Does being married help to get into in-state med school?

[Tweetie_bird]

I've heard that sometimes, AD COMS look at person A applying to med schools and are empathetic toward that person if they are married. i.e. if person A is already married and living in that state, and AD COMs know that the person's spouse can't move...they may consider the person more favorably? is that true? the reason I ask, is b/c I was planning on when the best time is to get married (from the way it looks, it may be this Dec) and I want to know what I am getting into before I do it.

I want serious, honest replies. And please don't retort back with "you shouldn't get married just to get into your in-state school," b/c that is not my intent. I am just trying to plan ahead and anticipate future problems.
Thanks guys.

Tweetie

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[Tweetie_bird]

come on people...please help me.

 

[Spudster]

Tweetie,
I think that each school considers this differently. As a married California resident, I have been hoping desperately that the committees would take that into account since my wife's job is unique to the area. So, I really stressed how committed we are to staying here with my interviewers. They seemed to be truly sympathetic and have fought for me now that I am on the wait-list.

In general, I think that it does not do anything for you pre-interview, but if you can convince your interviewer that it is a legitimate concern, it could very well be to your advantage.

 

[patient]

I think the adcom tries to picture the good doctor you may become and not your responsibilities for if they did look and factors like marriage, the most applicants will rush to court for marriage.

 

[patient]

Donot also forget that not all marriages are helpful. Sometimes your spouse may become your greatest distraction , comfort, or source of problems.

Divorce rates are also very alarming.

 

[CoffeeCat]

I don't think that being married to someone who needs to stay in that state will help by itself, but it may go a long way in convincing a med school that it's one of the reasons that you would chose their school if given the option. There are many schools who want reassurance that they would be your pick if they accepted you (Georgetown comes to mind). Good luck!

 

[Zeffer]

I don't think it would matter to the Ad Com. They are considering you for addmission, not both you and your spouse. They assume that since you applied to their school you are serious about attending. I may be way off base here, but if I were sitting on the Ad Com at my school thats how I would see it. They are trying to select students to fit in the school profile, not whether or not it is more convenient for the student to attend there. So if you really want to attend your state school make yourself a worthy candidate and don't depend at all on your marriage status.

Sorry if this isn't what you were hoping for, but this is my honest opinion based on my experiences as an applicant and Med Student.

 

[Tweetie_bird]

Hi guys,
All of you have really important points, that I have been considering myself. I think in the end, I will try to convince my state school about why I want to go there with the typical stuff (good program, people etc) but will also mention how important it is for me to stay in-state because of my future hubby's job.

Thanks for your input. It's much appreciated.
Tweetie

 

[PMPMD]

Some med schools, like where I'm going next year, look favorably on non-traditional students. A large proportion (I forget the exact %) of the people in my class are married and/or older students. So if you do decide to get married before you apply, you might want to look for schools that tend to favor non-traditional applicants. Either way, congratulations and good luck!

 

[VictoriaKB]

I am a married waitlister at an in-state school. While my marrital status may or may not have played a role in my waitlist offer, I didn't feel it necessary to make a bid deal out of it. Until my interview, they didn't even know I was married and it only came up in conversation because my interviewer asked about my family life. Don't get me wrong, my hubby is important and is a major reason I want to go to an in-state school but I didn't want the interviewer to feel that it was the driving force behind my choice of schools.

So, maybe the adcom took this all into consideration. maybe they didn't. I may never know. But I felt I had a good interview and that they understood my desire/commitment to the state and to the school. Whether the marriage factor plays a role in my admission, I don't know.

 

[driven]

From what I have been reading outside SDN, it seems like marriage may be a neg. factor. I am married myself and was not planning on mentioning it in the essay or the interview. I heard the committee finds out more vulnerable, more emotional, blah blah if you are family oriented. They want a man's attitude. You have to remember, only recently women are catching up with men in medicine. It was a predominantly a man's business. And I still sense some bitterness in the older generation. So when you tell them you are married and emotionally dependant, and your decisions always revolve around another person, they may take it lightly. Just my thought

 

[TweetiePie]

there is also another issue to consider, when legalizing your relationship--financial aid. check out this post <a href="http://forums.studentdoctor.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=35;t=000039#000010" target="_blank">http://forums.studentdoctor.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=35;t=000039#000010</a>

 

[Ripley]

What if your spouse is an alumnus of the state's med school system?

 

[Tweetie_bird]

ya you guys are right. i agree with the point made by somebody about how they want you to be driven enough to want the school out of reasons other than the spouse issue. I suppose I will leave that out of my application, and just wait till they ask me about it during the interview (which I hope I will get).

Thanks for the input guys.
If you have more to say, keep it coming.
Tweetie