NJ or NY state resident for med school

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

Time Table

Full Member
7+ Year Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2014
Messages
281
Reaction score
126
I'm currently a NJ state resident, but I have the option of becoming a NY resident because I can rent out an apartment in NY. However, I'm not sure if I should do that and change my residency. Would it be beneficial to me to change to a NY residency?

Members don't see this ad.
 
I don't know much about NJ, but as a NY resident, I felt that it was great to have four state schools as a safety net if I don't end up going to top tier schools. If you are a top applicant with great stats, your residency wouldn't really matter much. However, if you are a borderline applicant, I would consider changing to the NY residency.
 
Personally, I love being a resident of dirty Jersey.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Members don't see this ad :)
NJ schools heavily prefer in state. But then again there are more state schools in NY.

I don't think it will really end up mattering.
 
I'm currently a NJ state resident, but I have the option of becoming a NY resident because I can rent out an apartment in NY. However, I'm not sure if I should do that and change my residency. Would it be beneficial to me to change to a NY residency?
I don't know much about NJ state schools. But keep in mind that while NY state schools do give a slight advantage to IS residents, they do not heavily favor in-state residents in comparison to other states, and they in fact strongly encourage out of state residents to apply. You can parse these facts in detail via MSAR in terms of the ratio of instate vs OOS students per school (which you'll find to be more balanced than many other states), and the school websites. Good luck!
 
This table might help.

It shows that 20% of all applicants from NJ matriculate in state while 30% of all applicants from NY matriculate in state.
 
Last edited:
I don't know much about NJ, but as a NY resident, I felt that it was great to have four state schools as a safety net if I don't end up going to top tier schools. If you are a top applicant with great stats, your residency wouldn't really matter much. However, if you are a borderline applicant, I would consider changing to the NY residency.

I'm thinking 3.8 GPA, not sure about MCAT, ECs on par with typical applicant with research and presentations. I would say that's about the average applicant. Would it be wise for me to then change my residency to NY? I'm not too concerned with top schools, rather I just want to get in, as we all do.
 
I'm currently a NJ state resident, but I have the option of becoming a NY resident because I can rent out an apartment in NY. However, I'm not sure if I should do that and change my residency. Would it be beneficial to me to change to a NY residency?

Take a look at the state schools for each state and choose based in which you like more. Also worth considering is straight up how much you want to preserve the chance of going to school in Jersey, since their state schools have a very strong in state preference. But in terms of overall chances of getting in I'd say residency in these two states is fairly equal.. It's not like picking between Texas and California.
 
This table might help.

It shows that 20% of all applicants from NJ matriculate in state while 30% of all applicants from NY matriculate in state.

I'm not convinced the matriculation number is meaningful since there is reason to think Jersey residents would want to get out of Jersey and they have abundant options in NYC and PA to choose from while still being 'local'. If the overall addmitance number were different that might mean something. That link isn't working for me so I don't know if that number is on the table.
 
Well, see the thing is I go to a school in NY and my parents live in NJ, but my dad is fine in helping me change my state residency to NY because it'll save me money. However, he'd rather me have the best chances of getting into medical school, which is why I wanted to know if it would be better for me to change residency.
 
I'm not convinced the matriculation number is meaningful since there is reason to think Jersey residents would want to get out of Jersey and they have abundant options in NYC and PA to choose from while still being 'local'. If the overall addmitance number were different that might mean something. That link isn't working for me so I don't know if that number is on the table.

Here is the link: https://www.aamc.org/download/321466/data/2013factstable5.pdf
 
Aha, yes, so the key 'not matriculated' number is virtually identical for both states, indicating that overall chances for an applicant will be about the same. So it just comes down to preference for which set of in state schools.
Well, does it actually mean that the two chances are equal? It just says that it's applicant's data.
 
Top