For dental and medical applicants, enter all activities you've engaged in since you've graduated from high school (or received a high school diploma equivalent). There is no limit to the amount of activities you can enter.
For veterinary applicants, you may include activities you were engaged in prior to graduating from high school.
You have a 300 character limit for each activity you enter and, except under certain circumstances, each activity may only be entered once.
The TMDSAS Application allows you to select three (3) activities that were the most meaningful to you. This will allow you 500 additional characters to discuss why these activities are important to you and your preparation toward becoming a healthcare professional.
Current Activities are activities you are engaged in until the application deadline. Planned Activities are activities you plan to engage in after the application deadline
through the point of matriculation (August 2022).
The Planned Activities section cannot be edited after submission. If anything changes,
keep a log of these changes to share with the schools during your interviews.
If you currently participate in activities that you plan to continue beyond the application deadline, you should enter it as both a Current and Planned Activity.
| Academic Recognition | Healthcare Activities |
| Non-Academic Recognition | Community Service |
| Leadership | Extracurricular |
| Employment | Animal Experience (Veterinary only) |
| Research Activities | Veterinary Supervised (Veterinary only) |
For more information on what should be included in each activity, please refer to the TMDSAS Application Guide starting on page 33.
List academic honors, awards and other recognitions received since beginning college to the present (veterinary applicants should list activities since beginning high school to the present).
List any leadership roles or positions of responsibility held since beginning college to the present (veterinary applicants should list activities since beginning high school to the present). Examples may include leadership roles in clubs/organizations, supervisory roles, etc. In the absence of these roles, you may list leadership qualities you have learned from other opportunities.
List all jobs (paid work experience) held since graduating from high school to the present, including military service. Paid healthcare activities may be listed here in addition to the healthcare activities section.
List any significant research activities (paid or volunteer) you have participated in since graduating high school to the present (veterinary applicants should list activities since beginning high school to the present).
Include any publications (submitted as well as published), abstracts, presentations, and posters.
List all direct healthcare related activities you have participated in since graduating high school. These may include, for example: shadowing, scribing, clinical research, serving or working as a patient care tech, a nurse, and any direct observation or participation in patient care in a clinic, hospital, or with a physician or dentist.
List all experiences where >50% of your time was spent interacting with or under the direct supervision of a veterinarian. Qualifying employment goes here.
Veterinary experiences should relate to veterinary clinical, agribusiness, or health science experiences that you have had with veterinarians. Include all relevant experiences, whether they are voluntary, paid, or academic experiences.
The experiences reported in this section should be different from those entered for Animal and Employment experience. Experiences gained in high school may be included. Do NOT include future expected hours of experience.
List any animal experiences not supervised by a veterinarian or any other general animal experiences.
Include all relevant experiences, whether they are voluntary, paid, or academic experiences. Only 100 hours of pet ownership per species (with a maximum of 2 species) will count towards overall animal experience.
Include farm and ranch experiences, 4-H membership, animal training, agility, working in a boarding kennel or other similar activities, and only if NOT under the supervision of a veterinarian.
The experiences you report in this section should be different from those entered for Veterinary and Employment experience. Experiences gained in high school may be included. Do NOT include future hours.
List any non-healthcare related community service or volunteer activities you have participated in since beginning college to the present (veterinary applicants should list activities since beginning high school to the present).
List any significant extracurricular, leisure activities or hobbies you have participated in since beginning college to the present (veterinary applicants should list activities since beginning high school to the present).
In the TMDSAS Application Guide (p. 30), TMDSAS instructs applicants to enter each activity once per category, and provides an example of how to select the best category for each activity (this is strictly enforced for veterinary applicants).
You know your activities best, so use your best judgment in selecting which category
corresponds to each of your activities.
We've added a sample set of activities here and how you might enter them in your application:
You'll notice that the activities highlighted in yellow (Scribing, CNA, and RDA activities) could be entered as both Employment and Healthcare. Even though these activities can be entered in both sections, you make sure the descriptions discuss that aspect of the experience.
For example, as a Scribe, discuss the employment aspect of that activity in the corresponding section, while the Healthcare section may see more information about the experiences and doctors you may have worked with.
In some instances, you may have engaged in an activity for short periods of time but over a long time span (e.g., volunteering at a summer camp). You may enter these activities in one of two ways:
TMDSAS instructs applicants to enter each activity once per category, and provides an example of how to select the best category for each activity (this is strictly enforced for veterinary applicants).
Planned activities are just that - plans. If anything changes, you can maintain a log of activities to share with the schools during your interviews.
In the rare instance where you opt to refer to an activity in more than one section, make sure the description reflects the category. Don't copy and paste the same description!
For more information, please refer to the TMDSAS Application Guide.
The Texas Medical and Dental Schools Application Service (TMDSAS) has published its data for the 2025 application cycle, offering a snapshot of the pipeline for future healthcare professionals.
Take a deeper look at the transformative mission of UTRGV's School of Podiatric Medicine and their inspiring push to transform Texas healthcare by filling a crucial need.
Applications received at TMDSAS for Entry Year 2025 have revealed interesting trends for aspiring professionals in medical, dental, veterinary, and podiatric fields.
