TMDSAS Dental: Dec 15 Offers, No Match, Waitlists

TMDSAS Dental: Dec 15 Offers, No Match, Waitlists

Texas dental has no match and no rank list. The four Texas dental schools begin extending offers on December 15, 2026, and after April 15, 2027 they can no longer make offers to applicants who hold another seat. TMDSAS says the match "applies to admission into participating schools' MD and DO programs only."

The "December 1" date you keep running into comes from a TMDSAS dental FAQ page that still shows the 2021-22 cycle. This page puts the current dates beside the stale ones, says what each Texas dental school publishes about its interview, and gives a constructed waitlist letter.

Every page quoted below was checked on November 7, 2026. The dates are for Entry Year 2027 (classes starting in 2027).

The Entry Year 2027 dental calendar

From TMDSAS's Deadlines and Important Dates page, under "Entry Year 2027", "Dental Application":

The deadlines page lists no year beside each dental date; the years above follow from the Entry Year 2027 heading. UT Health San Antonio's DDS admissions page adds one more: "December 1 - Deadline for taking DAT of the application year for it to be considered for the current application cycle (TMDSAS Deadline)".

TMDSAS's After Submitting page settles the match question: "The medical school matching process applies to admission into participating schools' MD and DO programs only." There is no dental rank list to submit, no Match Day and no pre-match window. Offers simply start on December 15.

December 1 or December 15? Why the sources disagree

TMDSAS's dental Interviews and Offers page still reads, as of November 7, 2026:

"The dental schools begin extending offers of acceptance on December 1st, 2021."

"After May 1, 2022 no dental school in Texas may offer a position to an applicant already accepted by another dental school in Texas."

Those dates belong to the Entry Year 2022 cycle. Three current sources say December 15:

ADEA's guidelines for dental schools also say to notify applicants "no earlier than Dec. 15 of the academic year prior to the academic year of matriculation." One more ADEA page, the undated Timeline to Apply, still says "Sometime after December 1, you will (hopefully) receive offers of admission."

Our view: December 15, 2026 is the date for Texas dental offers, and April 15, 2027, not May 1, is the cutoff. The basis is that the current TMDSAS calendar, a Texas school's own page and ADEA's dated 2026-27 list agree, while every page saying otherwise is either dated 2021-22 or undated. The countercase: early-acceptance program participants. The stale TMDSAS page says their offers "may be extended on or after October 15, 2021", and we found no current date for them, so ask your program office directly.

If you also applied to out-of-state schools through ADEA AADSAS, those schools follow ADEA's response periods, not the Texas rules. The December 15 ADEA rules page covers them, and holding multiple dental school acceptances covers deposits.

Multiple offers, withdrawing and waitlists

The rules for juggling Texas dental offers sit on the same stale TMDSAS page. The dates on it are old, but these sentences carry no date:

"Applicants who receive offers of acceptance from more than one dental school must choose the one school that he/she prefers and withdraw from the other school(s) in accordance with the terms of the acceptance (generally this should be within a two week period)."

"Applicants who choose to withdraw from one or more schools must notify each school and TMDSAS in writing via internal message of their decision."

"Applicants who have made a final decision on the school they plan to attend have the obligation to promptly withdraw their applications from all other schools."

The page calls the cutoff "the result of an agreement among the four Texas dental schools" and adds: "Only extraordinary circumstances warrant an exception to this policy." An exception needs the dean or director at the school holding your seat to approve it "before the offer is extended."

What this means for a waitlist:

1. From December 15 to April 15, 2027, any Texas dental school can offer you a seat, including one you hold elsewhere in Texas. Choose within the window your acceptance letter sets, generally two weeks.
2. After April 15, offers go only to applicants with no other seat. If you hold a seat, your waitlist position elsewhere in Texas stops mattering.
3. If you hold no seat, offers can still come: the stale page says "Offers of acceptance will continue to be made until classes are filled", and UT Health San Antonio says "Acceptances will continue until the class is filled."

The four Texas dental schools: interviews and letters

Only the schools' own pages are used here.

Details behind the rows:

• UT Health San Antonio notifies interviewees "two to three weeks before the interview date". On acceptances: "The first round of acceptance letters will be sent electronically and followed by a formal letter by mail on December 15." It requires "a non-refundable enrollment deposit of $100".
• Hunt SDM's Interview Tips sheet is headed "Fall 2024", a past cycle. It lists two MMI types (2 applicants to 1 evaluator, "1 min to read + 7 min to respond"; and 1 to 1, "7 min to read & respond"), a group activity with 5 applicants to 1 evaluator, and a traditional one-on-one of "25-30 min". It notes "Evaluators are silent participants."
• Texas A&M requires a secondary before the TMDSAS application is considered. TMDSAS: "There is no fee for this secondary application."

None of the four pages we checked states whether the school accepts a letter of interest or an update letter. Our view: email the admissions office one line asking whether it accepts a letter of continued interest before you send one. Asking first tells you whether the letter will be read, where it goes and in what format. For interview-day detail across US dental schools, see dental school interview formats by school.

Constructed example: a letter of intent for a Texas dental waitlist

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant statement. Context (invented): Agnieszka Balogun interviewed at a Texas dental school in October, holds no seat, and was told in January that she is on the alternate list.

Dear Admissions Committee,

Thank you for interviewing me on October 9. I am writing to say that your school remains my first choice and that I will enroll if I am offered a seat.

Since my interview, I finished my second semester of anatomy with an A and started Saturday shifts at a community clinic in Pharr, where I chart for a dentist who sees mostly uninsured families. Two weeks ago I watched her explain a treatment plan to a grandmother in Spanish, step by step, with the cost of each step written down. That is the care I want to learn to give in South Texas, and [one program feature named on the school's own website] is the reason your school is first on my list.

I will update you if anything else changes. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely, Agnieszka Balogun, TMDSAS ID 000000

The letter is 143 words from "Thank you" to the ID line. It says "first choice" and "I will enroll", which is a promise: send it to one school only. It gives one new fact, one scene from that new activity and one feature of the school. The bracket is where a real feature from the school's own pages goes; do not send it with a generic line. For more patterns, see the dental school letter of intent guide and the dental waitlist letter of continued interest.

Questions about Texas dental admissions

Is there a TMDSAS dental match?

No. TMDSAS says the match applies to "MD and DO programs only." There is no rank list for dental.

When do Texas dental schools send acceptances?

From December 15, 2026. The TMDSAS page that says December 1 is still showing the 2021 cycle.

Can I hold two Texas dental acceptances?

Only briefly. You "must choose the one school that he/she prefers and withdraw from the other school(s)", generally within two weeks, and after April 15, 2027 no Texas dental school can offer a seat to someone holding another.

How do I withdraw from a Texas dental school?

Notify each school and TMDSAS "in writing via internal message". The dental school decline email guide has a template.

Review the writing you send next

If you are not admitted this cycle, the first document you write for the next TMDSAS cycle is the dental personal statement. Get a free Quick Review of your dental personal statement against GradPilot's AADSAS personal statement rubric, the closest to the TMDSAS dental essay: it checks your reason for oral health, why dentistry rather than health care in general, and whether your experiences are interpreted rather than listed. If you are on a waitlist now, the letter of intent and interest rubric reads a waitlist letter for a specific reason to attend and an interest level you can stand behind. Secondary answers can go through the dental secondary short-answer rubric.

More Texas guides:

• How the TMDSAS match works: the medical-side process dental applicants do not use.
• The medical school essays hub and the AADSAS personal statement review page.

Sources

Retrieved November 7, 2026, except where noted.

• TMDSAS, Deadlines and Important Dates (Entry Year 2027): October 1, October 15, December 15 and April 15 dental dates.
• TMDSAS, Dental: Interviews and Offers of Admission (dated 2021-22 in its text): stale December 1 and May 1 dates; undated rules on multiple offers, withdrawals, the four-school agreement and exceptions.
• TMDSAS, After Submitting Your Application (Entry Year 2027): match applies to MD and DO only; Texas A&M dental secondary, no fee.
• UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry, DDS Admissions (no year stated): timeline, interviewers, notice period, December 15 letters, deposit, rolling acceptances.
• Texas Tech El Paso Hunt School of Dental Medicine, Admissions FAQ (no year stated) and Interview Tips (Fall 2024): interview season and formats.
• Texas A&M College of Dentistry, Applications (no year stated): Admissions Committee interview.
• UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry, Doctor of Dental Surgery: no interview or letter policy stated.
• ADEA, Applying to Dental School: ADEA AADSAS (2026-27 important dates), Guidelines for Dental Schools When Extending Offers of Admission and Timeline to Apply (undated): December 15 notification date and the older "after December 1" wording.