TMDSAS Rank List: How to Rank Texas Med Schools

TMDSAS Rank List: How to Rank Texas Med Schools

Rank every Texas school where you interviewed in the order you would rather attend, and submit by 5 p.m. CST on Friday, January 29, 2027. Schools never see the list. A school you declined in the pre-match period is the only one you may leave off.

The strategy questions (whether to put the pre-match school first, whether ranking a school second "looks bad", whether a school will notice) have one answer under the TMDSAS rules: schools never see the list. The list cannot get you into a school. It only chooses among the schools that already ranked you high enough. So the work is deciding where you would rather spend four years, on paper, before January. How the match algorithm pairs applicants and schools is in our TMDSAS match explainer; this page is the ranking method.

Every TMDSAS and school page quoted below was re-checked on November 7, 2026, for the 2026-2027 cycle (entry year 2027).

The rules in six lines (entry year 2027)

All from the TMDSAS after-submitting page and the TMDSAS deadlines page:

1. When you can rank. "The ability to enter your match preferences will be available on August 1 at 8:00 a.m. CST." The [School Rank Preference] link sits under [Pending Actions], and a school shows up only "once a school has updated your status to 'Interviewed'".
2. The deadline. January 29: "Submission deadline for RANKING of SCHOOL PREFERENCE for the TMDSAS admissions match; must be entered online by 5 p.m. CST".
3. Who you must rank. "Applicants must rank all schools where they interviewed except those schools where a pre-match offer was declined." One interview still means one ranking.
4. What a missed deadline costs. "Applicants who do not enter their match preference rank by the deadline will automatically be withdrawn from all medical schools regardless of whether or not a pre-match offer has been made."
5. What you keep. "After the rank preference date, applicants are no longer able to view your preferences in the application portal. You will want to keep a screen-shot of your preferences for your records."
6. When you find out. "Individual match results will be posted on the TMDSAS website on February 12, 2027 at 8 am CT."

Only Texas residents interviewed by at least one TMDSAS school are in the match. Non-Texas residents and MD/PhD, DO/PhD and MD/MBA applicants are not.

Why ranking strategy cannot help you

Section III of the TMDSAS Guidelines for Conduct of the Match is the whole answer:

"Participating schools do not have access to the applicants' school preference rankings. Admission decisions at the participating schools are independent of the applicants' school preference rankings because the schools have no knowledge of the applicants' rankings."

And:

"The schools' ranking of the applicants determines who gets matched into a school through the process, not the applicants' ranking of the school."

Two consequences follow. First, putting a school first does not raise your place on its list, because the school never learns your order. Second, putting a school lower than you really prefer it can only cost you: if that school would have taken you, the match now gives you a school you liked less. There is no case where an honest list does worse than a "strategic" one.

Our view: rank by preference alone and stop there. The countercase is the applicant whose preferences are unclear, not one who has found a trick. If two schools are a true tie, use the decision sheet below to break it.

The decision sheet: score each school on what you will live with

Write one row per school you interviewed at. Set your own weights before you score, so the numbers cannot drift toward the school you already favor.

Constructed example: one applicant's sheet

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant's ranking. The applicant, the five schools and every score are invented to show the method. Weights add to 10; scores run 1 to 5; totals are our arithmetic.

The sheet puts A just above B, 39 to 38. Then the gut check: the applicant notices that B's "city and support" score is a 5 because a parent needs help nearby during third year. That is not a preference; it is a constraint. The applicant moves B to first. The sheet is there to make you say why you are overriding it. If you cannot name the reason, keep the sheet's order.

Note what the sheet does not use: the pre-match offer. B's offer is a floor, not a factor. If B is not the school you want most, it still belongs below the one you want.

Stuck between two schools: a worked tie-break

Take any pair: UT Southwestern vs Baylor, Dell vs UT Southwestern, McGovern vs Long, TCOM vs Texas Tech. A single page cannot settle it for you, and prestige lists do not appear in TMDSAS's rules. Three questions can.

1. Can I still see either school before 5 p.m. on January 29? Some second looks happen only after Match Day (next section). If one school offers an event before the deadline and the other does not, go to it.
2. What does each school say its mission is, on its own page? Compare that to the career you described in your personal statement.
3. What will each cost for four years, from this year's numbers? Ask both financial aid offices for the current figure.

A worked pair, using only what the schools publish. UT Southwestern runs "two back-to-back interviews with UT Southwestern faculty members" virtually, states the mission above, and makes offers "on a rolling basis throughout the admissions season outside of the TMDSAS Match period" (UT Southwestern admissions). UTMB John Sealy runs a seven-station MMI and holds "Campus Preview Days (Invitation Only – event for interviewed applicants)" in December and January (UTMB timeline). An applicant torn between them can, if invited, see UTMB in person before the deadline. UT Southwestern's admissions page links a Virtual Visit and lists no pre-deadline event for interviewed applicants. That is a real difference in what you can learn before you rank.

Baylor College of Medicine's admissions pages did not load for us on November 7, 2026 (connection failed), so this page does not quote its dates. Run the same three questions on Baylor from its own site.

Second looks and preview days: which come before you rank

So collect your questions in December, while you can still ask them. Six questions worth sending to a current student at each school (our constructed list):

1. What does a normal week look like in the first clinical year, and where are you placed?
2. How are first-year courses graded, and how is that reported later?
3. When students needed academic or personal help, who did they go to?
4. What did your class actually spend each month on rent?
5. Which specialties did last year's graduates enter, and does the school publish the list?
6. What would you change about the school if you could?

Holding a pre-match? Where it goes on the list

Exactly where it would go if you had no offer. Ranking a school above your pre-match school does not put the offer at risk; you lose it only if you match to the school you ranked higher. The rule text, and how to decline an offer you will not take so the school can come off your list, are in how to hold, decline or reply to a TMDSAS pre-match offer.

Check the list before it locks

The list is due once, and then it is gone from view. TMDSAS: "Match preference ranking must be entered by January 29, 2027." Schools appear on the list as they interview you: the [School Rank Preference] link shows "once a school has updated your status to 'Interviewed'", and a missing school means "your status at that school has not yet been updated to 'Interviewed.'"

A final pass in the week of January 25:

1. Every school where you interviewed is on the list, minus any pre-match offer you declined.
2. If a school is missing, the school has not set your status to "Interviewed". TMDSAS says to allow "a few weeks after your interview before contacting the school about updating your status."
3. The order matches your sheet, or you can name the reason it does not.
4. Take the screenshot.

Questions about the TMDSAS rank list

Can Texas medical schools see my rank list?

No. Section III: "Participating schools do not have access to the applicants' school preference rankings."

Will I lose my pre-match offer if I rank another school first?

No. You keep it unless you match to the school you ranked higher.

Do I have to rank a school I no longer want?

Yes, unless it made you a pre-match offer and you declined it. Rank it last. If it is the only school that ranks you in range, you match there and can then decide.

Should I rank a DO school above an MD school?

If you would rather attend it, yes. TMDSAS runs one match for both: "The medical school matching process applies to admission into participating schools' MD and DO programs only." Compare residency outcomes with NRMP data before you decide.

What if I miss the 5 p.m. deadline?

You are withdrawn from all Texas medical schools, even with a pre-match offer. TMDSAS sends an internal message before it withdraws you.

Can I switch to a lower-ranked school after Match Day?

Only through TMDSAS. Section V says an applicant who wants to leave the matched school for a lower-ranked one is referred to the TMDSAS director, and "it will be up to the matched medical school to release the student before any offer of acceptance to a lower ranked school can be issued." Rank honestly now and you avoid it.

Review the writing you send next

Before January 29, the one document worth writing is a short letter of interest to a school that says it reads letters. Get a free Quick Review of your letter of interest against GradPilot's letter of intent and interest rubric: it reads for a school feature tied to your own reason for attending, and for interest stated no stronger than the letter supports. New grades or a new role go through the update letter rubric, which reads for what changed since you applied.

Which Texas schools take letters at all is in TMDSAS letters of intent: does it matter in the match. More Texas guides are in the medical school essays hub and on the medical application review page. If you also hold an AMCAS acceptance, read matched TMDSAS but holding an AMCAS acceptance before you finalize the order.

If you are still interviewing, check the interview format at each Texas school.

Sources

Retrieved November 7, 2026.

• TMDSAS, After Submitting: Match process, rank preferences and Guidelines for Conduct of the Match, Sections I–III and V (2026-2027 cycle): ranking rules, deadline consequences, screenshot rule, schools' lack of access, pre-match ranking, post-match requests, scholarships.
• TMDSAS, Deadlines and Important Dates, Entry Year 2027: January 29 at 5 p.m. CST; February 12.
• UT Southwestern Medical School, Admissions (2026-2027) and Cost and Financial Aid (2023-2024 figures): interview format, offers, mission, stale cost figure.
• UTMB John Sealy School of Medicine, Application Timeline and Admission Policies and FAQs (no year stated): preview days, Spring Peek, MMI.
• UT Tyler School of Medicine, Admissions (2026-2027 timeline): Second Look Day, Spring Preview.
• UT Health San Antonio Long School of Medicine, Interview Process: Cycle Buddies.
• McGovern Medical School, Admissions FAQ (no year stated): Preview Day for accepted applicants.
• Not retrieved: Baylor College of Medicine admissions pages (connection failed on November 7, 2026); not quoted.