Baylor BS/MD Program: Six Seats, the 2027 Deadlines, and What Happened to Rice/Baylor
By Rona Aydin
What Is the Baylor BS/MD Program?
Baylor University in Waco and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston run one combined program for high school seniors. Baylor University calls it the Baylor²Baylor Medical Program, and the medical college lists it as the Baylor 2 Medical Track. It is a combined eight-year baccalaureate and MD program: four years at Baylor University, then four at Baylor College of Medicine.
Each year the two schools grant six high school students provisional acceptance to the medical college upon matriculation at Baylor University. The seat is provisional, which means it depends on grades and an MCAT score during college, and Baylor University publishes those conditions in full.
A second program with the Baylor name, the Rice/Baylor Medical Scholars Program, no longer exists. The section below explains what happened to it.
What Is the Baylor BS/MD Acceptance Rate?
Baylor does not publish one. The program’s page gives the number of seats, six, and describes a two-stage selection, but it does not state how many seniors apply. Oriel Admissions reads the six-seat figure as the only hard number: with one of the smallest classes among BS/MD programs, the odds are low for everyone, and the stated requirements function as a floor rather than a target.
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Provisional seats at Baylor College of Medicine each year | 6 | Baylor University Freshman Scholarship Events page |
| Applicants | Not published | Baylor University |
| Class rank or GPA to be considered | Top 5% of the class, or a minimum 3.7 on a 4.0 scale | Baylor University Freshman Scholarship Events page |
| Test scores | Typically 1430 or higher SAT or 32 or higher ACT, and scores are required | Baylor University Freshman Scholarship Events page |
| Citizenship | U.S. citizen or permanent resident | Baylor University Freshman Scholarship Events page |
What Are the Baylor BS/MD Requirements and Deadlines?
Baylor University lists the following for the 2026 to 2027 cycle, for students entering in fall 2027.
| Step | Date or requirement |
|---|---|
| Scholarship Events Application opens | September 1, 2026, in the goBAYLOR portal under the Events tab |
| Baylor Application for Admission due | November 1, 2026, with test scores submitted on the application |
| Scholarship Events Application due | November 12, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Central |
| Essay | One prompt in 500 words or less: why the student wants to pursue a career in medicine at Baylor University and Baylor College of Medicine |
| Participation notification | December 14, 2026 |
| Deadline to confirm participation | December 18, 2026 |
| In-person program day | January 23 or February 6, 2027, held with Invitation to Excellence |
| Finalist notification | March 1, 2027 |
| Finalist interview with Baylor College of Medicine | March 19, 2027 |
A student who applies through the Common App receives a separate email within 24 to 48 hours to create the goBAYLOR account, and Baylor warns against creating a duplicate account. Baylor College of Medicine’s own page gives the application date as November 2; Oriel Admissions uses Baylor University’s November 1, since the university runs the application.
Selection runs in two stages. Students who complete both applications and meet the requirements may be invited to one of the two in-person program days in January or February. Those invited are registered for Invitation to Excellence, Baylor’s scholarship event, on the same day and must attend both to be considered for the program scholarship.
After the program day, a small group is selected to interview with Baylor College of Medicine on March 19, 2027. The six provisional acceptances follow. Unlike many BS/MD programs, the medical college interview comes at the end of the process rather than the middle, and the first cut is made from the written application and the essay. Our guide to BS/MD interviews covers what medical school interviewers ask seniors.
What Scholarship Comes With the Baylor BS/MD Program?
Baylor describes a package of about $80,000 for selected students, split unevenly.
| Who | Award |
|---|---|
| Two of the six students | A $40,000 tuition scholarship paid as $10,000 a year over four undergraduate years, plus eligibility for another $40,000, paid as $10,000 a year, at Baylor College of Medicine |
| The other four students | A $12,000 tuition scholarship paid as $3,000 a year over four undergraduate years |
| Every student who attends both the program day and Invitation to Excellence | The Event Participation Scholarship of $20,000, paid as $5,000 a year for four years |
These awards sit on top of any merit aid Baylor offers through its regular process. Our guide to what BS/MD programs cost shows how a scholarship of this size changes the eight-year total.
What Does It Take to Keep the Baylor Medical Seat?
Three conditions. Students must maintain an overall GPA of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale at Baylor University, complete all of the traditional pre-med coursework, and take the MCAT and earn at least a 508 with no section below 125 to matriculate at Baylor College of Medicine after graduation.
The 508 is the same bar several other programs use and sits close to the national average for medical school matriculants. Oriel Admissions tells families that a program with an MCAT condition removes the application lottery but not the exam, so a student should treat the seat as a strong advantage rather than a guarantee. Our guide to BS/MD continuation requirements compares the conditions across programs.
What Happened to the Rice/Baylor Medical Scholars Program?
It ended. Rice admitted its last class of Rice-Baylor College of Medicine Medical Scholars in 2022 and then chose to end the program, citing differences over how it should evolve, according to the Rice Thresher, which reported the decision in August 2022. The newspaper also reported that Baylor College of Medicine had reduced the program’s seats from six to three in the two years before it closed. The medical college’s current list of baccalaureate and MD programs no longer includes Rice.
Families who find older lists naming Rice/Baylor as one of the most selective BS/MD programs in the country should treat those entries as history. The remaining route from a Texas undergraduate college to Baylor College of Medicine for a high school applicant is the Baylor²Baylor Medical Program.
Are There Other Ways Into Baylor College of Medicine Early?
The medical college lists three other early routes, and none is a national BS/MD program for high school seniors.
| Program | Who it serves | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Houston Premedical Academy at the University of Houston | Students of the DeBakey High School for Health Professions in Houston, with up to six conditional seats a year | February 1 |
| St. Mary’s University early acceptance | Enrolled St. Mary’s students, who apply during their second year of college | December 1 |
| Joint Admission Medical Program (JAMP) | Economically disadvantaged Texas residents who apply after their first year at a participating Texas college | After the first year of college |
A student outside Houston who wants a Texas medical seat from high school should also look at the programs in our BS/MD acceptance rates table and at medical school early assurance programs, which admit sophomores.
Who Should Apply to the Baylor BS/MD Program?
A senior with a 3.7 or top 5% record, a 1430 or better, and a clear reason to be in Waco and then Houston. Baylor’s one essay asks why medicine at these two schools in particular, so a generic answer about wanting to be a doctor will not carry a student to the program day. In the experience of Oriel Admissions, the strongest answers name clinical work the student has already done and connect it to Baylor College of Medicine’s setting in the Texas Medical Center.
The program’s requirements are lower than those of the most selective BS/MD programs, but six seats make it one of the smallest. Programs with larger classes and published acceptance rates are compared in our guide to the easiest BS/MD programs, and the seven-year Penn State BS/MD program, with a 1470 floor and about 25 seats, is the closest comparison on requirements. Oriel Admissions advises treating it as one application among several and keeping the regular Baylor and other pre-med applications strong. Our BS/MD selection framework explains how to build that list.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Baylor BS/MD Program
It is the Baylor²Baylor Medical Program, an eight-year path in which Baylor University and Baylor College of Medicine grant six high school seniors a year provisional acceptance to the medical college.
Baylor does not publish one. Six students are selected each year, and the number of applicants is not released.
Top 5% of the class or a 3.7 GPA, typically a 1430 SAT or 32 ACT, U.S. citizenship or permanent residence, the Baylor application by November 1, and the Scholarship Events Application by November 12.
Yes. Students must score at least 508 with no section below 125, keep a 3.5 GPA, and complete the pre-med coursework to enter Baylor College of Medicine.
No. Rice admitted its last class in 2022 and ended the program, as reported by the Rice Thresher. Baylor College of Medicine no longer lists it.
No. Baylor requires applicants to be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
About $80,000 in total: two students receive $40,000 for college plus eligibility for $40,000 at the medical college, the other four receive $12,000, and all who attend both events receive $20,000.
Program days are January 23 or February 6, 2027, finalists are notified March 1, and the finalist interview with Baylor College of Medicine is March 19, 2027.
Sources: Baylor University: Freshman Scholarship Events, Baylor²Baylor Medical Program, Baylor College of Medicine: Baccalaureate/M.D. Programs, Baylor College of Medicine: Houston Premedical Academy, University of Houston Honors College: Houston Premedical Academy, The Rice Thresher: Rice-Baylor Program ends after 34 years (August 2022), Baylor University news: Baylor launches new Baylor²Baylor Health Professions Program (September 2026)
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