Admission
Dell Medical School seeks to recruit and train future physician leaders who want to revolutionize the way people get healthy and stay healthy. To that end, the Admissions Selection Committee is looking for evidence of excellence in four areas:
- Personal Attributes: integrity and ethics; reliability and dependability; service orientation; social and interpersonal skills; teamwork; capacity for improvement; resilience and adaptability; cultural competence; oral communication.
- Life Experiences: students and physicians will repeatedly fall back on their unique life experiences, as they treat patients and work with colleagues. A broad range of such experiences will create a valuable diversity of perspectives.
- Academic Accomplishment: Dell Medical School has adopted a leading-edge curriculum that’s uniquely designed from scratch and focused around twenty-first century health care. A strong academic record indicates that students will excel in this accelerated curriculum.
- Mission Contribution: Dell Medical School seeks to create a vital, inclusive health ecosystem and help make Austin a model healthy city. Students with demonstrated strengths in leadership, creativity, teamwork, resilience, and community engagement will help further advance this mission.
To be a successful physician leader in twenty-first century health, you need a large portfolio of competencies. There is very little evidence that the “smartest” applicant, with the best undergraduate grades will make the best physician, or the best graduate of a medical school.
Understanding, however, that academic capability is necessary to successfully navigate the rapid pace of medical education, the Dell Medical School’s Admission Selection Committee will carefully review each applicant’s history for evidence of academic aptitude and stamina. The Admissions Selection Committee wants to ensure that every Dell Medical School student possesses the broad range of attributes, experiences, contributions and capabilities necessary to succeed as a student and a physician.
Mission Contribution
Dell Medical School has a unique mission and vision. Every aspect of the application will be evaluated for the presence or absence of qualities that align with the mission.
Personal Attributes / Life Experiences
The personal statements, experiences reported in the application, letters of evaluation, and interview sessions are especially helpful in this evaluation. Applicants are encouraged to view all short essay questions in the Texas Medical & Dental Schools Application Service (TMDSAS) and the Secondary Application as opportunities to demonstrate personal qualities and strengths to the Admissions Selection Committee.
In addition, applicants are encouraged to meet with those being asked to write letters of evaluation to review strengths in personal attributes/life experiences domains and encourage them to highlight these.
Academic Ability
Grade point averages (GPAs) in specific coursework, transcripts, and MCAT scores are more mathematically expressed than other assessed areas, and this information will be used to help consider applicants in the evaluation process. However, simple mathematical comparisons do not provide a complete picture. Hence, all the data gathered from these sources will be considered in the context of other attributes, experiences and qualifications to help provide an overall picture.
Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)
Dell Medical School does not set a minimum MCAT score. The MCAT score is evaluated as one indicator among many others and must be considered in light of those other factors. The Admissions Selection Committee will accept MCAT scores from the 2015 version as well as the previous version up to five years prior to the applicant's expected date of matriculation.
Grade Point Average (GPA)
The minimum overall TMDSAS-calculated GPA for consideration is 3.2 on a standard 4 point scale. An applicant’s GPA in pre-requisite courses and biology, chemistry, physics, and math courses are also considered, but no minimum has been set. In addition to overall GPA, the Admissions Selection Committee will evaluate grade trends, rigor of coursework, and advanced science coursework.
Transfer From Other Medical Schools
The Dell Medical School is not accepting transfer applicants at this time.
International Applicants
The Dell Medical School is not accepting international applicants at this time.