The medical school application process takes nearly a full year to complete. Therefore, excellent planning and organization are essential. The med school application timeline below lists the steps and schedule of the application process to help keep you on track.
Staying on schedule is especially important because most medical schools have rolling admissions. Rolling admissions means that applications are evaluated as they are received. Applying early in the cycle may increase your chance of admission. Many schools begin interviewing in August or September, and some M.D. schools offer acceptances as early as mid-October (and even earlier for D.O. schools). As spots in the class fill up, it may be more difficult to gain admission.
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To start, you need to know some basic information about how the medical school application process works.
There are three separate centralized application services for U.S. medical schools:
AMCAS (American Medical College Application Service) – Used by most M.D. schools.
TMDSAS (Texas Medical and Dental Schools Application Service) – For public medical schools in Texas (M.D. and D.O).
AACOMAS (American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service) used by D.O. schools.
In addition to submitting a primary application through the applicable service, most medical schools require a supplemental (“secondary”) application. The final step in the application process is an interview.
Here is a timeline to follow for applicants who plan to enter medical school in fall 2026:
September-December 2024
- Become familiar with the application process. Good sources of information are the application service websites above and your pre-health advisor. Find out if your school offers a committee letter for recommendations and the process for obtaining one.
- Gather information about medical schools. The Medical School Admissions Requirements (MSAR), available for purchase through the AAMC site, is an excellent resource. For osteopathic medical schools, the Choose DO Explorer is available on the AACOM site.
- Continue to gain clinical, community service, and research experience throughout the next year.
January-March 2025
- Request letters of recommendation from letter writers individually or obtain a committee letter per your undergraduate institution’s protocol. Note that the letters cannot be uploaded to the application services until May. However, it is still important to ask early as some letter writers only write letters for a particular number of applicants and may fill up. This is especially true of science professors.
- Register for the MCAT at least two months prior to your planned test date. Information regarding the MCAT can be found at the AAMC MCAT site.
- Begin studying for the MCAT several months or more before you plan to take the test.
- Registration for the AAMC PREview Professional Readiness Exam opens or about January 31, 2025. This is a situational judgement test required by some medical schools. Test dates run from March through October. The list of schools requiring or recommending this test can be found at the AAMC PREview list of medical schools site.
- Sign up for Casper (Computer-Based Assessment for Sampling Personal Characteristics) through Acuity Insights. This is a situational judgment test. Some schools may also require or recommend other assessments (Snapshot and Duet) that are administered by the same company as Casper. Information on these can also be found at Acuity Insights.
- Begin working on personal statement for the primary application.
April-May 2025
- Prepare for and take the MCAT if you have not already taken the test or need to retake. Take the MCAT in the spring if possible, but no later than the end of June in order to have scores submitted to the schools early in the cycle.
- Continue to work on primary applications (personal statement, activities descriptions).
- The AMCAS application is available online in early May for applicants to begin filling out but cannot be submitted until late May.
- TMDSAS opens in early May.
- AACOMAS opens in early May. Note that some D.O. schools provide their supplemental application questions within AACOMAS under the “Program Materials” tab, while others send the supplemental questions to applicants after AACOMAS is submitted.
- Have official transcripts sent from every college or university you attended to the application service(s) you’re using.
- Take Casper and/or PREview in April or May if time allows. If not, take by the end of June so schools have your results early in the cycle.
June 2025
- Take/retake the MCAT if needed.
- Take Casper and/or PREview if you have not done so already.
- Supplemental (secondary) applications begin to arrive in mid to late June. Return these to the schools within one to two weeks of receiving.
July-September 2025
- Interviews begin as early as late July at a small number of schools. By late August, many schools are interviewing. Schools may do remote interviewing or offer both in-person and online options.
October-December 2025
- Continue to interview at medical schools.
- Some MD schools notify applicants of acceptances as early as October 15. DO schools may notify applicants even earlier. Notifications continue until the class is full.
January-March 2026
- Some schools send additional interview invitations in early to mid-January. Interviews are complete at many schools in January or February, although a small number of schools continue into early spring.
- Attend “accepted students day” events for schools you’ve been accepted to and are considering attending.
- Send update letters to schools that you’re waitlisted at or have not yet received an interview at to describe new activities and accomplishments and express continued interest in the school (per school policy).
April 2026
- By April 15, applicants to AMCAS schools may be holding a spot at no more than three schools. Applicants may remain on waitlists for other schools.
- By April 30, applicants to AMCAS schools may be holding a spot at only one school. Applicants may remain on waitlists for other schools.
May-July 2026
- Update schools you are waitlisted at about new activities and accomplishments.
August 2026
- Begin medical school!
is it a detractor to have taken “math for life scientists” instead of calculus when you apply for med school
Only a small number of med schools require calculus, but without knowing what the “Math for Life Scientists” class entails, I’m unable to assess if it will fulfill the requirements for schools.
i am on a quarter system for college. is it bad to have two classes listed as in progress at the time I apply>
It’s fine to have some classes in progress when you apply. For some schools, you can send an update later notifying them of your grades in those courses; however, you can’t update the grades directly on AMCAS.
Hello,
I plan to graduate with my bachelor’s in May 2026 and want to be in medical school in fall 2026. I have not taken the MCAT and want to wait until my summer program ends in august 2025. Would taking the MCAT after be too late?
Hi Kasandra,
Taking the MCAT in August will put you at fairly late in the cycle to have a complete application becuase schools won’t receive your MCAT scores until September. It’s certainly possible to take the MCAT in August and to gain admission to medical school, but given that most schools have rolling admissions, you’ll be in the strongest position if you take the MCAT earlier in the summer, ideally by the end of June. However, if that will compromise your score, then don’t push to take it early.
Hello,
I am looking to apply this spring cycle 2023-2024. When should I request transcripts? Can I request them now or do I have to wait until May of 2023 when the new application cycle opens in order to receive the correct transcript ID number?
Hi Leah,
Wait until the cycle opens to request transcripts. The transcripts must be sent directly from the colleges and universities you attended to AMCAS/AACOMAS and the application services will not accept transcripts for the new cycle until it opens in May. As you mentioned, at that time, you’ll be able to generate a transcript ID number so that your transcript is correctly matched to your application.
Hello! I am taking the mcat in the fall of 2023 and hope to get into medical school by 2024. I wanted to know when the estimated year I would graduate, and I also wanted to know if it was possible to get in by the fall of 2024!
Applications for entry into medical school for fall 2024 open in May 2023. It’s advisable to take the MCAT in the spring or early summer as admissions are rolling. It’s still possible to apply with a fall MCAT test date but will place you at a disadvantage.
Hello. I finish my bachelor during May next year. If I want to get in in 2024, how much time do I have to do shadowing and volunteering?
To begin medical school in fall 2024, you’ll submit your application during the cycle that opens in May 2023. Therefore, any activities you do between now and when you submit your application in May or June (it’s best to get it submitted early!) will be on your application as completed hours. However, the AMCAS (MD) application and TMDSAS (Texas) applications allow for planned activities to be listed.
Hi Dr. Eaton,
I recently finished my post-bacc as of this summer 2022 and want to begin med school in fall of 2023. At this point in time I have been scribing for over a year and also have research starting in Jan 2023. However, I am kind of confused on when I should start asking for letters of recommendations or even register for AMCAS and AACOMAS. Couldn’t I technically start searching for LORs now (or is that too far out from the application cycle). Can I also start registering for AMCAS and AACOMAS now? I am most likely going to take the MCATS in Jan 2023 as well. Thanks in advance!
Hi Eli,
If you want to start medical school in the of fall 2023 as your post states, then you should already have applied to medical school or be applying right now as the application process takes a year. Applications for entry into medical school for Fall 2023 opened several months ago, in May 2022. If you take the January 2023 MCAT, that will be too late for the vast majority of MD schools, although many DO schools will accept January 2023 MCAT scores. If you apply in spring 2023, then you will be on track to attend medical school in fall 2024. The timing of med school applications can be confusing because everything must be done so far in advance! If you apply next spring (spring 2023 for fall 2024 entry) and ask for letters of recommendation early, then you can use Interfolio to store the letters https://www.interfolio.com/ They have a dossier service through which which letter writers can upload letters. Then, in May 2023 when the new cycle begins, you can upgrade to the paid Interfolio dossier service and have the letters sent electronically transferred from Interfolio to AMCAS and AACOMAS. The other option is to ask for the letters now, but to tell the letter writers to wait until May 2023 to upload them and then have them upload them directly to AMCAS and AACOMAS. Or, if you do apply right now for fall 2023 entry, then you can get the letters right now and have them uploaded immediately, however, with the January 2023 MCAT, you will be a very late MCAT for the current cycle.
Hi Dr. Eaton,
I am beginning to apply to medical schools this spring cycle. I just wanted to make sure that I understood this correctly. I would be submitting the application for the 2023 cycle since the 2022 cycle is closed right? If I had wanted to start the 2022 application I would have needed to start the application process in 2021 correct?
Thank you in advance for your response!
Hi Sandra,
You are correct. If you apply to medical schools this spring cycle (opening May 2022) then you are applying to start medical school in Fall 2023. Applicants who wanted to start medical school in Fall 2022 had to apply in Spring 2021. The 2021-2022 cycle is now closed.
I graduate university in fall of 2024 rather than spring and I would like to go into medical straight form university. I’m really confused with how to go about it all as i don’t know if medical schools accepts spring as a start of a session.
Also are paid internships also considered as clinical experience?
Hi Mercy,
There are no U.S. medical schools that start in the spring semester; they all start in the fall. The application process for medical school begins over a year prior to the year you wish to begin. Therefore, if you want to enter medical school in the fall of 2025 (the fall after you graduate), then you will submit your applications in spring 2024. You’ll go through the application process as you finish your last semester of school in fall 2024 and then have a 7 or so months before you begin med school.
Yes, paid internships that involve clinical work are considered clinical experience. On AMCAS there is actually a specific category for paid clinical experience, so it would go under that.
Hi Dr. Eaton,
I will be resuming my graduate program in biomedical sciences in spring of 2022 and I have a year and a semester to complete the 2years graduate program. When would you advise I start studying for MCAT if I want to get into medical school in fall 2023 and also how much time should I dedicate for extracurricular activities?
I also work in the laboratory as a medical technologist. Can I use my med tech experience as part of my extracurricular activities? Please advice.
To enter medical school in fall 2023, you will be applying in the cycle that opens in late May/early June 2022. Therefore, you should take the MCAT in spring 2022 if possible, but later with a higher score is much preferred to rushing the test and getting a lower score When you begin studying, however, is a complicated question as it depends on how much time you have to dedicate to studying. Some applicants are able to dedicate two or three months almost full time to studying, such as if they are students and study over summer break, while others spread their preparation over a longer period of time, such as 6 months if they are balancing studying with school or work. You mention that you work, so since you would be studying part-time while working, you would want to start on the earlier side. A guideline is to aim for at least 300 hours of preparation, but that varies depending on an applicant’s starting knowledge base, target score, and other factors. Your time as a medical technologist should be included on your application (MD and or DO) as paid employment and will be considered as part of your experiences by committees. Aim for at least 100 hours of volunteering in a clinical setting and 50 of physician shadowing as well as additional time spent doing community service. Everyone’s application is different, but it is important to demonstrate that you have explored medicine and demonstrated that you genuinely understand what it entails and want to work with in a healthcare setting.
Hi Dr. Eaton.
If I am junior this year, graduating next spring of 2022. I am applying this year to med schools. Are we scheduled to take the MCat? Or is it waived for class of 2022? Thanks so much for your help. As I don’t know anyone to help me.
Hi Parwana,
Schools have not yet stated what the situation will be for the MCAT for the entering class of 2022. However, even during this past cycle, most schools did not waive the MCAT, and among those that did, some required applicants to apply for a waiver from the MCAT, showing hardship and concrete reasons why they were unable to take the MCAT during COVID. To have the greatest number of options for med school, taking the MCAT is the best approach, but check the admissions sites of the schools you’re interested in for updates. The situation could change rapidly now that the population is being vaccinated, so some schools may be waiting to see how open things are before making a final decision.
I finished couple of interviews, and secondaries, in dec. 2020 for medical school. When will medical scholls be sending acceptance or rejection letteres
Hi Ruby,
Medical schools vary in the amount of time they take to notify applicants of a decision. It can range from as little as one week to several months, although a month or two is fairly typical. Unfortunately, the application process involves quite a bit of waiting!
Good evening,
I am scheduled to graduate July, 2021 with a Biomedical degree from Keiser University. What are my chances of getting into medical school in 2022 if I take the MCAT in August, 2021?
Hi Michael,
While it’s optimal to take the MCAT in late spring or early summer, if you won’t have time to study sufficiently then, then waiting until August may be the best approach. However, one’s chance of admission is based on other factors in addition to MCAT timing. Grades, the MCAT score itself, extracurricular activities, personal statement, letters of rec, and other factors are important as well. For example, two applicants could take the MCAT in August and have very difference chances of admission if one has a 3.9 and robust clinical and other experiences while the other has a 3.4 and minimal experiences. If you’d like to discuss your particular situation, though, you can contact us to arrange a free-20 minutes phone consultation.
Dear Dr.Eaton,
If i submit transcripts in mid June of 2019 why would the AAMC claim that i submitted them to the closed 2019 application?
All the Best!
I am graduating 2020 April, when should I complete at most my MCAT. I am interested in 2020 Fall
Hello Dr. Eaton, I have a quick question:
I am planning to start medical school in fall 2019, should I purchase the guide “Medical School Admission Requirements 2017” currently on sale on the AAMC website or should it be a 2018 Edition?
The Medical School Admissions Requirements (MSAR) online is purchased as a one-year subscription, so if you’re planning to start med school in fall 2019 now is a good time to purchase it so you can start looking up information about schools. The information typically gets updated in the spring, so right now, the dates/deadlines on the MSAR are for the 2017-2018 cycle, but for now you may still find it useful to have access to and then will be able to see the updated info when that comes out.
How can I find out the locations for each of the MCAT test dates?
To view the locations of the test centers where the MCAT is administered, you’ll need to register with the MCAT Registration System on the AAMC site.