How Do I Select My School Rank Preferences?
Review the guidance provided to best rank your schools, especially if you have a pre-match offer.
Categorizing Your Activities in the TMDSAS Application
What Is An Activity?
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.
What is a Top Meaningful Activity?
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.
When Is An Activity Current vs. Planned?
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.
What Are the TMDSAS Activity Categories?
| 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.
Academic Recognition
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).
Non-Academic Recognition
List non-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).
Leadership
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.
Employment
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.
Research Activities
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.
Healthcare Activities
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.
Veterinary Supervised (Veterinary Applicants Only)
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.
Animal Experience (Veterinary Applicants Only)
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.
Community Service
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).
Extracurricular and Leisure Activities
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).
Guidance on Entering Activities
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.
Advice on Entering Activities
We've added a sample set of activities here and how you might enter them in your application:
Activities That Are Both Healthcare and Employment
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.
Entering Asynchronous Activities
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:
- Enter each instance individually. This is the best option if your role or the activity changed over time. Make sure the description reflects the changes in your role.
- Enter once as a single activity. This option may be best if the breaks in the activity were short - such as having a winter break as a peer tutor. Be careful not to overinflate your total hours.
Main Takeaway
-
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!
- You know your activities best, so use your best judgment in selecting which category corresponds to each of your activities.
Need More Information?
For more information, please refer to the TMDSAS Application Guide.
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