Texas Medical School Update Letters: TMDSAS Rules

Texas Medical School Update Letters: TMDSAS Rules

New grades and test scores go into your TMDSAS application, not a letter: schools see the change "usually … overnight," and "The applicant does not need to reach out to the school." Essays and activities are locked after you submit. A letter is only for what the application cannot hold, and only UTMB and Long SOM publish a route for update letters. Texas Tech in Lubbock takes no letters, and Sam Houston State takes nothing that does not come through TMDSAS.

Half of a Texas update is not a letter at all. Emailing fall grades sends schools what they already have, and retelling your personal statement adds nothing they can use. The rest of this page is the part a letter is for: what is new, which school will read it, and the exact route each one asks for.

Every TMDSAS and school page below was re-checked on November 7, 2026. School pages rarely state a cycle year; we say so where they do not.

What you can change inside TMDSAS after submitting

From the TMDSAS after-submitting page:

"Once you have submitted your application, you can only make edits/changes to the following sections: Contact Info, Colleges Attended, College Coursework, Terms Attended, Planned Enrollment, My Account, and Test Scores."

"Can I change my essays once I've submitted my application? … No. No changes can be made to the essays once you have submitted your application."

And on whether schools hear about the change:

"Yes. Any updates made in your application become available to the schools you applied for. This usually updates in the schools system overnight. The applicant does not need to reach out to the school."

TMDSAS's "Approved Changes after Submitting" table (last updated July 24, 2025, per the page) sorts the rest:

So: grades and scores go in the portal; everything else that is new needs a letter or waits.

Which updates deserve a letter

Run three checks on each item:

1. Is it new since you submitted? If it is already in your activities, it is not an update. The medical school update letter rubric reads first for "information added or changed since the application or previous contact."
2. Can the school verify it or picture it? "Lead volunteer since September, running Saturday intake for twenty patients" passes. "I have grown as a leader" does not.
3. Does the school take letters? Check the table below. If it does not, stop.

Our view: one letter per school, sent when you have something new, and usually that means once in a cycle. Fall grades alone are not a letter, because the school already sees them.

The countercase: a correction. If something in your file is wrong and TMDSAS marks that section "Update" (TMDSAS adds an update to your file instead of changing the application), message TMDSAS first. A letter to a school is the second step, not the first.

School-by-school update routes (checked November 7, 2026)

Baylor College of Medicine is not in the table: its admissions pages did not load for us on November 7, 2026 (connection failed). What "Not stated" means: the page we name was checked and says nothing about letters. It does not mean the school forbids them, and it does not mean the school reads them. Our recommendation for those nine: put grades and scores in TMDSAS and send nothing else unless the school invites it, for example in an interview-day email. If you write to the general admissions address anyway, send one short letter with real news.

Note what Sam Houston State's FAQ adds: "Updates from TMDSAS will be added to your file and visible to the admissions committee, but it is at their discretion whether it will be considered in their decision process or not." Even a portal update is the committee's call to weigh.

Constructed Texas update letter, annotated

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant's letter. The applicant and every detail are invented. It follows Long SOM's published route: a PDF emailed to the admissions address with the file named the way the school asks. The letter is 136 words.

File name: Nguyen, Linh, [TMDSAS ID], Update Letter.pdf

Dear Admissions Committee,

Thank you for my interview on October 9. I am writing with two updates since I submitted my TMDSAS application in June.

In August I became a research assistant in the cardiology outcomes group at my university hospital. I built the data set for a study of readmissions after heart failure discharge, and on October 30 our abstract was accepted for a regional poster session in February.

In September I was promoted to shift lead at the free clinic where I have volunteered since 2024. I now schedule twelve volunteers and run the Thursday medication-refill line.

My fall grades will be entered in TMDSAS in December, when my university posts them. San Antonio remains the city where I want to train, and I would be glad to answer any questions.

Sincerely, Linh Nguyen

Why it works against the update rubric:

• What has changed: two items, each dated after submission. Neither is in the locked activities section.
• What the update adds: each names a role, an output and a number. The abstract is "accepted for a regional poster session", which is true and checkable, not "published".
• Grades: one line pointing to the portal, not a transcript pasted into the letter.

The paragraph to cut

A first draft had this paragraph in the middle:

My passion for medicine began when my grandmother was treated at a small clinic in Laredo, where I saw how much a doctor who spoke Vietnamese meant to my family. That experience has guided every step of my journey since.

It retells the personal statement. The school already has that essay, TMDSAS will not let you change it, and a reader looking for "what has changed" finds nothing new in it. Cut it. If the school's tie to your story matters, one clause in the closing line carries it.

Also cut, wherever they appear: any sentence about your rank list (schools cannot see it, and a Texas letter is not the place to disclose it), and any grade you are about to enter in the portal anyway.

After Match Day: updates for the alternate list

Rolling admissions continues after the February 12, 2027 match "through the beginning of orientation at each medical school," per TMDSAS. UTMB's alternate pool "is not ranked", and its committee "will review all candidates in the pool" when seats open, so an update sent then reaches a fresh review. The steps after No Match, including the May 15 rule and response windows, are in what to do after a TMDSAS No Match.

Questions about Texas update letters

Does McGovern Medical School accept update letters?

Its admissions FAQ and application process pages, checked November 7, 2026, publish no update-letter policy. McGovern's FAQ does say it "will select applicants from our waitlist after the TMDSAS Match in February each year." Put grades and scores in TMDSAS.

How do I add fall grades to my TMDSAS application?

In the College Coursework section, change each "NY - Not Yet Reported" grade to the letter grade. If the term is locked, message TMDSAS in the portal and ask it to unlock that term.

Are schools notified when I update TMDSAS?

Yes. TMDSAS says updates usually reach schools overnight and you do not need to contact them.

Can I change my TMDSAS essays after submitting?

No. Essays are locked once you submit.

Can I send an update to Texas Tech in Lubbock?

No. Its FAQ says it is no longer accepting letters of updates or other supplemental correspondence.

Is a letter of intent the same as an update in Texas?

No. An update reports new facts. A letter of intent promises to attend, which does little in the Texas match because schools never see your rank list: see TMDSAS letters of intent: does it matter in the match. For what happens on interview day, see Texas interview formats and thank-you rules.

Get a free review of your update letter

Get a free Quick Review of your update letter against GradPilot's medical school update letter rubric. It reads whether the letter says what has changed since you applied and whether each update gives the reader a clear account of your new work, role or circumstances. If your letter is mostly about why you want the school, use the medical school letter of intent and interest rubric.

For updates outside Texas, see medical school update letters before an interview and the medical school waitlist update letter. More guides are in the medical school essays hub.

Sources

Retrieved November 7, 2026.

• TMDSAS, After Submitting: making changes, approved changes table (last updated 07/24/2025), FAQs, match (2026-2027 cycle): editable sections, locked essays and activities, NY grades, term unlock, school notification, rolling admissions after the match.
• UTMB John Sealy School of Medicine, Admission Policies and FAQs (no year stated): update and letter-of-intent routes; alternate pool.
• UT Health San Antonio Long School of Medicine, Interview Process (no year stated on the update text): PDF route and file name; interview portal.
• Texas Tech University HSC School of Medicine, Admissions FAQ (no year stated): no letters.
• Sam Houston State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Prospective Students FAQ (no year stated): TMDSAS-only documents; no re-review.
• McGovern Medical School, Admissions FAQ and Application Process; UT Southwestern, Admissions; Texas A&M, MD FAQ; Dell Med, How to Apply FAQs; Texas Tech Health El Paso, Foster SOM Admissions; UTRGV, SOM Admissions; UT Tyler, SOM Admissions; University of Houston, Fertitta COM Admissions; UNT Health, TCOM Admissions and Outreach: checked for a letter policy; none stated.
• Not retrieved: Baylor College of Medicine admissions pages (connection failed on November 7, 2026); not quoted.