Matching out of state

[NY_Med]

So I am trying to decide between two schools; one being my state school, and the other being a bigger name (not necessarily more prestigious) school. The non-state school looks like it does place more OOS (which is subject to bias I know). My state school is definitely a better fit for me... but I am looking to match down south, and do not know if I will be limited by going to my state school. I am looking to match into a competitive specialty. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated!

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[CliveStaples]

Go to the least expensive medical school that you are most likely to succeed at (in this case it's almost assuredly going to be your in-state school).

There is a lot of self selection that occurs when it comes to where people match (I.e. people at state schools are most likely from the state and most likely to want to desire within that state; while non-state schools tend to have classes of people from more diverse regional backgrounds who will then want to match into a more diverse area).

If you have a geographic location you want to match into in a competitive specialty, simply go where you can be the most competitive applicant in that specialty and oftentimes there are opportunities to do 4th year rotations in your target geographic area which is oftentimes all it takes to make a medical student look like a serious applicant in an area they otherwise wouldn't have ties to.

 

[xffan624]

So I am trying to decide between two schools; one being my state school, and the other being a bigger name (not necessarily more prestigious) school. The non-state school looks like it does place more OOS (which is subject to bias I know). My state school is definitely a better fit for me... but I am looking to match down south, and do not know if I will be limited by going to my state school. I am looking to match into a competitive specialty. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated!

It doesn't make a difference which medical school you go to. If you're trying to match into a competitive specialty, you will likely have to apply broadly geographically. Go with the best place for you outside of some spurious speculation of where you might have a better chance of matching a specific region.