No in-state school

[punkin2]

I am in a strange situation of being a US resident, but not being eligable to apply at any school as an "in state" applicant. I was wondering if anyone else is in this position and if there's anything that can be done.

I am living in Mass now, and I have lived here for about 2 years. I don't qualify to apply to UMASS, though because they require 5 years of continuous residence if you are not originally from Massachusetts. But since I have been living and paying taxes here for the last few years, I cannot claim residence anywhere else.

I grew up in Maryland, and my folks still live there. I haven't lived in MD since 1992, and I haven't been a dependent of my parents since 1996. Clearly I don't qualify as an instate candidate when applying to the University of Maryland in terms of tuition. However, does anyone know if having ties to a state will increase my chances of admission?

Any advice is appreciated.

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[Amy]

Would BU consider you an in state applicant?

 

[Homer J. Simpson]

BU is private. State residence has no bearing on their decision.

My MCAT review course instructor was in the same boat as you. My only suggestion, depending on when you are applying, would be to move to a state with less stringent residency rules than Mass.


Homer J.

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[SocialistMD]

I do not know about Maryland, but I know that Texas will allow you to apply for residency based on your parents. I left Texas for undergrad, but claimed residency on my application based on my mom. If you know Mass. will not allow you to claim residency, why not put Maryland on the application and see what happens?

 

[Socceroo4ever]

To be correct, Texas residency isn't entirely like that. As I understand it, you're required to live in Texas one full year without going to university for higher education during that 12-month period to be considered for in-state tuition. It's a really nice deal if you think about it: one year isn't that long at all, and you can take advantage of the time to beef up on research and/or volunteer experience. However, and this is affirmed further in another thread (I forget which topic it's under), the way the law is set up here, each individual university is able to stretch or bend that requirement at will. For instance, Baylor University has been said to grant in-state residency to medical students if they get a condo after their first year (or some such deal). I'll try to find that specific thread and post it here again for your reference. On another note, Texas medical schools are required to accept 90% of their students from in-state, although since Baylor is private it's a bit reduced to 70%. Very advantageous to obtain your residency status here first and then go for the deal.

Best of luck.

 

[Hopkins2010]

Since I've been looking for a loophole in the Texas residency system, I have researched enough about it to know its fairly open ended.

Technically, socerroo is right. The THECB sets guidelines for Texas residency and the requirement he/she listed is accurate. However, each school in Texas is allowed to either enforce that regulation or not. In other words, they are not bound by state law to apply that criteria. It is only a guideline, not a law.

Therefore, each MD program in TX can do its own thing. Suppose you got accepted into two Texas schools as an out of state applicant. Well, its very possible that one of them might grant you residency status while the other may not. It's unlikely for that scenario to play out, but it is possible. It is completely within each school's discretion to use or not use the guidelines that the THECB set down.

Baylor Med's discretion is a little looser than the public TX programs from what I understand. I've heard that UTSW will often give you a scholarship as an out of stater that will effectively reduce your tuition to in-state levels, but I dont know what % of out of state matriculants at UTSW are bestowed with that privilege.