Applying from Massachusetts

[About28]

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I know some states are good to be residents to apply from (NY comes to mind) and some are bad (CA). Not like there's anything I can do about it, but where does a MA resident stand in this spectrum?

 

[wiloghby]

I know some states are good to be residents to apply from (NY comes to mind) and some are bad (CA). Not like there's anything I can do about it, but where does a MA resident stand in this spectrum?

Not super great, I would guess? For state residence advantages, you're looking at what kind of options are exclusive to you as a resident of that state. That's why living in Texas or Ohio is so great.. so many schools and a large in-state preference at most of them.

Massachusetts has, I believe, 4 medical schools. And 3 of them are private, so you are likely looking at a lot of competition among in-state applicants at a school that strives to take students from all around the nation. Also, one of them is Harvard. And another one is BU. Both are very competitive. Tufts and UMass are good schools to apply to if you are not the very cream of the crop, but again Tufts is private and likely doesn't have a preference for in-state students.

Of course, if you went to one of these schools for undergrad, that might help?

I have thought about it before and have had friends apply from Massachusetts. While I don't have first-hand experience, it seems less than ideal.

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

UMass is a huge positive for Massachusetts residents. It doesn't accept OOS applicants for the MD program, has newly renovated facilities, is the only medical school servicing the second largest population center in New England, and it among the cheapest in the nation. And FWIW has regularly been top 10 in primary care in USNWR.

That being said, it's the only public school and there are a lot of applicants, so overall it probably hurts your app to be from MA

 

[hubriz]

It stinks for multiple reasons most of which have been pointed out. From the perspective of a veteran planning to use the GI bill to go to medical school, it stinks because the GI Bill only guarantees full tuition for public institutions in your state of residence, so being from MA puts one at a disadvantage to maximize this benefit for medical school. UMass is an excellent school too - folks accepted to Harvard, BU and Tufts wisely turn down those offers for the cheaper UMass option, which only increases competition. I suspect that UMass will be increasingly difficult to get into as the years pass.

 

[mrusiku]

.

 

[Ace-Co-A]

It stinks for multiple reasons most of which have been pointed out. From the perspective of a veteran planning to use the GI bill to go to medical school, it stinks because the GI Bill only guarantees full tuition for public institutions in your state of residence, so being from MA puts one at a disadvantage to maximize this benefit for medical school. UMass is an excellent school too - folks accepted to Harvard, BU and Tufts wisely turn down those offers for the cheaper UMass option, which only increases competition. I suspect that UMass will be increasingly difficult to get into as the years pass.

Hard to believe.

 

[hubriz]

Hard to believe.

As many true things are...the cost of education is increasingly under scrutiny and is affecting students choices. In my opinion, UMass is a clear winner over BU and Tufts in terms of value. Harvard isn't so clear-cut due to the cloud of prestige, but make no mistake...it's happening with students that heavily weigh the financial aspect of medical school.

 

[Kaputt]

Not super great, I would guess? For state residence advantages, you're looking at what kind of options are exclusive to you as a resident of that state. That's why living in Texas or Ohio is so great.. so many schools and a large in-state preference at most of them.

Massachusetts has, I believe, 4 medical schools. And 3 of them are private, so you are likely looking at a lot of competition among in-state applicants at a school that strives to take students from all around the nation. Also, one of them is Harvard. And another one is BU. Both are very competitive. Tufts and UMass are good schools to apply to if you are not the very cream of the crop, but again Tufts is private and likely doesn't have a preference for in-state students.

Of course, if you went to one of these schools for undergrad, that might help?

I have thought about it before and have had friends apply from Massachusetts. While I don't have first-hand experience, it seems less than ideal.

Texas is truly the best. The schools are mandated to accept 90% in-state and the tuition is dirt-cheap.

Ohio has a good number of schools but the better ones (Ohio State and Cincinnati) are trying to make themselves bigger national names so they accept more out-of-staters. Ohio State's class is usually 50/50 for in-state vs out-of-state. Toledo, NEOMED, and Wright State have heavy in-state bias though. BUT, each of these places is pretty pricey at 30k/year in tuition for in-state.

 

[aspirantmed]

Look at the MSAR, which will tell you everything about IS/OOS preference for any state's public schools (and some private schools with expressed IS preference).

 

[SN12357]

This 'good state' thing is a bit of a misnomer, because the advantage your state gives you matters differently to different people.

If you're a strong applicant, Mass is actually a great place to be from because UMass is a well-respected research school, very cheap (compared to just about anywhere else), and 100% in-state for the MD program. So if you can get in, you have a great, cheap, in state option.

If you're an average to marginal applicant, Mass is not a good state to be from because UMass is the only state school and fairly competitive as state schools go.

If you moved to Massachusetts as an adult, it can be a terrible state to be from because if you didn't graduate from high school in the state you have to have lived here for five years (college doesn't count) to be considered as a resident by UMass, even if in every other way you're a legal resident of the state.

So as with most questions, and the answer is 'it depends'.

 

[About28]

Well my gpa isn't anything amazing, a 3.65 but maybe my 34 mcat is good enough to get my foot in the door