USMLE & COMLEX Tutor in Galveston

Galveston has one medical school, the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), a public MD school founded in 1891 with its main campus here (school list). It opened as the University of Texas Medical Department, with one building, 23 students and 13 faculty members, and now has campuses in Galveston, League City and Angleton (UTMB Health). LCME lists its John Sealy School of Medicine as accredited since before 1942, with the next full survey due in 2030-31 (LCME).

UTMB had 5,450 applications for 230 first-year places in 2025-26, and 90% of the entering class came from Texas (AAMC FACTS). The CMS list shows one teaching hospital in Galveston, the University of Texas Medical Branch at 301 University Boulevard, and two more nearby: San Jacinto Methodist Hospital in Baytown and Clear Lake Regional Medical Center in Webster (CMS teaching hospital list).

Facts about Galveston

Accreditation: LCME directory; applications, places and in-state share: AAMC FACTS, Table A-1.

ABIM internal medicine certification exam by residency program: ABIM residency program pass rates.

• About 230 students enter UTMB's John Sealy School of Medicine each year, no more than 10% of them from out of state; the school sets no minimum GPA or MCAT and gives its averages as approximately 3.78 and 513. (UTMB John Sealy School of Medicine)
• UTMB takes applications through the Texas Medical and Dental Schools Application Service from June 1 to October 30 and interviews from August through December; Casper and two Spark Hire video responses are part of the application. (UTMB John Sealy School of Medicine)
• UTMB's Integrated Medical Curriculum teaches the pre-clerkship phase by body system, combining anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, microbiology and immunology through problem-based, team-based and case-based learning. (UTMB John Sealy School of Medicine)
• UTMB's MD-PhD curriculum places USMLE Step 1 at the end of the second year of medical school, with the required clerkships in years 7 and 8. (UTMB MD-PhD Program)
• UTMB opened in 1891 as the University of Texas Medical Department, with one building, 23 students and 13 faculty members; it now has campuses in Galveston, League City and Angleton. (UTMB Health)
• UTMB's Office of Clinical Education oversees all clinical education for John Sealy MD students, and students may find their own ambulatory preceptor for the third-year pediatrics and family medicine clerkships under the office's rules. (UTMB John Sealy School of Medicine)

Sources: LCME, directory of accredited U.S. programs (checked October 29, 2026); AAMC FACTS, Table A-1, 2025-2026 (checked October 29, 2026); UTMB John Sealy School of Medicine, Admission Policies and FAQs (checked November 1, 2026); UTMB John Sealy School of Medicine, Integrated Medical Curriculum (checked November 1, 2026); UTMB MD-PhD Program, Integrated Curriculum (checked November 1, 2026); UTMB Health, Galveston Campus (checked November 1, 2026); UTMB John Sealy School of Medicine, Office of Clinical Education (checked November 1, 2026); ABIM, residency program pass rates 2023-2025 (checked October 29, 2026).

Who gets into UTMB, and how

UTMB admits through the Texas Medical and Dental Schools Application Service, not AMCAS. Applications run from June 1 to October 30, interviews from August through December, and the school's own supplemental application comes by invitation once the TMDSAS file has had a first review. Casper and two asynchronous Spark Hire video responses are part of a complete file, and no file is reviewed until the MCAT and Casper scores are in (UTMB admissions FAQ).

About 230 students start each August, and no more than 10% come from outside Texas. UTMB sets no minimum GPA or MCAT; it gives the averages as approximately 3.78 and 513, and it does not accept an MCAT more than five years old at matriculation (UTMB admissions FAQ). For a Texas pre-med that means the MCAT has to be on file early in the TMDSAS cycle; our MCAT tutoring works back from that date.

UTMB's integrated curriculum and Step 1

UTMB's Integrated Medical Curriculum teaches the pre-clerkship years by body system rather than by subject: anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, microbiology and immunology are combined for each system, mostly in problem-based, team-based and case-based sessions, with a longitudinal Doctoring and Clinical Skills course alongside (UTMB curriculum).

The school's MD-PhD curriculum puts USMLE Step 1 at the end of the second year, when the second-year medical school curriculum ends and before the research years begin (UTMB MD-PhD curriculum). A small-group, case-based course rewards students who already explain mechanisms aloud, but it does not drill the timed single-best-answer format of Step 1, so we add that early: one block of timed questions a week by system from the first year, and a full NBME practice exam before the dedicated period is set.

Clerkships and the Office of Clinical Education

The Office of Clinical Education oversees every clinical experience for John Sealy students, from community placements in the preclinical phase through the clerkship and post-clerkship phases, with UTMB faculty and community physicians as preceptors. Students may find their own ambulatory preceptor for the third-year pediatrics and family medicine clerkships, under the office's rules for student-created sites (UTMB Office of Clinical Education).

Clerkships also run in community clinics and hospitals, which may need students credentialed before they start (UTMB Office of Clinical Education), so a shelf block can change setting as well as specialty. We plan shelf review around the rotation calendar rather than a fixed weekly slot.

Medical school in Galveston

University of Texas Medical Branch lists 3,169 (2,826 full-time equivalent) (Fall 2015) students on Wikipedia.

School list: LCME and COCA lists, via the list of medical schools in the United States, checked October 2026.

Teaching hospitals in Galveston

On the CMS teaching hospital list (October 2026):

• The University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Blvd, Galveston, TX 77555

Other teaching hospitals near Galveston

The same CMS list has two more teaching hospitals in the Galveston ZIP region, useful for electives and away rotations: San Jacinto Methodist Hospital (Baytown); Clear Lake Reg Med Ctr (Webster).

The exams Galveston students take, in order

UTMB grants the MD, so Galveston students take the USMLE: Step 1, reported pass/fail since January 26, 2022 (USMLE), then an NBME shelf exam after each core clerkship, Step 2 CK in the clinical years and Step 3 in residency.

UTMB's internal medicine residents later face ABIM's exam: in 2023-2025, 90% of the 82 first-time takers from the University of Texas Medical Branch Hospitals program in Galveston passed it (ABIM).

Texas board rules for Galveston graduates

Nine in ten students in UTMB's entering class came from Texas (AAMC FACTS), so the Texas Medical Board is the one most of them will meet. FSMB lists its rule as 3 attempts at each USMLE Step or COMLEX Level, and 7 years to complete the USMLE or COMLEX, with exceptions the board sets out (FSMB).

Three is one fewer than the four attempts per Step the USMLE program allows (USMLE eligibility rules), so a UTMB student should plan on three sittings per Step, not four.

How much Galveston searches for board prep

Over the past five years, Galveston ranks first among US cities for “USMLE Step 1” searches, with the top score of 100 of 100, and second for “USMLE”, with 79 of 100 (Google Trends, retrieved October 2026). Step 1 is the first exam a UTMB class sits. Scores are relative to other cities, not counts of students.

• “USMLE”: number 2 among US cities, score 79 of 100
• “USMLE Step 1”: number 1 among US cities, score 100 of 100