Medical School Application Timeline and When Applications Open

Medical school applications open in early May of the year before you plan to start, and that date anchors the rest of the medical school application timeline. According to the AAMC overview of applying to medical school, AMCAS typically opens in the first week of May, with submission opening around the end of May or start of June. For the 2027 entering class, AMCAS opened May 5, 2026, AACOMAS opened May 4, 2026 and TMDSAS opened May 1, 2026. From opening day to the first day of class, the full process takes more than a year.

Timing matters because verification can take weeks, each school sets its own deadlines and many schools review applications as they arrive. A delayed transcript or unfinished primary can therefore affect every stage that follows. If you are applying in the current cycle, IMA’s month-by-month AMCAS 2027 timeline provides the dated calendar, while this guide shows how AMCAS, AACOMAS and TMDSAS fit together in any application year.

The Application Cycle at a Glance

• AMCAS, AACOMAS and TMDSAS all open in early May, more than a year before the entering class begins medical school.
• AMCAS verification may take six to eight weeks at peak and does not begin until you have submitted the application and all official transcripts have arrived.
• Regular MD acceptances begin on or after Oct. 15 under AAMC protocols, followed by important choice points on April 15 and April 30.
• MCAT scores take approximately 30 to 35 days to arrive, so choose your test date by working backward from when schools need your score.

Application Opening Dates and the Best Time to Apply

Most U.S. MD programs take their first-year applications through AMCAS, AACOMAS serves osteopathic medical schools and TMDSAS is used for participating Texas programs, including public MD schools in Texas. All three services open in early May, but they do not follow identical submission, processing or decision schedules.

The table below gives the current dates for the 2027 entering class. Its AMCAS opening, submission and transmission dates are the ones the AAMC lists in its Premed Calendar, and its AMCAS decision milestones follow the AAMC’s Application and Acceptance Protocols for Applicants, which should be read alongside each school’s own calendar.

The table above uses the AACOM application page and TMDSAS deadlines page for those services. The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine’s admissions calendar for the 2027 entering class lists the same AMCAS submission and transmission dates as the AAMC.

For most applicants, applying early means submitting in the first weeks after the relevant service begins accepting applications, provided the application is complete and accurate. It does not mean submitting on opening morning with avoidable errors. Your primary still has to be processed before schools can review it, and a returned application can create a much larger delay than taking a few additional days to check your work.

The AMCAS Primary From Submission to Verification

After you apply through AMCAS, the application moves through three main stages. Submitted means the application is complete and its fees have been paid. Processed means AMCAS has received all official transcripts, verified the coursework and calculated AMCAS GPAs. Delivered means the verified application has been sent to your designated schools. AMCAS organizes and delivers the information, but each school makes its own admissions decisions.

The verification clock starts only after you submit and every required official transcript has arrived. At that point, the application enters the Ready for Review queue. The AAMC says verification may take six to eight weeks during peak season, and the AMCAS Applicant Guide chapter on AMCAS submission and deadlines adds that materials received from June through September may take longer to process because of volume. A missing transcript keeps the application on hold.

Letters of evaluation and MCAT scores are not required for AMCAS verification. You can submit before letters arrive, and AMCAS sends them to schools as they are received. If AMCAS returns an application because of errors, however, the date you correct, recertify and resubmit it becomes the date used to determine whether you met school deadlines.

Prepare the parts that become difficult or impossible to change before you press submit. The AMCAS Work and Activities section permits up to 15 experiences and cannot be edited after the original submission. You should also settle your initial school list, using your own academic profile, priorities and budget. IMA’s guide to building a medical school list addresses that separate decision without treating one number as right for everyone.

What Does Applying Early Actually Mean?

Applying early means becoming complete while schools still have more of their cycle ahead of them, not racing to submit unfinished material. In its guide to the AACOMAS application process, AACOM says osteopathic colleges review applications, interview candidates and make decisions throughout the cycle, so interview spaces and class positions may fill as deadlines approach. Its practical advice is straightforward: early is better, but complete and accurate is best.

An admissions officer quoted by the AAMC on application timing similarly noted that some schools use rolling systems that slightly penalize later applications. That does not make every school rolling. For example, the University of Kansas School of Medicine’s calendar for the 2027 entering class lists regular decision notification in March, after its interview season has ended. Loma Linda University School of Medicine’s calendar for the same entering class lists rolling decisions from November through June, until the class is filled.

Neither the AAMC nor AACOM puts a number on the advantage of applying early, so do not treat any particular week as a guaranteed boost. Kansas is a useful illustration of how schools think about it: its deadline is Oct. 15, yet it strongly encourages regular applicants to submit by Sept. 1. If the cycle is already underway, review when it may be too late to apply to medical school before deciding whether to submit now or prepare for the next cycle.

Each school sets its own deadline, which you can look up in the AAMC’s AMCAS medical schools and deadlines tool. AMCAS requires submission, rather than completed processing, by 11:59 p.m. ET on that date and does not grant extensions. Meeting a posted deadline keeps an application eligible, but at schools that review applications as they arrive, interview slots may already have been awarded by then. The Early Decision Program is the one fixed date: you apply to one participating school by Aug. 1 and hear by Oct. 1, which leaves time to apply elsewhere if you are not accepted.

When Do Secondaries and Interviews Begin?

A secondary is a school-specific application completed after a medical school receives your primary. It commonly gives you an opportunity to explain your interest in that school and usually carries an additional fee. These charges can multiply across a school list, so include them when estimating your total medical school application cost.

Secondary timing varies by school and application service. For the 2027 entering class, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine began sending supplemental invitations on July 7 after receiving verified AMCAS applications. Loma Linda University School of Medicine listed July through November for receiving verified applications and sending secondary invitations. TMDSAS advises applicants to complete school secondaries as soon as they submit the primary, while AACOM advises submitting secondary materials upon receipt.

None of these organizations sets a universal turnaround time for secondaries. Your actual deadline is the one set by the school. Respond as soon as you can produce an accurate, school-specific application without sacrificing the quality of your answers. The workload can be substantial: new medical students responding to the AAMC’s 2025 Matriculating Student Questionnaire reported completing a median of 20 secondaries.

Most medical schools require an interview, but calendars differ significantly. Pittsburgh’s 2027 entering-class calendar lists invitations beginning in early August and interviews from Aug. 17 through Dec. 11. Loma Linda lists most invitations from September through March, while the University of Kansas School of Medicine lists regular decision interviews from October through January. Texas medical schools begin interviewing in August. Among respondents to the AAMC’s 2025 questionnaire, the median number of interview offers was three, so an invitation represents a meaningful step rather than a routine stage for every application.

Acceptances, Enrollment Choices and Waitlists

Under the AAMC protocols for admission officers, schools issue regular MD acceptances on or after Oct. 15, while Early Decision applicants receive an answer by Oct. 1. By March 15, schools are asked to have issued at least as many offers as their expected first-year class size. These protocols are recommendations, not binding rules that replace an individual school’s policies.

If you hold multiple MD acceptances, the AAMC’s protocols for applicants, linked beside the dates table above, recommend narrowing to no more than three schools by April 15. By April 30, you should choose the one school where you plan to matriculate and withdraw your other acceptances. You may remain on waitlists after choosing one acceptance.

Plan to Enroll becomes available in the AMCAS Choose Your Medical School tool on Feb. 19 or the next business day. Before April 30, selecting it at one school still allows you to hold other acceptances, remain on alternate lists and continue interviewing. Beginning April 30, Commit to Enroll becomes available and indicates that you have made a final selection and withdrawn your other applications.

Commit to Enroll does not withdraw those applications automatically. You must contact the other schools yourself, and every school may set its own deadline for using the tool. For the 2027 entering class, for example, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine requires Commit to Enroll by June 25, 2027 and Loma Linda University School of Medicine by June 10, 2027.

After April 30, applicants selecting Plan to Enroll may still remain on waitlists and receive another offer. Response windows shorten as the cycle goes on. The AAMC asks schools to give you at least two weeks to answer an offer made on or before April 30, five business days after that date and as little as two business days within 30 days of orientation, so monitor email and applicant portals closely. It also asks schools to keep the initial deposit to $100 or less and to refund it at least until April 30.

AACOMAS and TMDSAS Timing Compared

AACOMAS Timing

AACOMAS opens in early May and accepts submissions immediately rather than creating a separate month-long period before submission. AACOM says processing begins in June, each osteopathic college sets its own deadline and the centralized service remains open until April 30 of the matriculation year. Your application and official transcripts for completed coursework must meet each college’s deadline.

Under AACOM’s traffic guidelines, osteopathic schools may make offers at any time after an interview. Deposit windows become shorter later in the cycle: applicants accepted before Nov. 15 have until Dec. 14, those accepted from Nov. 15 to Jan. 14 have 30 days, those accepted from Jan. 15 to April 30 have 14 days and those accepted on or after May 1 may be asked for an immediate deposit. AACOM also says that before May 1 applicants need to withdraw from colleges they do not plan to attend and hold a position at only one osteopathic college. AACOMAS also provides three Academic Update periods during the cycle for adding new coursework.

TMDSAS Timing

TMDSAS becomes available May 1 and opens for submission in mid-May. Its medical application deadline is Oct. 1 at 11:59 p.m. CST, with no extensions. Applications are usually processed within four weeks and may take up to six weeks at peak. Letters and test scores are added as they arrive and do not hold up primary processing, although some schools may wait for them before offering an interview.

Texas schools begin extending offers on Oct. 15. Texas residents participating in the match rank schools in late January and receive match results in mid-February, after which rolling admissions begins. Applicants with multiple offers choose one program by April 30. After May 15, Texas schools can no longer make an offer to a Texas applicant already holding another seat.

Choosing an MCAT Date That Fits Your Application

Choose your MCAT date by working backward from when you want schools to have your score. The AAMC advises students who want to enter medical school directly after college to take the exam and begin applying during junior year. If you think a retake may be necessary, testing earlier in the testing year leaves time to receive the result, make a decision and find another available appointment. IMA’s guide to when you should take the MCAT covers that decision in more depth.

MCAT scores are released approximately 30 to 35 days after the test. AMCAS does not need your score to verify the primary application, and you can submit before or after score release. Schools still set their own latest acceptable test dates, so check every program rather than assuming the centralized service’s calendar controls eligibility.

Registration and scheduling deadlines also affect what dates remain practical. Use the current MCAT registration and test date guide to match an available appointment with its score release date. AACOMAS applicants must separately release their scores through the AAMC reporting system, after which AACOMAS takes approximately 10 to 12 days to process them.

Planning for Score Release and Test Readiness

Your planned test date should leave room for score release, school-specific requirements and any possible retake. It should also reflect whether your preparation is producing stable results. An MCAT score calculator can help you interpret practice-test results, but readiness also requires enough time to complete the coursework and preparation you have planned.

Most medical schools require scores no more than three years old, although individual policies vary. TMDSAS strongly encourages applicants to test by May so their files can be complete when Texas interviews begin in August, and it warns that applicants who first test in July, August or September may find action on their application delayed until late in the season.

Last accepted test dates show how late is too late: for the 2027 entering class, TMDSAS set Sept. 12, 2026 and the University of Kansas School of Medicine asked regular applicants to test by Sept. 11, 2026. The arithmetic is simple once you have a date in mind. On the AAMC’s 2027 calendar, for example, a May 1 exam has a June 2 score release. The practical goal is not merely to meet the last accepted test date. It is to place the score into your application when schools can use it without forcing you to test before you are prepared.

Building Your Timeline Backward From Matriculation

Your two biggest planning decisions come well before the application opens: whether you will enter directly after college or take a gap year, and when you will take the MCAT. Two years before matriculation, the AAMC recommends scheduling remaining coursework, discussing letters and setting the overall application strategy with a prehealth advisor. Use a medical school prerequisites checklist to identify coursework that still has to fit into that plan.

The backward plan below follows the stages in the AAMC’s Timeline for Application and Admission to Medical School and AACOM’s guidance for prospective osteopathic applicants. It begins several years before matriculation rather than treating application summer as the starting point.

The table above gives each period a distinct purpose. Sophomore year is a useful point to assess coursework, start thinking about MCAT preparation and consider application costs. Junior year becomes the application year for students proceeding directly to medical school. During application summer, your focus shifts to completing the primary, managing secondaries and watching school communications.

Summers and gap years can also provide time for medically related employment, volunteering, research or other sustained experience. In the AAMC’s 2025 Matriculating Student Questionnaire, 72.7% of new medical students said a year or more had passed since they graduated from college. A gap year is therefore common, but its value depends on what you need to complete. International Medical Aid offers healthcare and pre-med internships abroad involving clinical rotations and physician shadowing for students considering that form of experience.

Your Next Step in the Application Cycle

Start by identifying your intended matriculation year, the application service each target school uses and the next deadline you personally control. That may be an MCAT registration date, a transcript request, completion of your primary or a secondary deadline.

Then work backward and protect enough time for processing. Submitting early can help in a rolling cycle, but only when the application is complete and accurate. A clear calendar, a realistic test plan and regular checks of each school’s instructions will keep the long application process manageable.

Frequently Asked Questions

When Do Medical School Applications Open?

Medical school applications generally open in early May of the year before you plan to enroll. AMCAS typically opens in the first week of May and begins accepting submissions about a month later. AACOMAS opens for immediate submission in early May, while TMDSAS becomes available May 1 and opens for submission in mid-May.

When Should I Apply to Medical School?

You should submit in the first weeks after your application service begins accepting submissions if your primary is complete and accurate. Applying early can matter at schools using rolling review, but submitting errors or unfinished entries can lead to returns and delays. No single date guarantees an advantage.

When Is It Too Late to Apply to Medical School?

It is officially too late when the relevant school or application service deadline has passed, because AMCAS and TMDSAS do not grant deadline extensions. Before that deadline, timing still matters at rolling schools because interview spaces and class positions may already have been awarded. Compare the remaining processing time with each school’s calendar before submitting late in a cycle. IMA’s article on when it is too late to apply walks through that decision month by month.

How Long Does AMCAS Verification Take?

AMCAS verification may take six to eight weeks during peak season. Your application enters the verification queue only after you submit and AMCAS receives every required official transcript. Missing transcripts, high volume from June through September or an application returned for correction can extend the overall timeline.

When Do Medical Schools Send Secondaries?

Medical schools send secondaries after receiving your primary application, often after it has been verified. Timing varies: the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine began sending them in July for its 2027 entering class, while Loma Linda University School of Medicine listed July through November. Follow each school’s deadline and return the application as soon as you can provide complete, accurate answers.

When Do Medical School Interviews Start?

Medical school interviews can start in August, but there is no single national opening date. For the 2027 entering class, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Texas schools begin in August, Loma Linda University School of Medicine lists most invitations from September through March and the University of Kansas School of Medicine interviews regular applicants from October through January. Your school list may therefore produce invitations across several months.

When Do You Hear Back From Medical Schools?

Regular MD acceptances begin on or after Oct. 15 under AAMC protocols, while Early Decision applicants receive an answer by Oct. 1. Osteopathic schools may make offers any time after an interview. Texas schools begin offers on Oct. 15 and hold their resident match in February. Some schools, such as the University of Kansas School of Medicine, notify regular applicants in March, and waitlist offers may continue after April 30.