Texas Medical Schools

In this guide, we’ll cover some of the strategies that will help you improve your odds of getting into med schools in Texas. But before we do so, let’s review the competition and other important information for each program.

Medical Schools In Texas: Rankings and How to Get In (2023-2024)

We know that many Texas residents would choose to remain or return to Texas for medical school. Texas offers many great options for prospective students with medical schools top-ranked in research and others distinguished for serving rural and underserved populations. With an overall slower pace of life than some other cities, as well as a more reasonable cost of living, Texas can be an appealing state in which to go to medical school for both in state and out of state residents.

By understanding Texas medical schools’ admissions statistics you can figure out how competitive you are for admission. Texas medical school applicants apply to allopathic and osteopathic medical schools in Texas via three application services (TMDSAS, AMCAS and AACOMAS) depending on which schools interest them most. Fourteen Texas medical schools use TMDSAS , one uses AMCAS and one uses AACOMAS.

In this article, you will find information about Texas medical school admissions statistics, but, we encourage you to read TMDSAS: The Definitive Guide for more suggestions about how to approach TMDSAS specifically.

How many medical schools are in Texas?

Texas has a total of sixteen medical schools (13 allopathic and three osteopathic) of which two, Baylor College of Medicine and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center , are in the top 30 medical schools in research and the top 20 in primary care, according to U.S. News and World Report . Texas medical schools are competitive to get into, especially for out-of-state students.

Medical Schools in Texas: How to Get In (2023)

Which are the best medical schools in Texas? Plus, Texas medical school rankings and strategies to get into your top-choice program

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: List of medical schools in Texas: 2023 rankings & admissions statistics

Part 3: Texas medical school profiles

Part 4: Texas medical school admissions strategies

Appendix A: Texas medical schools by degree type

Appendix B: Texas medical schools by institution type

Appendix C: Texas medical schools by region

Part 1: Introduction

There are several reasons why attending medical school in Texas is a highly attractive option to many. Notably, Texas medical schools tend to have relatively low tuition—this is especially true for in-state students but applies to out-of-state students, too. On top of this, Texas as a whole has a low cost of living, and many Texas medical schools have strong reputations and support a wide variety of communities across the state.

Whether you’re interested in living the urban life and conducting world-class research at a powerhouse like UT Southwestern in Dallas or serving rural and bicultural populations at UT Rio Grande Valley, there’s probably a Texas medical school for you.

While the 16 medical schools in California collectively get more attention than any other state’s institutions, Texas also has 16 medical schools, many of which strongly prefer to admit Texas residents over out-of-state applicants. Combined with the fact that Texas medical schools receive considerably fewer applications and tend to carry reasonable price tags, it’s no wonder that many Texans would prefer to stay home near family and friends.

It’s important to note that applying to Texas medical schools is a unique process: 14 of Texas’s 16 medical schools use TMDSAS as their primary application, while one uses AACOMAS and one uses AMCAS. Therefore, you’ll have to take a somewhat different approach when applying to Texas med schools vs. schools in other states.

In this guide, we’ll cover some of the strategies that will help you improve your odds of getting into med schools in Texas. But before we do so, let’s review the competition and other important information for each program.

Part 2: List of medical schools in Texas: 2023 rankings & admissions statistics

We’ve compiled admissions information about each medical school in Texas so you can understand what you’re up against, whether you’re a Texas resident or out-of-state applicant.

In putting together the following statistics, we noticed the following:

• Several Texas medical schools enjoy strong rankings, with seven appearing in the 2023 U.S. News Research rankings and two falling in the top 25.
• Texas residents are invited to interview at Texas medical schools at much higher rates than non-residents. There are a couple of reasons behind this:
  • Many Texas medical schools have missions based in serving specific regions of the state; therefore, they seek applicants who have ties to those regions.
  • Public universities in Texas are legally required to cap their out-of-state enrollment at 10 percent.
  • Around $65,000 per year at private schools and for out-of-state students at public schools
  • Around $40,000 per year for in-state students at public schools

  In the table below, numbers in parentheses correspond to national rankings, whereas numbers outside parentheses correspond to each Texas med school’s relative rank. By using relative rankings, we can more easily distill the ‘best’ medicals school in Texas.

  (Note: We strongly advise you to sign up for MSAR for the most up-to-date and comprehensive data on individual MD programs and to sign up for Choose DO for DO program data.)

  Texas Medical Schools	U.S. News Ranking	Location	Degree	Year Est.	Annual Tuition & Fees	Avg. GPA	Avg. MCAT	Interview Rate	First-Year Class Size
  Baylor College of Medicine	1 (22)	Houston	MD	1900	$22,733 IS $35,833 OOS	3.92	518	24.9% IS 5.2% OOS	185 (85.9% IS)
  University of Texas Southwestern Medical School*	2 (25)	Dallas	MD	1943	$22,136 IS $35,236 OOS	3.92	518	14.3% IS 8.3% OOS	231 (90.9% IS)
  Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio*	3 (47)	San Antonio	MD	1959	$21,672 IS $38,854 OOS	3.92	519	18.1% IS 11.8% OOS	214 (85.0% IS)
  McGovern Medical School at UT Health Houston*	4 (53)	Houston	MD	1969	$22,646 IS $30,167 OOS	3.89	514	20.9% IS 5.6% OOS	240 (95% IS)
  Texas A&M College of Medicine*	5 (80)	Bryan	MD	1977	$21,760 IS $34,860 OOS	3.86	513	12.6% IS 7.0% OOS	226 (82.7% IS)
  Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine*	6 (87)	Lubbock	MD	1969	$21,749 IS $34,849 OOS	3.9	512	20.2% IS 11.3% OOS	180 (93.3% IS)
  University of North Texas Health Science Center Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine*	7 (95–124)	Fort Worth	DO	1970	$23,148 IS $38,836 OOS	3.71	507	19.2% Combined	230 (94.3%)
  Sam Houston State University College of Osteopathic Medicine*	UR	Conroe	DO	2019	$59,125 IS $59,125 OOS	3.69	506	NA	112 (96.4% IS)
  TCU School of Medicine	UR	Fort Worth	MD	2015	$60,318 IS $60,318 OOS	3.67	510	6.0% IS 3.8% OOS	60 (38.3% IS)
  Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine*	UR	El Paso	MD	2007	$21,484 IS $36,435 OOS	3.89	513	12.4% IS 6.0% OOS	117 (88.9% IS)
  University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine	UR	San Antonio	DO	2015	$58,000 IS $58,000 OOS	3.61	502	17.9% Combined	161 (66% IS)
  University of Houston College of Medicine*	UR	Houston	MD	2019	$24,268 IS $37,368 OOS	3.59	506	4.5% IS 0.7% OOS	30 (96.7% IS)
  University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School*	UR	Austin	MD	2013	$21,087 IS $35,406 OOS	3.86	516	8.7% IS 1.9% OOS	50 (98% IS)
  University of Texas Medical Branch School of Medicine*	UR	Galveston	MD	1891	$25,930 IS $40,640 OOS	3.89	513	18.6% IS 5.1% OOS	230 (92.6% IS)
  University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine*	UR	Edinburg	MD	2014	$19,639 IS $32,739 OOS	3.69	508	10.8% IS 3.6% OOS	56 (94.6% IS)
  University of Texas at Tyler School of Medicine*	UR	Tyler	MD	2022	NA	NA	NA	NA	40

  *Public medical schools in Texas | UR: Unranked | IS: In-state | OOS: Out-of-state | NA: Not available