Best Medical Schools in Texas

Best Medical Schools in Texas

There are many reasons to go to Texas for medical school: affordability, general low cost of living, stunning nature, and great food. But once you’ve decided on the Lone Star State for your M.D., how do you build your list of medical schools? In this guide to the best medical schools in Texas, we’ll go over everything you need to know about the top medical schools in Texas. We’ll discuss:

• How to get into medical school
• The application process for the best medical schools in Texas and beyond
• The ten best medical schools in Texas
• How the best medical schools in Texas compare to the best medical schools in the world and the U.S.
• What makes medical schools in Texas stand out from the pack
• How to pay for some of the best med schools

To learn how to navigate admissions to some of the top medical schools in Texas, keep reading.

What to expect from Medical Schools Admissions

Before we dive into the best medical schools in Texas, let’s talk a bit about the medical school application process. In the wake of the pandemic, more and more students are applying to medical school. Getting into the top medical schools in the world has never been more challenging. There are many paths to medical school, but most strong applicants—like those at the best medical schools in Texas—have some similarities.

Knowing how to get into medical school starts with focusing on your undergraduate academic achievement. Most people who want to go to med school, and certainly the best medical schools in Texas, pursue pre-med in college. Pre-medical programs prepare students for the MCAT and fulfill most med schools’ academic requirements. Some students who want to learn how to get into medical school even earlier may be interested in BS-MD programs. These combined, accelerated degree programs allow students to earn their undergraduate and graduate degrees at the same institution. 

The process of applying to medical school will go something like this: you’ll take your MCAT no later than the year you’re applying to school, and then fill out your primary application to all your schools. Then, schools that are interested in you will respond with a secondary application to fill out—think of this part like supplemental essays from your college application—and if that impresses the school, you will likely be invited to interview. 

Applying to Medical School in Texas

To get into the best medical schools in Texas, you’ll need a strong academic record with a strong GPA and a competitive MCAT score. Ideal candidates also have extracurricular and lab experience that shows you’re passionate about medicine and helping others. Though your MCAT score and GPA are undoubtedly important, the best medical schools in Texas and across the country will review your application holistically. 

For your application to the best medical schools in Texas, you’ll likely have to use the TMDSAS application platform. This application platform is specific to Texas; other medical schools use other platforms, like the AMCAS. 

Unsurprisingly, the best medical schools in Texas have very competitive admissions rates. Most of the best medical schools in Texas, like the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, have acceptance rates below 10%—some even below 5%. 

So if you want to get into the best medical schools in Texas, you’ll need to be focused on your medical future long before you apply. 

Understanding Medical School Rankings

Even though rankings are subjective when you’re trying to figure out how to get into medical school, every bit of information can be useful. 

Our list of the best medical schools in Texas, uses medical school rankings from U.S. News, assessing the best med schools for research. However, different medical school rankings will have different criteria. U.S. News medical school rankings evaluate multiple factors, like strength in primary care and internal medicine, as well as specialties like anesthesiology and pediatrics. 

Medical school rankings are a useful tool when exploring the best medical schools in Texas, but do your due diligence. Finding the school that’s best for you is about more than medical school rankings. When looking for the right school, focus on the cost, resources, and strength of your intended specialty. Finding a school on a list of the best medical schools in Texas or other medical school rankings should prompt further research. 

Top 10 Best Medical Schools in Texas

Our list of the best medical schools in Texas reviews the best medical schools for research, according to U.S. News. Each school has its own strengths and reasons for making the list of best medical schools in Texas. 

Here’s our list of the top medical schools in Texas, based on the U.S. News rankings:

Best Texan Medical Schools

1. Baylor College of Medicine

The first on our list of best medical schools in Texas is Baylor College of Medicine. Located in Houston, Baylor College of Medicine is also one of the least expensive private medical schools in the country. As #1 of the best medical schools in Texas for research, Baylor College of Medicine has a very competitive acceptance rate: 4%. 

2. University of Texas Southwestern Medical School

Number two on our list of medical schools is UT Southwestern Medical Center, located in Dallas. At Southwestern, you can attend an innovative program that offers clinical training within your first year. The acceptance rate for UT Southwestern Medical Center is around 10%. Like the other public best medical schools in Texas, Southwestern has a high proportion—90%—of in-state students.

3. UT Health San Antonio Long School of Medicine

Located in San Antonio, the Long School of Medicine is the largest health center in South Texas. The Long School of Medicine is nationally ranked both for research and for primary care. Its research centers focus on many specialties including cancer, diabetes, aging, and substance use. The acceptance rate is 8.4%. 

4. UT Health Houston McGovern Medical School

Next on our list of medical schools is Houston’s McGovern Medical School, the largest neuroscience provider in South Texas. McGovern is part of the Texas Medical Center, which is home to four medical schools including Baylor College of Medicine and more. The acceptance rate at McGovern is 4.5%.

5. Texas A&M University School of Medicine

Number five on our list of medical schools is Texas A&M. Texas A&M is located in Bryan, a city between Houston and Austin. Its acceptance rate of 5.4% is certainly not the lowest among the best medical schools in Texas, but gaining admission is a significant challenge nonetheless.

6. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine

Founded in 1969, Texas Tech has a mission to improve health outcomes for the rural residents of West Texas. This school is located in Lubbock, farther northwest than the schools we’ve talked about thus far. The acceptance rate for Texas Tech is 5.1%.

7. UNT Health Science Center Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine

Next on the list of medical schools is UNT Health Science Center Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. If you attend this one of the best medical schools in Texas, you’ll become a DO rather than an MD—a doctor that studies a more holistic philosophy of medicine. Located in Fort Worth, the acceptance rate for UNT Health Science Center is 9.2%.

8. Sam Houston State University College of Osteopathic Medicine

Eighth on our list of medical schools and best medical schools in Texas is the Sam Houston State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, another school that awards DOs rather than MDs. They’re aiming to address the shortage of primary care doctors in the U.S. and make healthcare accessible for rural Texans. This school is located in Huntsville. 

9. Texas Christian University Burnett School of Medicine

Like UNT, Texas Christian University Burnett School of Medicine is also in Fort Worth. At number 9 of the best medical schools in Texas, Burnett hopes to train “empathetic scholars.” According to US News, the acceptance rate at TCU is only 1.9%. 

10. Texas Tech Health El Paso Paul L. Foster School of Medicine

The last on our list of medical schools, Texas Tech Health El Paso is the only health sciences center located on the border of the U.S. and Mexico, providing a unique experience. This school has a very low acceptance rate of around 3%.

Now that we’ve gone down this list of medical schools, let’s look more closely at the best of the best medical schools in Texas.

What is the Best Medical School in Texas?

First on our list of best medical schools in Texas is Baylor College of Medicine. 

Baylor is ranked #1 of the best medical schools in Texas based on a few different factors. Baylor has significant faculty resources, strong academic achievement, and groundbreaking research outcomes and opportunities. Moreover, its tuition is uniquely affordable for a private school: less than $20,000 per year. Baylor is also one of the best undergraduate colleges in Texas. 

Another reason Baylor College of Medicine is one of the best medical schools in Texas is its access to the Texas Medical Center. Baylor’s access to the world’s largest medical complex opens up a world of clinical opportunities for its students. Students at Baylor get a high quality education: in 2019, 100% of the students passed their medical licensing exams on the first try. Plus, when students match for residency programs, they generally are accepted to one of their top three choices. 

This is why Baylor admissions are so competitive, with only around 5% of students gaining admission each year. 

What is the Best Medical School in the US?

Generally, Harvard Medical School ranks #1 on lists of the best med schools in the US. To boot, it’s also one of the top medical schools in the world, if not the very best. 

As one of the top medical schools in the world, HMS accepts only the best of the best. Its acceptance rate is 2.8%, with an incoming cohort of fewer than 200 people each year. Some students pursue dual degrees at other highly-ranked schools like Harvard Law School, Harvard Business School, and MIT. 

In addition to its prowess as a research institution, HMS also ranks highly in many specialties. It’s best in the country for obstetrics and gynecology, second in psychiatry, and third among the best medical schools for surgery. These rankings are what set Harvard apart as one of the top medical schools in the world. 

Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard also offers proximity to Boston’s hospitals, which are some of the best in the country. For graduates that want to pursue industry rather than practice, Boston is also a biotech hub. Many new doctors from the best medical schools for surgery or clinical research end up around hubs like Boston.

Comparing Baylor vs. Harvard for Medicine

Though Baylor is one of the top medical schools in Texas, Harvard is one of the top medical schools in the world. However, this doesn’t mean that you won’t get a stellar education at Baylor. Here are some key differences and similarities between two of the best med schools in the US. 

As you can see, even though Harvard is one of the top medical schools in the world, Baylor still has a lot to offer. Notably, Baylor’s tuition makes it accessible to a wider array of students, with no significant loss in curriculum, resources, or medical school acceptance rates. 

Why go to medical school in Texas?

Every year, students apply to the top medical schools in the world and best medical schools for surgery and other specialties. Why should they add the top medical schools in Texas to their list of medical schools?

First is the lower cost of tuition. Top medical schools in Texas like the UT Southwestern Medical Center offer far less expensive tuition for both in-state and out-of-state students compared to the country’s other best med schools. Baylor is one of the private medical schools with the lowest tuition in the nation. However, this also makes Baylor admissions incredibly competitive.

Among public schools, many of the top medical schools in Texas are also some of the most affordable. In fact, six of the ten public medical schools on US News’s list of schools with low out-of-state costs are in Texas. 

Second, if you’re an in-state student—that is, you live in Texas—there are massive benefits to attending one of the best med schools in Texas. The top medical schools in Texas have an admissions quota for Texas residents. 90% of any incoming class at a public medical school is required to be made up of Texas residents. While this is challenging for non-Texans, if you are from Texas or studied in Texas for undergrad, this can help you. 

In-state students also have additional scholarship opportunities at some of the top medical schools in Texas. For example, JAMP provides students with mentorship, internship, and scholarship opportunities. In addition, the Texas Medical Association provides a number of student scholarships. Texas residents applying to the top medical schools in Texas can leverage these scholarships to attend some of the best med schools in the US.

However, there are also some challenges of pursuing a degree at one of the top medical schools in Texas.

Exploring the challenges of Medical School in Texas

When deciding whether or not to add Texan schools to your list of medical schools, consider the following factors. 

If you’re a student from out-of-state, attending one of the best med schools in Texas might be a bit more challenging. As we mentioned earlier, Texas public medical schools cap their out-of-state admissions at 10%, making medical school acceptance rates lower for non-Texans. While these figures don’t mean it’s impossible to gain admission, be prepared for stiff competition.

In addition to low medical school acceptance rates, out-of-state students also face higher tuition costs. This is a normal feature of attending public school as a non-resident, and Texas schools are still relatively affordable. However, try looking closer to home—you might have one of the top medical schools in the world in your state!

Even if you’re an in-state student, applying to medical school is never easy. Whether you’re facing private Baylor admissions or public school UT Southwestern Medical Center admissions, you’ll have to be an extremely strong applicant. 

Texas is the second-most populous state in the US, and it only has 16 medical schools. Even in-state students aren’t guaranteed admission to the best medical schools for surgery and the best medical schools for research. 

So far, we’ve looked at medical school rankings, medical school acceptance rates, and some of the top medical schools in the world. Now, let’s discuss what to look for in a medical school. 

What to look for in a medical school?

When thinking about how to get into medical school, make sure you’re applying to schools that are worthwhile to you. Learning how to get into medical school won’t do you any good if you don’t cultivate a good medical school list. Knowing how to get into medical school means knowing how to research schools to apply to. Most students apply to at least 16 schools, so don’t be afraid to cast a wide net. 

There are many factors you should be looking for when deciding which medical school to apply to. While you should take medical school acceptance rates and rankings into consideration, there are many other significant factors. 

Think about the quality of the education offered at the medical school. What’s the curriculum like? What’s the student to faculty ratio, and are there professors there with whom you’d like to research with or study under? Are the lab facilities good, and is there clinical access? Consider what specialty you’re interested in and whether the school has strong outcomes in that particular area. 

Consider the cost: schools like Baylor offer extensive resources while being significantly more affordable than many of the top medical schools in the world. Plus, the cost of living in Texas is in general much lower than in cities like Boston or New York. Research scholarship eligibility; many of the best medical schools for surgery and other subjects have fellowship and aid programs.

Additionally, it’s only practical to consider the odds of acceptance at your intended schools. Search for information like average GPAs and MCAT scores for accepted students, and compare them to your own scores. It can also be useful to talk to admitted students and even members of the admissions team. They can answer questions about the ideal candidate based on recent experiences and data. 

Overall, look for schools that are a good fit for you. When learning how to get into medical school, don’t forget your own preferences. Create a list of your own priorities, and then look for schools that meet your needs—not the other way around.

Advice on paying for Medical School

Paying for med school can be daunting. Even though doctors tend to earn high salaries later in their careers, you may not be earning six figures in your first year out of school. It’s still important to try and minimize the cost and debt of medical school while getting your education. 

One way to do this is through financial aid. By filling out the FAFSA, you can qualify for federal grants and loans. However, note that unlike in undergrad, the FAFSA won’t award you financial aid; you’ll receive federal loans that you have to pay back. In fact, most students end up taking out student loans in order to pay for medical school. Make sure that you consider opportunities such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and tuition repayment as an employment benefit to manage your loan repayment.

You can also pursue scholarships. There are school-specific scholarships that you can apply to. For example, at UT Southwestern Medical Center, you can earn scholarships based on your GPA and for certain specialities like physical therapy. You can also seek scholarships from medical organizations. These can be state-wide scholarships, like the ones from Texas Academy of Family Physicians or Texas Medical Association. There are also national scholarships from organizations like the American Medical Association. Furthermore, there are also affinity-based or identity-based scholarships, like ones for women in STEM and women pursuing careers in medicine. 

Best Medical Schools in Texas Takeaways

In this article on the best medical schools in Texas, we covered the top medical schools in Texas and what makes them unique. Texas is home to a few highly-ranked research institutions like Baylor College of Medicine and the UT Southwestern Medical Center. These are some of the best medical schools for surgery and other specialties. They offer a top-tier medical education at a uniquely affordable cost for both in- and out-of-state students. 

There are many reasons to study in Texas, including the low cost of living and —for residents —  the 90-10 admissions rule. However, even for in-state students, Texas med school admissions is extremely competitive. Start planning for medical school ahead of time, including researching scholarships, student loans, and other ways to finance your education. 

Wherever you are in your med school application process, CollegeAdvisor can help. Are you a high school student aspiring to cardiology, looking for help choosing a major, or getting into BS-MD programs? Or maybe you’re a college student who wants to get into one of the best medical schools for surgery. Whatever your goals are, we’ve got plenty of resources and one-on-one coaches to support you through the process.

This article was written by advisor, Rachel Kahn. Looking for more admissions support? Click here to schedule a free meeting with one of our Admissions Specialists. During your meeting, our team will discuss your profile and help you find targeted ways to increase your admissions odds at top schools. We’ll also answer any questions and discuss how CollegeAdvisor.com can support you in the college application process.