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.
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.
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.
The school ranking results become available on March 4th at 8 a.m. CST, and rolling admissions begin!
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.
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.
Watch How the TMDSAS Match Works to review how these scenarios play out.
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.
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!
About the author: The TMDSAS Support team is here to help address your questions about how to get through the application to the schools quickly and easily.
TMA will provide fifteen $10,000 scholarships to EY 2023 incoming Texas medical students from underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds. Apply today!
3 FREE mentorship programs to connect you to pre-med and medical students and professionals already in the world of medicine who are willing to provide their knowledge and support to students looking for guidance.
The Student National Medical Association (SNMA) seeks premed and medical students as well as physicians who have the passion to lead and inspire by taking on mentees from underrepresented backgrounds.
