Best State to Claim Residency

[xUSMCx]

As my username indicates, I'm in the USMC, so I move quite often. I'm currently in my 7th home in less than 2 years. I expect to move 3 more times in the next 12-18 months. It's therefore very easy for me to switch my state of residency. It's currently listed as FL, although I recently moved to TX. Before that, I lived in VA and ME.

I've heard that TX is very accepting of in-state applicants (something like 90% of their student body is from TX?). I was wondering if there are any other states that are particularly accepting of in-state applicants.

I could reasonably claim ME, FL, TX, CA, NC, SC and possibly MA over the next couple years. That list expands to all 50 states if I'll sell my soul and go do recruiting duty.

I'll be applying with a M.A. (3.3 ish GPA) and a downward trending undergrad GPA of 3.3 (which will pull up to 3.5ish once I take the science pre-reqs. No clue on the MCAT.

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[MyOwnPath]

NC. Wonderful state to live with good state supported med schools that give huge preference to state residents and are super cheap for in state tuition.

 

[pkwraith]

Here's how I would rank them based on ease of acceptance:

TX
FL
NC,SC,MA
CA

 

[xUSMCx]

Does TX have some type of inflated method of reporting GPA? It looks like the avg for TX Tech is 3.6ish, A&M is 3.8ish and UT is all over the place based on the campus (I'm still trying to figure that out). Those seem like competitive scores for any state.

 

[HDaddyDollarz]

Ohio also has a lot of schools, but many are private

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

Just got discussed here http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=903630

I'm keeping my vote for North Carolina. If I have to move back to the Lower 48, it might as well be to a state with lots of medical schools, cheap instate tuition, and a battleship.

 

[DrMidlife]

Does TX have some type of inflated method of reporting GPA? It looks like the avg for TX Tech is 3.6ish, A&M is 3.8ish and UT is all over the place based on the campus (I'm still trying to figure that out). Those seem like competitive scores for any state.

GPA & MCAT are only part of the story (and/but there are very few schools with an average matriculant GPA under 3.6). You have to look at the competition and what the state provides. Also look at cost. (Also look at DO schools, but those stats are much harder to find.)

From the AAMC FACTS site, 3 extreme examples from the 2011 app year:

California
5185 total applicants
681 total public seats (0.13 seats per instate applicant)
Instate preference at public schools: about 89%

Texas
3613 total applicants
1528 total public seats (0.42 seats per instate applicant)
Instate preference at public schools: about 89%

Vermont
103 total applicants
109 total public seats (1.06 seats per instate applicant)
Instate preference at public schools: about 32%

So you could make the argument that Vermont is the best. But if you blow it at that sole Vermont interview, you blew your bet.

I leave it as an exercise for the reader to figure out the numbers for the other favored states.

Best of luck to you.

 

[tiedyeddog]

Ohio also has a lot of schools, but many are private

Only one is private. The four others are not.

I am going to have to say texas.

 

[Woland]

Only one is private. The four others are not.

I am going to have to say texas.

NEOMed only accepts 20% of their MD class via traditional pathway.

They also have a DO school with in-state discount (if DO is in the run for you)

 

[xUSMCx]

I am open to DO schools (although I'd much prefer the MD). I'm not as worried about tuition since I have the GI Bill. I understand that a 3.5 isn't very competitive, but I'm hoping that the M.A., an interesting resume and some solid shadowing time will help smooth over the difference.

I'd like to be in the ME/MA/NH region (family), but TX wouldn't be a bad consolation prize; as long as I can get out of south Texas... you'd swear this was Mexico

 

[LupaCupcake]

Does TX have some type of inflated method of reporting GPA? It looks like the avg for TX Tech is 3.6ish, A&M is 3.8ish and UT is all over the place based on the campus (I'm still trying to figure that out). Those seem like competitive scores for any state.

Most pre-med students have at least a 3.5 from my experience. Some of the schools in TX are great schools....a great school wants great GPA and Mcat scores. Not trying to bust your bubble, but a 3.6 is not overly high. A 3.3 is a low GPA in terms of medical schools. It is not low in normal terms, but when it comes to medical school...3.3 is not strong. I highly suggest you study your USMC butt off for those Mcats cause you need good score to help overshadow that GPA. Please don't take offense to my comments, I am giving it to you straight.

I also want to mention that I am a Veteran myself and I have been told by a few people that Texas likes Vets. That is not a set in stone notion, but any advantage one can get is great for med school. Texas also has dirt cheap tuition and that is always a plus.

 

[LupaCupcake]

Ohio also has a lot of schools, but many are private

<--originally from Ohio
I am still a resident of Ohio even though I live overseas (military)
Ohio does have a few schools...like case western, ohio state etc etc...but I have to be honest about Ohio. The state kinda sucks lol. The economy is going downhill, Cleveland is really going down. I refuse to move back to Ohio when we leave the military. Just my .02 on that area....

 

[xUSMCx]

Most pre-med students have at least a 3.5 from my experience. Some of the schools in TX are great schools....a great school wants great GPA and Mcat scores. Not trying to bust your bubble, but a 3.6 is not overly high. A 3.3 is a low GPA in terms of medical schools. It is not low in normal terms, but when it comes to medical school...3.3 is not strong. I highly suggest you study your USMC butt off for those Mcats cause you need good score to help overshadow that GPA. Please don't take offense to my comments, I am giving it to you straight.

I also want to mention that I am a Veteran myself and I have been told by a few people that Texas likes Vets. That is not a set in stone notion, but any advantage one can get is great for med school. Texas also has dirt cheap tuition and that is always a plus.

I get that. After I take the pre-reqs I should be around 3.5... which is a bit closer. I'm going to sit down with my transcripts this PM and figure it out. For clarification, math IS counted in the science GPA correct? Google says yes, but I've read a couple posts on this site that lead me to question that.

 

[nontradmomma]

<--originally from Ohio
I am still a resident of Ohio even though I live overseas (military)
Ohio does have a few schools...like case western, ohio state etc etc...but I have to be honest about Ohio. The state kinda sucks lol. The economy is going downhill, Cleveland is really going down. I refuse to move back to Ohio when we leave the military. Just my .02 on that area....

I am from ohio (still live here). I love Columbus (my home town). My 1st choice school is going to be OSU but I am applying to all Ohio schools. There's nothing wrong with this state... and I have traveled quite a bit compared to the average person. maybe not as much as someone in the military, I dont know, I cant say. But I have lived in NC, travelled in other states (& europe, australia, south america, etc) so I'm not ignorant of other places. I liked NC too actually. so I wouldnt mind if I ended up there again either. Just my .02

 

[xUSMCx]

I just used the AMCAS system to figure out what I'll be working with. Assuming A's on my prereqs and retakes (2 classes). I'll have a 3.4 cGPA and a 3.87 sGPA. Your guess is as good as mine on the MCAT, but I generally test well.

 

[deleted307836]

Does TX have some type of inflated method of reporting GPA? It looks like the avg for TX Tech is 3.6ish, A&M is 3.8ish and UT is all over the place based on the campus (I'm still trying to figure that out). Those seem like competitive scores for any state.

For Texas's application system (TMDSAS), it doesn't recognize +/- grades so all A grades are 4.0's, all B grades 3.0's, etc. Although this leads to a higher GPA for people with, say, a lot of A- grades, from what I've seen there doesn't seem to be a huge difference between AMCAS and TMDSAS GPA's.

 

[xUSMCx]

For Texas's application system (TMDSAS), it doesn't recognize +/- grades so all A grades are 4.0's, all B grades 3.0's, etc. Although this leads to a higher GPA for people with, say, a lot of A- grades, from what I've seen there doesn't seem to be a huge difference between AMCAS and TMDSAS GPA's.

Thanks for the info. My GPA just went from 3.4 to 3.41. I'm pretty much a lock now

 

[ruiner]

TX would have been my choice

 

[calisurfer19]

Here's how I would rank them based on ease of acceptance:

TX
FL
NC,SC,MA
CA

 

[notbobtrustme]

Vermont
103 total applicants
109 total public seats (1.06 seats per instate applicant)
Instate preference at public schools: about 32%

So you could make the argument that Vermont is the best. But if you blow it at that sole Vermont interview, you blew your bet.

Downside is that you got to live in Vermont. I spent a year there one weekend.

 

[Gamechanger]

As my username indicates, I'm in the USMC, so I move quite often. I'm currently in my 7th home in less than 2 years. I expect to move 3 more times in the next 12-18 months. It's therefore very easy for me to switch my state of residency. It's currently listed as FL, although I recently moved to TX. Before that, I lived in VA and ME.

I've heard that TX is very accepting of in-state applicants (something like 90% of their student body is from TX?). I was wondering if there are any other states that are particularly accepting of in-state applicants.

I could reasonably claim ME, FL, TX, CA, NC, SC and possibly MA over the next couple years. That list expands to all 50 states if I'll sell my soul and go do recruiting duty.

I'll be applying with a M.A. (3.3 ish GPA) and a downward trending undergrad GPA of 3.3 (which will pull up to 3.5ish once I take the science pre-reqs. No clue on the MCAT.

That is true, TX accepts 90% in state by law. And they have quite a few MD/DO schools.

I'm moving to Texas as soon as my house sells for this reason.

 

[xUSMCx]

That is true, TX accepts 90% in state by law. And they have quite a few MD/DO schools.

I'm moving to Texas as soon as my house sells for this reason.

I should clarify... 90% of seats available go to Texans.

 

[AliceNWndrlnd]

You have to research the state residency policies. The fact that you have lived in these states for your military service, does not automatically mean that you can claim residency. You should have a home of record, and that would be the most likely state to claim residency in, or the state you are currently living in with orders. You may be able to file for an exception for instate tuition purposes based on orders, but the policies differ by state. You need to be very careful about this, because if you claim state residency just for application purposes, you may have some problems proving it to the school.

 

[mcdtheta]

Vermont is a great state and an excellent school.