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Evaluation of Applicants

Admissions decisions will be made in accordance with UT Southwestern’s institutional admissions policy, the School of Health Professions admissions policy, and established program-specific procedures, all of which are available through the Dean’s Office.

The following criteria are not intended to replace prerequisites or state requirements or to negate legitimate qualifications for specific health professions. Admission decisions may be based upon any combination of the following considerations:

  1. Texas residency;
  2. Scores on entrance examinations;
  3. Prior college-level academic performance (overall grade-point average, science grade-point average, etc.);
  4. Special and unique talents and accomplishments: artistic, scientific, intellectual, manual and/or computer skills; leadership (health-related or community); participation in extracurricular activities;
  5. Experience: work history (health-related or non-health-related), special honors, community service, and research;
  6. Measures of motivation: letters of recommendation, grade improvements and trends, applicant essay (e.g., “Please discuss how your experience and environment have shaped your intellectual and personal development and your interest in health professions.”);
  7. Demographic and geographic information: rural or inner-city home address or ZIP code, rural or inner-city high school, magnet high school (health-related or non-health-related);
  8. Social and economic background: first in family to attend high school or college, parents’ occupations, parents’ educational attainment;
  9. Communication skills: writing samples, portfolio of work, interview (individual or small group), multilingual.