Is it a big deal to attend an OOS undergrad as an applicant to a state school?

[JUNGLEKING]

Excuse the wordy title, but I was honestly curious how much it would hurt me in the selection process for my state school if I chose to attend an OOS school for undergrad instead of choosing to go to undergrad at my state institution. Would my IS medical school hold it against me that I went OOS for undergrad when I could have stayed in state and attended that same medical school's undergraduate institution? Important to add that I am not from Texas or California so my IS school does show preference towards IS students in general but not to the level of some of the southern states.

Thanks in advance for all replies!

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[mdphdNYC]

You should check whether your state school still considers you in-state. Most will based on criteria such as having graduated from high school in-state, having a permanent residence in-state despite going to college OOS, or having parents living in-state. If any/all of these don't apply it might matter, but otherwise it probably doesn't matter at all, aside from the fact that you may not benefit from any favoritism that the school might show for its own alumni (and this is far from standard practice).

 

[JUNGLEKING]

You should check whether your state school still considers you in-state. Most will based on criteria such as having graduated from high school in-state, having a permanent residence in-state despite going to college OOS, or having parents living in-state. If any/all of these don't apply it might matter, but otherwise it probably doesn't matter at all, aside from the fact that you may not benefit from any favoritism that the school might show for its own alumni (and this is far from standard practice).

All of the listed criteria still apply!

 

[WedgeDawg]

If you’re still a resident of that state then you’ll get the in-state boost / consideration regardless of where you go to undergrad

 

[hamstergang]

Would my IS medical school hold it against me that I went OOS for undergrad when I could have stayed in state and attended that same medical school's undergraduate institution?

Not if they're adults.

 

[JUNGLEKING]

There are two different criteria here. First is in state for admissions purposes. In most places if you can residency or strong ties to state, you will get considered instate. For purposes of tuition, that is usually a more formal residency requirement. Therefore being considered instate for admissions does not mean you will be considered instate for tuition

Additionally under the “yield protection” concept, med school want to accept people who will actually matriculate at the school. Therefore someone who has close ties as in growing up in the state is more likely to matriculate and thus be accepted

Grew up in the state and attended HS there but undergrad was the first time I really spent any considerable amount of time OOS.

 

[frog301]

You have strong ties to state for admission

What about being born in that state and living there during your childhood, but moving out to a different state? Still have all extended family residing in that original state.

 

[Obnoxious Dad]

OP, you will in most instances retain your state residency status if you go out of state for undergraduate school. You should understand, however, that if you go to a tough college in another state that has higher admission standards and a tougher curve than what you'll find at good old state U, you could be shooting yourself in the foot. Politically, it's a tough sell in an admissions office to cut you slack because you chose the tougher out of state school.

You should also ask yourself why you would go out of state when you could stay in your home state and, generally speaking, pay less tuition. Are you leaving because you got a sweet financial deal or because you want to brag to the kids in the cafeteria that you are going to let's say Grinell instead of the University of Minnesota.