Ut Austin Pre Med Acceptance Rate

Nationally, applicants to medical school pursue majors in everything from chemistry to computer engineering to cabinet making, meaning that, in general, there isn’t one ideal major for premeds. This also holds true at UT, where, according to the database of applicants, premeds have pursued majors as diverse as art history, advertising, and petroleum engineering.

Pre-Medical Pathway

There are two types of fully licensed medical doctors in the United States: M.D.s and D.O.s. While the M.D. degree stands for “Doctor of Medicine,” the D.O. degree stands for “Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine.”

M.D.s examine patients, obtain medical histories, order, perform and interpret diagnostic tests, and prescribe and administer treatment for people suffering from injury or disease. They counsel patients about illness, injuries, health conditions and preventive healthcare (diet/fitness, smoking cessation, etc.). They can also conduct medical research, teach and run medical centers. People with medical education are in demand in many areas. Find out more about becoming an M.D. here.

D.O.s practice osteopathic medicine, which represents a school of medical thought first introduced by Dr. Andrew Taylor Still in 1874. Osteopathic medicine encompasses a unifying philosophy and approach to patient care, as well as a system of Osteopathic hands-on diagnosis and treatment through the use of manipulative medicine. Like their M.D. counterparts, they are fully licensed to diagnose, treat, prescribe medications and perform surgery in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Today, more than 20% of all U.S. medical students are studying at a college of osteopathic medicine. To learn more about a career as a Doctor of Osteopathy, click here. You can also check out this site to learn more about osteopathic medicine.

M.D./Ph.D. Dual Degrees

The Association of American Medical Colleges has great resources that help students interested in M.D./Ph.D. programs explore their options. M.D./Ph.D. programs provide training in both medicine and research. They are specifically designed for those who want to become research physicians, also known as physician-investigators or physician-scientists. Graduates of M.D./Ph.D. programs often go on to become faculty members at medical schools, universities and research institutes. Regardless of where they eventually work, M.D./Ph.D. candidates are being prepared for careers in which they will spend most of their time doing research, in addition to caring for patients. The M.D./Ph.D. dual career is busy, challenging and rewarding, and it offers opportunities to do good for many people by advancing knowledge, developing new treatments for diseases and pushing back the boundaries of the unknown. Find out more about this dual degree option from AAMC here.

How to Succeed as a UT Austin Premed

Learn how to navigate premed at the University of Texas at Austin, including premed requirements, the best premed extracurriculars, and the UT Austin premed acceptance rate

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: UT Austin premed requirements

Part 3: UT Austin premed extracurriculars

Part 4: Getting into medical school from UT Austin

Part 1: Introduction

The saying “Everything’s bigger in Texas” can also feel like it applies as a premed at the University of Texas at Austin. The numbers bear that out—in the 2021–2022 cycle, there were over 1,000 medical school applicants from UT, second only to UCLA.

While the large enrollment at UT certainly helps to create this high number of applicants, the resources that Texas offers also make it an excellent place to pursue your dreams of becoming a physician. As the flagship of the massive University of Texas system, UT is the number one public university in the state and one of the top 10 public universities in the nation.

UT students have significant opportunities for research, with large graduate schools in life and social sciences. The campus boasts the newly established Dell Medical School, which is rapidly building a national profile. The unique Health Science Scholars program allows undergraduates to earn a degree with honors in the life sciences and provides intensive advising, significant research opportunities, organized community involvement, and a community of like-minded individuals. Plus, living in Austin offers many wonderful opportunities to get involved in a dynamic, rapidly growing city.

While the resources and reputation of UT can be a big boost to a medical school application, it can be easy to feel lost in the crowd, given the school’s 40,000+ undergraduates and more than 1,000 premeds in each class, especially as you look for opportunities to demonstrate leadership and innovation. Standing out as an applicant from a school like UT requires expertly navigating the wide array of opportunities for research, volunteer work, shadowing, and extracurriculars, all while maintaining a top-notch academic record.

This guide combines insight from alumni and current students who have managed to rise to the top of this massive institution through hard work and careful planning. We will also analyze the data on how UT students have fared when applying to medical school and provide advice on how to emulate the successful applicants and avoid the pitfalls that have kept other students out. Through step-by-step guidance on how to succeed academically and identify extracurricular opportunities, you’ll learn how to stand out as a medical school applicant from UT Austin.

Part 2: UT Austin premed requirements

Starting your freshman year with thousands of other students can quickly feel overwhelming. As a premed, you may feel similarly about your required science classes, many of which are among the largest on campus. However, these classes will provide you with a great foundation as you build to upper-level courses in your major, prepare for the MCAT, and ultimately satisfy the requirements for the medical schools you will apply to.

While there is no one right way to arrange your courses as a premed, UT does a great job of providing you with resources to help you decide on the best arrangement for your individual needs. Specific timelines for four-year and five-year graduation plans are detailed here. UT also provides an excellent flow chart to help you understand the sequence of common premed courses.

While these guides are terrific resources that should help you fulfill the guidelines for most medical schools, we also encourage you to confirm your requirements with your academic advisor and check them against the listed requirements of the schools you plan to apply to, since these can occasionally change.

The suggested coursework below applies to both the Texas-specific application (TMDSAS) and AMCAS for schools outside of Texas.

Looking at this list of courses, it can seem overwhelming to try to fit in all of the various medical school requirements throughout a variety of departments. However, many of these courses, such as the sequence from general chemistry to organic chemistry to biochemistry (as detailed by the flowchart linked above), need to be taken in sequence. While this limits your flexibility, it has the benefit of giving you a basic course structure for your first few years.

Outside of these courses, there are several different ways to slot in your required coursework in physics, English, and math, plus the classes needed to complete your major.

It might feel confusing to see that there are a number of ways to fulfill certain requirements. For example, when it comes to physics, an engineering major who wants to attend medical school would likely take the sequence of Physics 303K + 105M and Physics 303L + 105N to complete their major requirements. In contrast, a major in sociology or psychology would have all tracks open to them but would likely take the sequence of Physics 317K + 105M and Physics 317L + 105N, which would suffice for learning the topics on the MCAT.

Similarly, you might take certain courses if you are in the honors program or meet the requirements for specific departments’ honors courses. While all of the different tracks will satisfy the requirements for medical school, it’s important to consider the difficulty of courses, needs for your majors and minors, and your overall goals when deciding which path will be best for you.

Some factors to consider when planning your courses:

• Requirements for your major(s), including if you are seeking departmental honors and minor(s)
• General graduation requirements, such as the requirement for courses in American history/government (6 hours), with up to 3 hours consisting of Texas history
• Prerequisites for certain premed courses (check course descriptions and the flowchart for more info)
• Your goals for graduation, including plans for either four- or five-year graduation, both of which are available from the premed office
• When you want to take the MCAT (if you’re planning to take a gap year, you might delay taking the MCAT and thus take the necessary prep courses at a slower pace—we’ll discuss this more shortly)
• Balancing your schedule to keep a manageable mix of courses in order to avoid burnout and unnecessary stress

Sample UT Austin premed two-year course plan

While the premed office at UT offers suggestions for creating your own schedule, here’s an additional potential plan for your first two years at UT.

(Note: This plan assumes you are a non-engineering student who is not in the honors college, and that you intend to take the MCAT fall of junior year and apply to medical school without taking a gap year.)

How to maintain a high GPA as a UT Austin premed

Given the large class sizes and strong academic culture at UT, it can be difficult to earn top grades as a premed. Not only do the courses present material that is challenging at any school, many also utilize difficult grading curves as you compete against other students, though this is more common in upper-level courses.

A common fear among premeds, both at UT and nationally, is of being “weeded out” of medical school candidacy by a low GPA in early classes. This is a legitimate concern—a low GPA is one of the most common reasons for students to be unsuccessful in medical school applications, and it can be difficult to recover your GPA after initial struggles.

For that reason, it’s important not only to work hard, but also to take advantage of the many resources at UT designed to help you succeed in your courses and improve your study skills.

Here is some advice for premed success at UT:

• Use the resources available. Resources like The Sanger Learning Center provide incredibly helpful tools for succeeding in classes. This includes workshops on study skills, peer academic coaching, and even one-on-one tutoring for most of the common premed courses. Office hours with TAs and professors can also be useful to reinforce difficult concepts or to build relationships that could turn into letters of recommendation or research opportunities in the future.
• Identify the professors you’d like to take courses with. Many premed classes use a rotating group of instructors that can vary year-to-year or depending on the time of day. Utilize course evaluations, the UT Reddit community, Rate My Professor, and discussions with older students at UT to help you to identify which professors best suit you in terms of approachability, teaching style, and overall course difficulty.
• Identify upper-level/non-prerequisite courses. Given that these courses will give you the most flexibility, it is important to understand how to manage your workload, your interests, and your career goals. Utilize the same resources mentioned above for looking up professors in order to avoid classes with unnecessary difficulty or workload, create relationships with kind faculty, and develop your passions.
• Consider pre-studying. If you’re concerned about a particular course, studying ahead of time can be a great way to be prepared for your semester. Utilize the time prior to the course, such as during summer or winter break, to study the subject using the prescribed textbook for the course, online resources like Khan Academy, or even prior lecture recordings for the course if they are available.
• Don’t take an unnecessarily challenging course load. While it can be tempting to explore all of the different courses available at UT, in general, your first priority should be to maintain your GPA. Select majors and minors that will allow you to take these interesting courses while still moving towards graduation and devoting time to the other aspects of your med school application, such as extracurriculars and research. In addition, try to avoid semesters with excessive amounts of coursework, whether that be in terms of the total number of courses or the difficulty of courses taken simultaneously.
• Consider taking classes over the summer. Summer classes can have several benefits, including spreading out your coursework, providing dedicated time to a challenging subject, and possibly having an easier curve than during the semester. Summer courses can be taken at UT or at many other universities, depending on where you will be living. Courses commonly taken during the summer include accelerated programs that allow you to complete both semesters of physics or organic chemistry.
• Make use of practice questions and old exams. Many classes will provide you with access to prior years’ exams and/or problem sets as a study tool. We encourage you to use these as one of your most important study aids since they allow you to look at the way that questions will be asked in the course. Alternatively, exams available online for other schools’ similar courses can be helpful study tools, provided the overall course is similar to the one at UT.
• Work hard! Getting a great GPA at UT will not always be easy, even if you were at the top of your class in high school. Your classmates are some of the brightest students in Texas and from around the country, so be prepared to spend a significant amount of time studying. Try to focus on using your study time wisely by identifying your individual learning style, whether that be spaced repetition with flashcards, video learning, or traditional textbooks and lectures.

What’s the best premed major at UT Austin?

Nationally, applicants to medical school pursue majors in everything from chemistry to computer engineering to cabinet making, meaning that, in general, there isn’t one ideal major for premeds. This also holds true at UT, where, according to the database of applicants, premeds have pursued majors as diverse as art history, advertising, and petroleum engineering.

Despite the array of majors overall, premed students nationally and at UT tend to cluster in just a few common majors. Typically, most major in the biological sciences, as these courses closely overlap with both the career goals of many premeds and the overall premed requirements needed for medical school.

At UT, the five most common premed majors are biology, biochemistry, neuroscience, human development and family science, and psychology. The first three in particular allow students significantly more academic freedom compared to other majors, given the considerable overlap between the courses needed to complete these degrees and the required premed courses. However, other majors are also quite achievable.

For students in the College of Natural Sciences, an option unique to UT is the Pre-Health Professions Certificate. This program provides you with a focused area of study in addition to your major in the natural sciences, perfect for students who are interested in a career in the health professions but want to diversify their courses beyond the sciences. Completing this program requires 18 credits of theme courses across several areas, including cultural awareness, health and anatomy, healthcare policy, human and societal development, and nutrition.

Completing this certificate is not a requirement for applying to medical school, and not completing it does not preclude you from exploring interests outside of the sciences. However, if you hope to do so, it can provide a great way to direct your studies.

Ultimately, picking your major and minor(s) requires you to consider a few key questions:

• Can you maintain a high GPA while completing this major and your premed requirements?
• Can you graduate on time with this combination in four (or five) years?
• Can you find your passion in this major?

When should you take the MCAT?

While there are several schools of thought regarding when to take the MCAT, in reality, the best time to take this high-stakes test often depends on individual factors. For some, this may mean taking the test during their sophomore year if they’ve completed the necessary courses as preparation. However, this strategy would not work if you are planning to take multiple gap years (scores do expire!) or if you were unable to fit all the courses into your schedule.

Similarly, someone planning to apply as a senior without a gap year may not be well served by taking the MCAT in their junior spring, as they would not have time to retake the test if their result did not meet their target score.

Ultimately, choosing when to take this test will depend on when you feel prepared. Some students are strong test takers and may feel largely prepared from their coursework and a few weeks of studying. Others may not be quite as proficient at retaining information from courses they took some time ago and may require a longer period of self-study. As such, this decision requires a good degree of introspection to identify your own strengths and weaknesses.

As an example, for a traditional applicant from UT who intends to apply as a senior without taking a gap year, we often recommend taking the MCAT during the fall of a student’s junior year. This would allow you to potentially complete all the required classes in your first two years and then utilize the summer after sophomore year as dedicated study time. It also gives you the opportunity to retake the exam during the winter or spring of your junior year if your score isn’t what you’d hoped for while still staying true to your original application timeline.

To take the MCAT on this schedule requires some careful planning in order to complete the necessary courses that appear on the test. In general, these are the UT Austin courses we recommend completing prior to sitting for the MCAT:

• Chemistry 301, 302, and 204 (or 301H, 302H, and 317)
• Biology 311C and 311D (or 315H and 325H)
• Physics 317K + 105M and Physics 317L + 105N (or another physics sequence detailed above)
• Chemistry 320M, 320N, and 220C (or 328M, 328N, 128K, and 128L)
• Biochemistry 369 (or 339F)

While completing all of these courses in your first two years can make for a relatively full schedule, it is achievable if balanced with some easier courses. Alternatively, taking courses over the summer will open up significantly more flexibility in your schedule.

You may hear conflicting information on the necessity of taking courses like biochemistry, sociology, and psychology. In general, our strong recommendation is to take biochemistry prior to taking the MCAT since biochemistry makes up a significant portion of the exam, with 25 percent of the C/P and B/B sections.

Sociology and psychology can be helpful; however, the overlap between these courses and the corresponding MCAT topics is not always as high as it is for other subjects. These subjects also lend themselves well to self-study, and thus many students will learn from outside materials instead.