Key Dates You Need to Know for the 2026-2027 AMCAS Medical School Application Timeline
This section outlines the key dates and milestones in the 2026–2027 American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) medical school application timeline.
Month
Application Milestone
Early May (Week 1)
AMCAS applications open. Applicants can begin entering coursework and drafting their personal statement.
Medical school interviews and secondary applications continue.
Early October
Deadline for schools to notify Early Decision applicants. AMCAS application deadlines begin for some schools.
October–November
Schools begin issuing acceptances, rejections, and waitlist decisions.
December (Early–Mid)
AMCAS application deadlines for most medical schools.
December–March
Medical school interviews and applicant notifications continue.
May–July
Waitlisted applicants may be offered admission as seats become available.
Late August
Medical school orientation begins and the academic year starts. Schools typically stop making offers after orientation.
September
Medical school classes are underway.
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Ideal Month-by-Month Checklist for AMCAS Admissions Timeline
Preparing for medical school requires steady progress across academics, testing, writing, and experiences. You should begin planning well in advance, including outlining your personal statement and organizing your AMCAS Work and Activities section early.
Below is a practical month-by-month breakdown of what to prioritize before applying.
January to March of Junior Year – Focus on the MCAT and Experience Building
The winter of junior year is when you should be intensely preparing for the MCAT, which is typically taken between January and April.
Block out dedicated MCAT study prep and consider getting some extra tutoring help.
At the same time, you should be actively building or maintaining your clinical, volunteering, and extracurricular experiences.
Ideally, you already have meaningful exposure by this point. If not, this is the latest window to strengthen those hours before applications open. Schools expect sustained involvement, not last-minute additions.
In our webinar What You Can Do NOW To Prepare For Med School Applications, Dr. Aryaman Gupta, an Interventional Radiology resident, Johns Hopkins MD, and admissions expert at Inspira Advantage, explained why MCAT timing is critical:
“Usually studying for the MCAT takes about a month or two dedicated… we usually say March is really kind of the latest you want to be taking the MCAT because then it takes six weeks to get your score back.”
April of Junior Year – Finalize Your Medical School List and Prepare Your Application
Analyze your MCAT performance and finalize the list of schools you plan to apply to. Students apply to 16 schools on average.
In a Med School Application Q&A panel, Nate Overholtzer, an MD–PhD at the Keck School of Medicine and Advantage consultant, shared how small delays can affect verification:
“If you submit AMCAS slightly late… I submitted mid-June… my application didn’t get verified until the first few days of July… it really pays to be ahead of time.”
June to August of Junior Year – Complete Your Secondary Applications
After primary applications are received, schools send secondary applications, which are school-specific.
Continue drafting essays, preparing for interviews, and taking the Casper situational judgment test if required by schools.
Dr. Katherine Munoz emphasizes the importance of pre-writing your secondaries and what timeline to aim for to have them submitted:
“Pre-writing your secondaries… lets you turn them around pretty quickly so that you can get them back within about two weeks to those med schools.”
September to March of Senior Year – Prepare for Interviews and Admissions Decisions
Interview invitations are sent out and interviews are conducted on a rolling basis from September through the spring. Prepare for interviews with practice questions.
Admissions decisions are also made on a rolling basis during this time. Update schools on any changes to your application.
April to May of Senior Year – Choose Your Medical School
Most admission decisions are sent out by May. Carefully evaluate your options, considering location, cost, aid, and fit.
Formally choose the medical school you will be attending through AMCAS by the end of April and withdraw other applications.
June to August of Application Year – Prepare for Medical School
Take time to relax, travel, and mentally prepare for the challenges and opportunities of medical school.
Ensure all required paperwork is complete and connect with future classmates before orientation.
The medical school application process requires careful planning and consistent effort over 18-24 months leading up to matriculation. Staying organized, getting started early, and receiving guidance from advisors can help you navigate this stressful journey successfully.
Following a clear medical school application timeline is essential. Medical school admissions operate on a rolling basis, meaning schools begin reviewing applications as soon as they are submitted and continue until seats are filled.
Applicants who submit early are reviewed when more interview slots and acceptances are available, while late applicants compete for far fewer opportunities.
This was emphasized by Dr. Katherine Munoz, a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery resident at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Inspira Advantage counselor. During the webinar Navigating the Med School Admissions Cycle, she explained why timing matters:
“The sooner you can get this information in, submit your applications, return prompts, whatever it may be, the sooner your application is viewed and the higher statistical likelihood that you will be pushed forward to the next step, whether that be interviews or acceptance. So the timeliness and the timing of your application matters so, so much in this process and really does a lot to augment the likelihood of you being accepted … just making sure you leave yourself enough time to do each of these steps well, and thoroughly and efficiently, is—I would say—the biggest part of the application process.”
Our medical school application timeline reflects this reality. It outlines the process from May of your third year of college or the year before you apply through the start of medical school, showing when to prepare for the MCAT, submit primary applications, complete secondaries, and prepare for interviews so you can apply early and remain competitive.
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The Impact of a Gap Year on the Medical School Application Timeline
A gap year directly affects when you prepare and submit your medical school application. Many applicants now take at least one gap year between finishing undergraduate coursework and starting medical school, using that time to strengthen GPA, MCAT performance, clinical exposure, service work, and research experience.
This was highlighted by Callie Ginapp, a Yale School of Medicine MD and Inspira Advantage consultant, in our MCAT 101 webinar:
“Like 75% of my class had taken a gap year… and it really does matter what you do with that time… research fellowships, working in a clinical setting like scribing, building clinical/volunteering hours… a gap year can be a time to get them—and it also lets everything you did senior year actually count versus applying straight through.”
Similarly, Dr. Katherine Munoz, a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery resident and Inspira Advantage admissions expert, reframed the gap year decision in our Pre-Med: How to Plan for Med School Acceptance webinar:
“I would consider a lot of other factors besides just MCAT to decide on whether or not to take a gap year… if you’ve gone straight through you may not have all those opportunities or experiences yet and so that may be a reason to take a planned gap year—such that you have something lined up to add to your application during that year, not just to figure it out halfway through.”
A planned gap year aligns your experiences with the application timeline and strengthens your overall candidacy when used strategically.
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FAQs: Medical School Application Timeline
1. When Are Medical Applications Due?
Medical school application deadlines vary by school. Most schools have deadlines between October and December of the year before matriculation, but some can be as early as August or as late as April.
2. What Is the Best Month to Apply to Medical School?
The best time to apply to medical school is as early as possible, ideally in May when applications open. For most applicants using AMCAS, the application opens in early May, and submissions typically begin in late May.
Medical schools start receiving verified applications in late June. Submitting in the first weeks of the cycle places your application in front of admissions committees when the most interview spots and seats are still available, which significantly improves your odds in a rolling admissions system.
3. How Long Is the Medical School Application Process?
The medical school application process usually spans 12 to 15 months from start to finish. This timeline includes MCAT preparation and testing, primary application submission, secondary applications, interviews, admissions decisions, and final enrollment. For most applicants, preparation begins the year before applying, while final decisions arrive in the spring before matriculation.
4. When Will I Hear Back About My Application?
Early applicants may hear back as soon as October or November, while others receive decisions later in the cycle. Medical schools release decisions on a rolling basis, most often between October and April. The majority of applicants know their final outcomes by March or April of the year they plan to start medical school.
5. What Is the Timeline For Waitlisted Students?
There is no fixed timeline for waitlisted applicants. Schools may extend offers to waitlisted students anytime after initial decisions are released and up until classes begin. Most waitlist movement occurs between April and July, as accepted students withdraw or commit elsewhere. Some offers can still occur shortly before orientation.
6. What Does the Medical School Interview Timeline Look Like?
Medical schools send interview invitations on a rolling basis, typically starting in August and continuing through early spring. Most interviews take place between September and February, though some programs interview into March or April. Applying early increases your chances of receiving an interview invitation earlier in the cycle, when more seats remain open.
7. When Does the AACOMAS Application Open for Submission?
The AACOMAS application opens for submission on May 5, 2026. This is the first day applicants can submit their materials through AACOMAS, and colleges of osteopathic medicine begin receiving applications shortly after. This timeline applies to students seeking admission to DO programs starting in Fall 2027.
8. What Is the AMCAS Med School Application Timeline for Students Taking a Gap Year?
Students taking a gap year follow the same AMCAS timeline as traditional applicants. For the 2026–2027 cycle, AMCAS opens in early May 2026, with submission typically available in late May 2026. The key difference is preparation, not timing. Gap year applicants should complete their MCAT, coursework, and letters of recommendation well before May so they can submit as early as possible.
Medical schools review applications on a rolling basis, so applying early remains critical even if you are not coming straight from undergrad.
9. What Is the AMCAS Med School Application Timeline for Reapplicants?
Reapplicants follow the same AMCAS timeline, with the application opening in early May 2026 and submissions beginning in late May 2026 for the 2026–2027 cycle. The key difference is preparation. Reapplicants should start reassessing their application as soon as the previous cycle ends, often in late fall or winter, to address weaknesses before AMCAS opens.
The reapplication process usually includes retaking the MCAT if needed, gaining additional clinical or research experience, updating letters of recommendation, and rewriting the personal statement. Completing these steps early allows reapplicants to submit in the first weeks of the cycle with clear, documented improvement.
10. What Is the AMCAS Med School Application Timeline for Nontraditional Applicants?
Nontraditional applicants follow the same AMCAS timeline as all other applicants, but they typically need to start preparing much earlier. For the 2026-2027 cycle, AMCAS opens in early May 2026, with submission beginning in late May 2026. In practice, nontraditional applicants should begin planning 12 to 18 months before applying, often by the spring or summer of the year prior.
This earlier start allows time to complete prerequisite coursework, schedule and prepare for the MCAT, secure academic and professional letters of recommendation, and resolve transcript or degree verification issues that are more common after time away from school.
11. When Does the TMDSAS Application Open for Submission?
For the 2026–2027 cycle, the TMDSAS application opens for submission on May 1, 2026. This system serves Texas public medical schools and operates on an earlier and more compressed timeline than AMCAS. Applicants targeting Texas schools should treat May 1 as a firm starting point and plan to submit as early as possible to maximize interview opportunities.
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