Other Points to Consider
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It is very competitive to gain admission into a Texas medical
school
According to the Texas Medical and Dental Schools Application
Service, there were 4,128 applications submitted for 1,306 seats in the
seven Texas public medical schools in 2007. This equals approximately three
applications for each seat. Over the past four years, applications have
increased considerably. Subsequently, it is getting harder to gain
admission.
TCOM encourages applicants to formulate an application strategy that includes applying to each of the eight medical schools in Texas (the TMDSAS schools and the Baylor College of Medicine) as well as selected medical schools outside the state. While it is desirable among most applicants to attend a medical school in Texas, there is simply not enough space available to accommodate everyone who wishes to do so.
Applicants should research possibilities outside the state. There are a number of allopathic and osteopathic medical schools around the nation that may admit you. However, while the mean GPA and MCAT scores for these schools may be lower than medical schools in Texas, it does not mean that they are any less competitive to gain admission or less rigorous academically.
You should have a Plan B
During a number of medical
school interviews, applicants are asked, 'What will you do if you are not
admitted into our medical school?' You should have planned for this possibility
regardless of how strong your academic credentials are. Whether this means
applying to more medical schools next year or choosing another health
professions field is entirely up to you. However, you should be doing some
research on this topic. There is a web site at http://www.explorehealthcareers.org
that has information about numerous opportunities available in health-related
fields.
During this process, you should also be considering your interests and future goals. If you like the research aspect of science, you may be better suited for a career as a biomedical scientist. If you enjoy working on health education and prevention for entire communities, a career in public health may be of interest to you. Being a physician is a wonderful and rewarding career. However, it is not the only field that contributes to the well-being of others.
Sometimes it takes more than one year to improve an
application
As previously stated under the section on Academic
Problems with Applications, sometimes applicants may take more than one year to
remedy any weaknesses. If this is the case for you, we do not recommend that you
apply until you have addressed your weaknesses, even if it takes more than one
year to do so.
For example, if you are completing a master's degree program that takes two years, you should not apply for admission when you will only have completed the first year unless the program is specifically designed for this purpose. Otherwise, it does not show a sense of maturity in an applicant who does not see an academic degree through to its completion.
In particular to reapplicants who have previous academic difficulties, it is best to take the time to prepare a very strong reapplication rather than a haphazard effort after marginally completing some course work.
This page last updated Apr 18, 2008
