload the packet directly to your application using the TMDSAS Advisor Portal
2. They can mail the packet directly to our office
3. They can deliver the packet to us electronically using either Virtual Evals or Interfolio

Individual Letters:

1. Letter writer can mail the TMDSAS Evaluation Form and letter directly to TMDSAS via regular mail.  (preferred delivery method for individual letters)
2. You may deliver letters electronically through Interfolio.  Each letter must be delivered separately – do not deliver individual letters together.  They must come in individual deliveries.  Make sure your TMDSAS ID is on your letter(s) so that we can match them properly.

Do not have any letters of evaluation delivered to TMDSAS until you have completed the [Letters of Evaluation] section of your application.

Remember, evaluation letters will not be considered complete until TMDSAS has received the Health Professions Committee Packet or the individual evaluation letters you have indicated on the application. We understand that evaluators may change.

You MUST update TMDSAS of an evaluator change immediately. Once you have secured a different evaluator, please notify TMDSAS of the new evaluator. To make this change, email tmdsas@utsystem.edu. Include your full name, TMDSAS ID and the name of the evaluator that needs to be removed. Provide the following information for the evaluator that should be added:

• Salutation (i.e. Dr, Prof, Mr, Mrs, etc.)
• First name of Evaluator
• Last name of Evaluator
• Suffix (i.e. MD, PhD, etc.)
• Relationship to you
• How you would like the evaluator notified (by email or by you directly)
• Email address of evaluator if you want notification sent by email

Submitting a Health Professions Committee Packet

Many institutions utilize a Health Professions Committee Packet for their professional school applicants. These packets come in three basic formats:

• Committee letter with supporting letters attached.
• Committee letter that is composed and uses quotes from various evaluators but may or may not have supporting letters attached.
• Collection of individual evaluation letters which may also include a cover letter from an advising office or school letter service.  The advising office or school letter service serves as a central collection service for the applicant, but does not make additional assessments of the candidate.

All three types of HP Committee Packets are acceptable to TMDSAS, regardless of the number of evaluations that may be contained within the document. TMDSAS respects the varying philosophies of colleges and universities as to how best to provide a HP Committee Packet and therefore does not limit the number of evaluations included.

If you are having an HP Committee Packet submitted on your behalf, indicate the name of the school that will be submitting the packet in the application.

Submitting Individual Letters of Evaluation

If there is no formal Health Professions Advisory Committee or Letter Service at your institution, two individual letters of evaluation are required. Evaluators should know an applicant well enough to evaluate him/her both academically and personally. It is recommended that your evaluators be current/former professors that can speak to your academic ability in the sciences.

Be sure evaluators include the your full name and TMDSAS ID number on evaluations. Individual evaluation letters should be accompanied by the TMDSAS Evaluation Form (with the waiver signature line completed) if the student is waiving his/her right of access to the evaluation letter. If TMDSAS receives an evaluation letter without the TMDSAS Evaluation Form, it is assumed that the applicant has not waived his/her right of access to the letter.

Evaluators who choose to mail in their letter MUST mail letters to TMDSAS in an official school or business envelope. The letter MUST contain the evaluator's name, title, address, phone number and signature. The letter MUST be sealed in an envelope with the evaluator's signature across the seal.

Extra Letters

The participating schools prefer to receive only the required evaluation letters. Additional letters are not encouraged. However, TMDSAS will forward ONE letter in addition to the required letters. The additional evaluation letter should be accompanied by the TMDSAS Evaluation Form (with the waiver signature line completed) if the student is waiving his/her right of access to the evaluation letter. You will indicate in the application if you are submitting an extra letter and who the extra letter is being written by. Other additional letters may be sent directly to the schools, but applicants will need to contact each school to verify if additional letters will be accepted.

Remember, evaluation letters will not be considered complete until TMDSAS has received the Health Professions Evaluation packet or the individual evaluation letters indicated on the application. We understand that evaluators may change. You MUST update TMDSAS of an evaluator change immediately.

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ADMISSION TEST SCORES

The Dental Admission Test, DAT, is required for admission to dental school. The DAT must be taken within the last five years. A test score from a DAT taken before 2008 will not be considered for the 2013 entry year application. Canadian DAT scores are acceptable.

It is recommended that you take the DAT in the spring or summer prior to applying, but no later than December 1 of the application cycle. Offers of admission go out on December 1st; waiting to take the DAT until that late date will delay any consideration for admission until after your test scores are released.

Applicants are required to request that all of their DAT scores be released to each of the dental schools they are applying with. All DAT scores released to the three Texas dental schools will automatically be sent to TMDSAS. All admission test score(s) MUST be reported directly to TMDSAS by the testing agency. Scores submitted from your personal score report will not be accepted.

Any change to your planned test dates MUST be immediately reported to TMDSAS. You can update this information directly in the application. Failure to do so will cause your application to be incomplete which could affect the review of your application at one or more of the participating schools.

Information regarding the DAT can be obtained from their web site: http://www.ada.org/dat.aspx

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DENTAL SECONDARY APPLICATIONS

Secondary applications should be completed as soon as you submit your TMDSAS application.

Any questions relating to a secondary application should be directed to the respective school. Any secondary application required documents and/or fees should be sent directly to the school and NOT to TMDSAS.

Completion of the secondary application is required by the following dental school before the TMDSAS application is considered.

• Texas A&M HSC - Baylor College of Dentistry

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What Happens After I Submit My Application Online?

1. After submitting your application, you may make updates as needed to certain sections.
   
   You are able to make changes to the following sections yourself by logging back on to the application: Contact Info, Colleges Attended, College Coursework, Planned Enrollment, My Account and Test Scores.
2. To update the information in your Letters of Evaluation section, you must email TMDSAS at tmdsas@utsystem.edu - include your full name, TMDSAS ID and the name of evaluator to be removed. Provide the following information for the evaluator that should be added:
   • Salutation (i.e. Dr, Prof, Mr, Mrs, etc.)
   • First name of Evaluator
   • Last name of Evaluator
   • Suffix (i.e. MD, PhD, etc.)
   • Relationship to you
   • How you would like the evaluator notified (by email or by you directly)
   • Email address of evaluator if you want notification sent by email
3. Mail in your application fee - it must be received in our office by 5:00 pm CST on October 8th.
4. Mail in your Visa/PR card, if required, to TMDSAS if you are not uploading these items electronically.
5. Complete secondary applications, if applicable. It is the applicant's responsibility to complete the secondary applications.
6. Ensure all supporting documents are sent to TMDSAS promptly. The fastest and most convenient way to check your application status is on-line. You can view the real-time progress of your application by:
   
   a. Logging into your TMDSAS application.
   b. Viewing the [Status] page. The [Status] link is the first option under the [Application Info] heading on the right-hand side of the application.
   c. Scroll down towards the bottom of the page until you reach the [Supporting Documents] heading. If a document has been received, the receive date will appear next to the document name.
7. Once the application is transmitted to the schools, applicants will receive notification via email from TMDSAS.
8. Evaluation of applications and admission actions will be made by the schools.

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Validation of Colleges and Coursework

The information submitted by the applicant in the [College Coursework] section is compared to the official transcripts for all applicants selected for interview.

This ensures that all coursework is listed in the [College Coursework] section and that each course is properly classified by TMDSAS standards.

NOTE: Updated transcripts must be submitted to TMDSAS after each semester/quarter that coursework is completed between time of application and expected matriculation into dental school.

Validation procedures generate an official Prescribed Course Report that indicates any deficiencies in coursework.

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