The 3 Main Medical School Applications Every Premed Must Know

Mar 31, 2021

medical school applications

There are three stages to the medical school application process: primary applications, secondary applications, and interviews. The primary application is the initial application a medical school receives. Secondary applications (a.k.a. supplemental applications) are school-specific applications sent to an applicant after the primary application has been approved. Finally, the interview is when you visit the school and get the chance to talk to the faculty directly. 

All U.S. medical schools use 1 of 3 application services: AMCAS, TMDSAS, and AAMCOMAS. Each medical school program only uses one application service. Knowing the difference between these three main medical school application services prior to applying can help you prepare for the different components of each application. In this article, we will discuss each of these medical school application services and the differences between them. 

American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS)

Used by: U.S. allopathic (M.D.) medical schools
Application Cost: $170 for first medical school. Additional medical schools cost $41 each.
Application opening date: AMCAS opens May 4, 2021.

AMCAS is the AAMC’s centralized medical school application service. Most M.D. medical schools located in the United States use AMCAS as their primary application method. 

Official AMCAS Website
AMCAS Application
List of medical schools that use AMCAS

Texas Medical & Dental Schools Application Service (TMDSAS)

Used by: Texas allopathic and osteopathic medical schools
Application Cost: $185 flat rate regardless of how many schools you apply to.
Application opening date: TMDSAS opens May 1, 2021

TMDSAS is the medical school application service for medical schools, dental schools and veterinarian schools in Texas. Medical school applicants can use TMDSAS to apply to medical schools in the state of Texas. 

Official TMDSAS Website
TMDSAS Application
List of medical schools that use TMDSAS

American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service (AACOMAS) 

Used by: U.S. osteopathic (D.O) medical schools
Application Cost: $196 for first medical school. Additional medical schools cost $46 each.
Application opening date: AACOMAS opens May 5th, 2021.

AACOMAS is the centralized online application service for the US osteopathic medical schools. 

Official AACOMAS Website
AACOMAS Application
List of medical schools that use AACOMAS

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Download a printable list of M.D. medical schools in the United States
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