In this article, I will share the medical school application timeline when applying to MD, DO, and MD-PhD applications. Having been an applicant myself, and now, coaching many students through the process, I will share important tips and strategies when applying to medical school.
It’s important to keep in mind that these are general medical school timelines and guidelines. The timeline I shared is one that I followed personally and worked for me. Ultimately, my goal was to send in my AMCAS application as close to the date that I can first submit the primary application. Therefore, this timeline is for those who want to submit as early as possible (which is highly recommended to maximize the odds of getting into medical school).
AMCAS (MD and MD-PhD Admissions) Timeline
What is the AMCAS?
AMCAS stands for The American Medical College Application Service. It is the American Association of Medical College (AAMC)’s centralized medical school application processing service. With the exception of DO/Osteopathic Schools and Texas schools that use TMDAS, most medical schools utilize the AMCAS. You can check out the participating medical schools here.
Through the AMCAS, you can apply to MD and MD-PhD programs. To learn more about the differences between the two programs, you can learn about it in this article:
Important AMCAS Deadlines
The AMCAS generally opens in early May. For the 2021-2022 application cycle, the AMCAS application opened on May 3, 2021. This was the earliest you could fill it out.
In late May or early June, you can first submit the primary application. For the application cycle 2021-2022, the first day to submit AMCAS was May 27, 2021. Once submitted, the application will be verified. The first date that processed applications were released to medical schools was June 25, 2021. I recommend sending in your completed primary application as soon as you can.
In early October, this is when schools can start offering acceptances.
From October to December, this is when applications to individual medical schools close. Individual medical schools will have different dates on which they will no longer accept applications. The majority are in October and November.
If you hold multiple acceptances, you must only keep one acceptance and withdraw from the rest by April 30th. You, however, can remain on any waitlist.
| AMCAS Medical School Application timeline | Description |
|---|---|
| Early May | This is the first day that the primary application opens and can be filled out |
| Late May-Early June | This is the first day that primary application can be submitted |
| Early October | This is the first day that schools can offer acceptances |
| October to December | School application deadlines for individual medical schools with the majority being in October and November. |
| April 30 | You can only hold one acceptance at a medical school (must withdraw other acceptances); however, you can remain on any waitlist |
| July-August | When most medical schools start class |
AAMCOS (DO Admissions) Timeline
What is AACOMAS?
The AACOMAS is basically the AMCAS where it services as a centralized application system. However, is for applying to DO/Osteopathic schools. Here is a list of AACOMAS schools: here.
Important AACOMAS Deadlines
In the 2021-2022 application cycle, the application opened on May 4, 2021, and the first application released to medical schools was June 15, 2021.
Starting in June, schools will begin reviewing applications.
The majority of DO schools will close their applications entirely by February and March.
| AACOMASMedical School Application timeline | Description |
|---|---|
| Early May | This is the first day that the primary application opens and can be filled out |
| June | Starting in June, schools begin receiving and reviewing the application |
| Oct-April | Individual school application deadlines with the majority in February and March |
| May 15 | AACOMAS reports to each institution the names and candidates for its entering class who hold an acceptance(s) at additional institutions. An osteopathic medical college may rescind an offer of admissions to a candidate who has paid deposits to or holds positions at multiple institutions |
TMDAS Timeline
What is TMDAS?
If you plan to apply to schools in Texas, you’ll have to familiarize yourself with the TMDAS. The twelve schools that participate in TMDAS can be found here. Some include Baylor College of Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern, and Texas A&M College of Medicine.
It’s important to note that of the entire TMDAS applicant pool, 75% of applicants were Texas residents. Only 5-10% of matriculants are out-of-state students. As you can see, Texas medical schools have a strong preference for Texas residents. If you are an out-of-state student, consider looking at MSAR to see what percent of out-of-state students end up matriculating at a specific medical school. That way, you can weigh the cost and benefit of applying through an additional application system.
Important TMDAS Deadlines
The TMDAS application opened May 3, 2021, during the 2021-2022 application cycle. The first day to submit was May 17, 2021, and the application deadline was October 30, 2021.
The application closed on November 1, 2021.
Applicants filled out their match preferences by February 18, 2021.
Match results were released on March 4, 2021.
| TMDASMedical School Application Timeline | Description |
|---|---|
| Early May | TMDAS application opens Submission opens within a couple of weeks |
| September | All supporting documents (transcripts, evaluation letters, test scores) for Early Decision Program applicants must be received at TMDSAS |
| October | Early Decisions released Medical schools begin extending offers of acceptance |
| November | Submission deadline for application to the medical programs |
| February | Submission deadline for RANKING of SCHOOL PREFERENCE for the TMDSAS admissions match; must be entered online |
| March | Match results are announced and the rolling admissions period begins |
Can I apply to both AACOMAS, AMCAS, and TMDAS?
Yes, you can.
I actually recommend my students to apply both AAMCOS and AMCAS if their GPA and MCAT are borderline. And if you have residency in Texas, then TMDAS is a good option.
According to the 2020 AACOMAS Applicant and Matriculant Report, there were 30,308 applicants and 8,280 matriculants. Matriculant undergraduate GPA was 3.67 (non-science), 3.46 (science), and 3.56 (Total). Average MCAT total score was 504.29 for matriculants.
The average MCAT for students accepted to allopathic/MD medical schools in the United States in 2020-2021 was 511.5. Average overall GPA was 3.73, science GPA was 3.66, and non-science GPA was 3.82.
Having helped students apply to both AAMCOMAS and AMCAS, I can say that it’s not too much additional effort to apply to both in terms of the primary application. Moreover, much of the application is similar with an exception of trimming some of your AMCAS responses to fit the AACOMAS word count.
General Medical School Application Timeline
| Timeline | Description |
|---|---|
| Summer before entry year | Primary Application Secondaries to Specific Schools |
| October to February | Interviews |
| November to March | Final Decisions Waitlist Offers |
| March to April | Revisit Program |
| June to August of entry year | Start Program |
Why you should submit early
It takes at least 4 weeks to be verified
Once you submit your AMCAS application and the transcript is processed, it takes weeks for it to be verified. The verification process will verify the grades on your transcript. In the beginning, there weren’t as many applications so the verification. However, it may take up to four weeks for the AMCAS to be verified.
Therefore, if you apply in early May, you should be verified by early June.
At the time of writing this article on September 7th, there’s an alert on the AMCAS website that verification takes 6 to 8 weeks. If you wait until September to submit, then your application won’t be verified until mid-October at the soonest.
Rolling admissions
Most interview invites are sent out by MD, MD-PhD, and DO programs on a rolling basis. This means that applications are reviewed as they arrive.
Secondaries are then sent out. Likewise, secondary responses are reviewed as they arrive. Then, interview invites are sent on a rolling basis. Those students who submit their secondaries sooner will be considered for interviews sooner. It’s important to realize that as the application season processes, the limited interview slots will diminish.
Fall-Winter
Ask for letter of recommendations.
Professors get swamped with requests so make sure to ask early. As a matter of fact, some professors may cap how many letters they write given how many requests they receive.
Connect with your pre-health advising committee
Also, be sure to check as early as possible what the committee letter requirements are if your institution provides them. In general, if your school offers committee letters, then you should get one.
Moreover, there are interviews that you may have to conduct with your prehealth mentoring office as these letters are not guaranteed. I’ve known that some students get denied for a committee letter since the pre-health mentoring office deemed them unready for applying to medical school.
Winter-Spring
Take the MCAT.
I highly recommend setting your MCAT date during the Winter or early Spring at the latest. Hopefully, you won’t have to retake it but if you do, then you have the Spring to retake it. Planning to take the MCAT in winter and early Spring gives you some buffer in case anything comes up and you can push the exam back if needed.
For example, when I was applying, I had originally planned to take the MCAT in the winter. Then I ended up pushing it back to the Spring. Thankfully, I didn’t have to retake it. But if I did, I could take it again before the AMCAS opened and still submit my primary application in the earlier part of the cycle.
You will be surprised by the number of students I’ve worked with who push their exams back to the summer. Consequently, their applications get sent later. Some students end up withdrawing their applications because their MCAT score was too low.
Furthermore, the application process is already stressful. Trying to put together applications while studying for the MCAT can be incredibly stressful, so plan as much as possible to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Brainstorm for your personal statement
When I applied, I started drafting my personal statement in the winter. As a matter of fact, it was required by my pre-health advising office for the committee letter. In hindsight, I appreciated this push to begin brainstorming early as it made the whole writing process much easier.
Spring
Start drafting or continue editing your personal statement. Don’t underestimate how much time it’ll take to write one. Give yourself at least a month or two. Brainstorming, drafting, and revising are long processes. Be sure to get some people to read your drafts and provide feedback.
When I was applying, I focused on creating a better draft in March and April. As a result of planning accordingly, I ended up turning in my application within the week of the AMCAS opening.
I’ve found that students who contact me to start working on their personal statement around February-March end up turning in their AMCAS application relatively early June and July. Students who contact me past April end up having to turn in their applications in late July and even into August.
In May, when the AMCAS opens, start putting in your information.
To centralize all the information you need to fill out for the AMCAS before it even opens, you can download this form that I put together below. All my students that I work with have used it and found it helpful since they just have to copy and paste their written responses once the AMCAS opens.
Summer
Start working on secondaries as soon as you submit primary applications. As a matter of fact, lots of the prompts are already available online.
For example, after I submitted my AMCAS primary application in early May, I took a week or so to rest. I then started writing secondaries based on the existing prompts that I found on the internet. In my experience, most secondary prompts remained the same between the past year and the current year.
It’s important to get a headstart on secondaries. Sometimes the essays will trickle in. Sometimes they will flood. Some schools will have you write 3 essays. If two schools send you secondaries in the same week, that’s 6 essays. It can get overwhelming very quickly and with a general rule to return responses back within 1-2 weeks, you’ll want to plan accordingly.
To strategize your secondaries, I’ve written an in-depth article on how to minimize writing and maximize your turnaround rate.
Fall
Prepare for interviews and do well! You can read articles that I’ve covered interviewing strategies for medical school here:
Late Fall-Spring
After a marathon of the primary application, secondaries, and interviews, you will now wait.
If you are waitlisted or do not hear back, you may consider writing a letter of intent or letter of interest.
This link, here, provides information on how many waitlist spots there are at a particular medical school with instructions on how to communicate with the program after being waitlisted.
Final Thoughts
I hope that you’ve found the medical school application timeline and strategies in this post to be useful. Good luck on your applications!!
