The TMDSAS Match and Rolling Admissions

It’s the most anticipated day of the year and it’s right around the bend! Match Day is the day on which you find out where you’ll be going to medical school. Getting to this point takes a great deal of work, so, first things first, you should congratulate yourself on making it to this day. Next, there’s a certain amount of movement that will occur after the Match and you’ll probably have questions about the process, about rolling admissions, the waitlist, and so much more. Take a look at the information below to better understand what happens during this time. The more you know before the big day, the less daunting and confusing the process will be. 

Note: Only Texas resident medical applicants who have been interviewed by at least one TMDSAS school by February 18th will participate in the TMDSAS Match on March 4th.

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Timeline 

• August 1, 2021 – February 18, 2022: Medical School Interview Rankings for Match Day
  

You can begin ranking all schools at which you’ve interviewed according to your preference for attendance. Your rankings will lock in on Friday, February 18, 2022 by 5:00 p.m. CST. The medical schools then submit to TMDSAS their ranked lists of the applicants they have interviewed. TMDSAS then matches applicants with their highest preference school in which they were also in the match range for the schools’ list. The results of the Match are announced on March 4th at 8:00 a.m. CST. 

• October 15, 2021 – January 29, 2022: Pre-Match Offers 
  

Once a Texas resident medical applicant interviews at a medical school and is deemed highly competitive, that school may reach out with a Pre-Match Offer indicating that they will rank the applicant among the top of their list leading up to the TMDSAS Match. This is essentially an offer of acceptance from a medical school indicating that they’ll rank you high on their list and you have a high likelihood of matching into the school. In other words, these are acceptance offers before the Match. 

• March 4, 2022: TMDSAS Match Day 
  

The school ranking results become available on March 4th at 8 a.m. CST, and rolling admissions begin! 

• April 30, 2022: Last day you can hold multiple offers and must decide which program to attend and withdraw from other schools. All applicants are subjected to the AAMC traffic rules.
  

• May 15, 2022: As of this date, TMDSAS Medical schools can no longer make offers to Texas resident applicants who are already holding an acceptance offer at another TMDSAS Medical school. 

 

What is Match Day? 

TMDSAS administers a matching process for all Texas resident medical applicants which takes place on March 4th at 8 a.m. CST. Essentially, the TMDSAS Match is conducted to confirm the pre-match offers that some applicants may be holding and fill the remaining open slots for the medical schools.  

How Do I View My Match Results?  

To view your match results, log in to the TMDSAS Application Portal.  On the right-hand side of the screen, under [Pending Actions], click on [School Rank Preference]. If you matched to a school, the school name will be listed. 

What Happens on Match Day? 

• You can view your match results as of 8 a.m. CST in the TMDSAS Application Portal. 

• You could match to a school where you have interviewed, even if you did not receive Pre-Match offers. 
• You could match to a school that you ranked higher than your Pre-Match offer school even if you didn’t receive a pre-match from the higher-ranked school.  
• If you accepted multiple Pre-Match offers, you will come out of the match with only one acceptance (one Pre-Match offer). 
• You could be matched to your Pre-Match offer. Your application is still active at any schools you ranked above your pre-match offer. The schools will notify you if you were moved to their alternate list (put on the waitlist), or they’ll contact you after this date with an offer. 
• You will be automatically withdrawn from any school you ranked below where you matched on this day. You will not need to contact each individual school about your withdrawal.  

• You might not match to a school on Match Day (that’s okay). Keep in mind that the standard rolling admissions begin after Match Day, and you may hear back from schools on an offer after March 4th! 

Watch How the TMDSAS Match Works to review how these scenarios play out.

Post-Match Rolling Admissions Period 

If you did not match to a school, don’t sweat it! There’s still time to hear back from schools. After March 4th, the rolling admission period starts and ends at the beginning of orientation at each medical school. Schools will make offers to applicants in the alternate pool (waitlist) to fill up the remaining spots to fill their class.

If you ranked schools higher than where you matched, your application is active. You can still hear back from those schools.  

You will be contacted directly by a medical school (not TMDSAS) via email if you are moved to their alternate list or if they make an offer after the match day. Make sure the email address you have on your account is up to date, so you don’t miss out on important information! 

It’s possible to hold multiple offers during the rolling admissions period. Make sure to follow the instructions the schools have included in your offer. A deposit may be needed if you wish to hold your spot (as instructed by your school). Deposits are handled on the school’s end, not TMDSAS. Check to make sure you are abiding by the terms of the agreement you signed with the school you also applied through AAMCAS) to ensure you are following the national AAMC traffic rules.  

April 30th is the last day to decide which offer to accept and which to withdraw.  

 

What Happens If I Get Waitlisted? 

When an accepted applicant leaves their seat, an applicant from the alternate list (waitlist) will be selected and an offer will be made. This process is generally slow and unpredictable considering there is a lot of shuffling during the rolling admissions period. You may be selected from the alternate pool up until the beginning of orientation. 

Find out what that being waitlisted means for your chances to be admitted and learn about how the admissions cycle works.  

Watch the Courage Session Texas A&M University College of Medicine and Long School of Medicine 

 Feel free to review past statistics information for medical applicants to compare the number of applicants who interviewed vs. those that received an offer of admission on the Medical Applicant Data Statistics Dashboard.  

For more additional information on how the Match is conducted please see the policies on conducting the match. Good luck! 

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Inside Health Education

• Topics: AppTips
• Authors: TMDSAS Support
• Date:  March 2, 2022