Dell Med (UT Austin)

Dell Medical School – University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX · Public · MD

Average MCAT: 517
Average GPA: 3.93
Class size: 50
Tuition: $37,138 (per year, nonresident)
Out-of-state applicants: Limited

Deadlines

AMCAS deadline: Oct. 1, 2026
Secondary deadline: Nov. 15, 2026

Essays

Video secondary (2 minutes per question)

Questions are not released in advance. The school says they address specific aspects of its mission and ask how your experiences will help you contribute to that work.

TMDSAS personal statement (5,000 characters)

The personal essay asks you to explain your motivation to seek a career in medicine. You are asked to include the value of your experiences that prepare you to be a physician.

TMDSAS personal characteristics (2,500 characters)

Describe your personal qualities, characteristics, skills, or strengths, and how they will contribute meaningfully to the lives of others.

TMDSAS optional essay (2,500 characters)

Briefly discuss any circumstances or experiences that are relevant to your application, which have not previously been presented.

Editor's notes

Dell Med decides who gets a secondary, and the reviewers who rank you after that can't see your GPA or MCAT. So your TMDSAS activities and essays do the first round of work alone. Write your activity descriptions around what you led, built or fixed, because those are the areas the rubric names.
Fifty seats and over 6,000 applications a year. That math favors a file with a clear story tied to the mission (integrated care, innovation, community partnership) over a file that's simply strong everywhere. If you've done something entrepreneurial or systems-minded in health, make it easy to find.
Don't send updates or letters of intent before the match. The admissions dean said plainly that anything sent in the pre-match period isn't read. Put your energy into ranking thoughtfully by Jan. 29, 2027 and be patient; the school admits in the pre-match, the match and off the waitlist every year.
Nonresidents: the FAQ puts it at five seats a year. Apply only if you have a real reason to be in Austin, and make that reason visible.