OOS Bias Against Texas Residents

[drdoctor1]

ORM TX Resident (3.95 sGPA, 3.96 cGPA, 518 MCAT) 23 MD, 23 secondaries, 6 IIs (TX only), 3 Rs (OOS only), silence from everywhere else. All secondaries complete mid-late July.

Should I expect any OOS interviews at this point? All OOS schools were Top 30 schools. I've been hearing more about how OOS schools generally do not extend interview invites to Texas residents, but how true is this?

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[asmallpremed]

Yeah there is a bias. Very few texans matriculate outside of Texas because of cheap in state tuition and in state preference

 

[Catalystik]

ORM TX Resident (3.95 sGPA, 3.96 cGPA, 518 MCAT) 23 MD, 23 secondaries, 6 IIs (TX only), 3 Rs (OOS only), silence from everywhere else. All secondaries complete mid-late July.

Should I expect any OOS interviews at this point? All OOS schools were Top 30 schools. I've been hearing more about how OOS schools generally do not extend interview invites to Texas residents, but how true is this?

As a generalization it's true that OOS med schools will be disinclined to use their limited resources to interview Texas residents who are far more likely to take an instate acceptance, however, your stats are good enough that you might potentially attract a scholarship offer that would offset the difference (thus perhaps making you worth the effort), provided the rest of your application is as good as your stats.

 

[hhap1234]

As a generalization it's true that OOS med schools will be disinclined to use their limited resources to interview Texas residents who are far more likely to take an instate acceptance, however, your stats are good enough that you might potentially attract a scholarship offer that would offset the difference (thus perhaps making you worth the effort), provided the rest of your application is as good as your stats.

So are you saying that if a TX resident has been offered interviews from OOS state schools, the chances of getting a scholarship could be higher than average?
In my mind, if a top OOS is willing to interview a Texas resident, they can be pretty confident that that applicant is also interviewing at the much cheaper Texas schools. Therefore, they might be inclined to use a merit scholarship to make their school much more attractive (in terms of price at least)

 

[Catalystik]

So are you saying that if a TX resident has been offered interviews from OOS state schools, the chances of getting a scholarship could be higher than average?
In my mind, if a top OOS is willing to interview a Texas resident, they can be pretty confident that that applicant is also interviewing at the much cheaper Texas schools. Therefore, they might be inclined to use a merit scholarship to make their school much more attractive (in terms of price at least)

It seems a reasonable conclusion, assuming they like you at the interview.

 

[esob]

Our GPA's are similar, but your MCAT is significantly higher (though I'm a veteran so I'm sure there is some offset), and I've received 6 II's in TX and nothing from OOS MD with the exception of 1 rejection. I only applied to mid/low tier OOS, however.

 

[Med Ed]

So are you saying that if a TX resident has been offered interviews from OOS state schools, the chances of getting a scholarship could be higher than average?
In my mind, if a top OOS is willing to interview a Texas resident, they can be pretty confident that that applicant is also interviewing at the much cheaper Texas schools. Therefore, they might be inclined to use a merit scholarship to make their school much more attractive (in terms of price at least)

If an OOS state school is going to try and attract a TX applicant, there will have to be some special appeal of that individual. A connection to the area, some exceptional alignment with the school's mission, some specific track or area of academic strength, etc. Schools don't just pluck Texans out of the applicant pool and throw money at them.

 

[jarednogeek]

don't worry, also 3.98gpa 513 mcat, II in all MD's in texas, not a single OOS II.

 

[repoetic]

Sorry to resurrect an old threat that may no longer be relevant, but I had a question related to this topic-

Does the OOS bias against Texas residents pertain to private medical schools as well? Are they less likely to offer a Texas applicant an interview?

Thanks

 

[gyngyn]

Does the OOS bias against Texas residents pertain to private medical schools as well? Are they less likely to offer a Texas applicant an interview?

There is no reason to interview someone who is very unlikely to attend if accepted.

 

[MyOdyssey]

ORM TX Resident (3.95 sGPA, 3.96 cGPA, 518 MCAT) 23 MD, 23 secondaries, 6 IIs (TX only), 3 Rs (OOS only), silence from everywhere else. All secondaries complete mid-late July.

Should I expect any OOS interviews at this point? All OOS schools were Top 30 schools. I've been hearing more about how OOS schools generally do not extend interview invites to Texas residents, but how true is this?

@drdoctor1 If you're still around, what were your final experiences with OOS schools from your most recent cycle? Any final thoughts to share? Thanks.

 

[LizardBoy]

Is the bias more heavily against higher stat applicants or all TX residents? As someone with a 3.6 and 516, I applied to a decent amount of OOS schools cause I thought they’d be more receptive towards high mcat/lowish GPA than TX schools

 

[Goro]

Sorry to resurrect an old threat that may no longer be relevant, but I had a question related to this topic-

Does the OOS bias against Texas residents pertain to private medical schools as well? Are they less likely to offer a Texas applicant an interview?

Thanks

MD yes.
DO, no.

 

[DokterMom]

Put yourself in the shoes of an admissions director who just received 5,000 applications and has to throw out 4,500 of them. You're looking for reasons to not spend much time on an application.

• If you're a school that's no better than Baylor and UTSW (a pretty high bar), then you'd probably be more than willing to assume that a Texan would choose those excellent and very inexpensive schools (edit: or a similarly inexpensive TX school of the applicant's caliber) over your own.

• If you're a school that is slightly more highly ranked, then it's a reasonable assumption that the high-stats Texan might require some recruiting money that an applicant from another state (and there are lots of them) probably wouldn't.

• If you're Harvard, Stanford or JHU, then sure, invite the Texan -- but they'd have to be that good an applicant.

• If you're a DO school and the Texas applicant is moderately competitive - so in that MD/DO cutoff range - I'd think those applicants might attract some OOS DO love.

 

[gyngyn]

Is the bias more heavily against higher stat applicants or all TX residents? As someone with a 3.6 and 516, I applied to a decent amount of OOS schools cause I thought they’d be more receptive towards high mcat/lowish GPA than TX schools

Tell us how it goes!
My experience has shown greater success when the TX applicant has attributes in very short supply, not high or low stats.

 

[funkyturtle]

I've only received IIs from Texas schools. I have average stats so I decided to apply broadly to mid/low tier OOS schools that were friendly to out of staters, but I'm already getting Rs from those schools. I wish I could've seen this thread before throwing away almost a $1k in primary/secondary fees...

 

[gyngyn]

I've only received IIs from Texas schools. I have average stats so I decided to apply broadly to mid/low tier OOS schools that were friendly to out of staters, but I'm already getting Rs from those schools. I wish I could've seen this thread before throwing away almost a $1k in primary/secondary fees...

Thanks for letting us know. It really helps.

 

[ThrowawayShmoaway]

I only received two interviews last cycle (so I didn't have a ton of success), but both of them did come from OOS schools. Granted, I had a low uGPA, which is something Texas schools dislike for the most part. (Also, the school I ended up matriculating at has about 3 other TX residents in my class as well.)

Edited to add that in addition to the TX residents that ended up matriculating at my school, there were even more that were invited to interviews but either weren't accepted or didn't matriculate. So I think the trick is to just do your homework and see which schools have Texas matriculants (check the map on MSAR) before applying.

 

[deleted927529]

It's still early in the cycle but I'm an URM Texan with LM 72 and applied to every Texas school and about ten top-ranked OOS schools. So far two IIs from Texas and none out of state. I'll update toward the end of the year if I have any success. Right now I'm thinking I should have saved my money lol

 

[D0uc124]

Sorry for hijacking but I am a texas resident w LM 67. My friends and family have been pushing me to write more secondaries for some low tier MDs to increase my chance of getting in. I have had 2 II in Texas so far, do you think I should spend more time and money to submit those or just simply focus preping for those II I have? I am also planning to apply to some OOS DOs too. Thanks!!

 

[esob]

Sorry for hijacking but I am a texas resident w LM 67. My friends and family have been pushing me to write more secondaries for some low tier MDs to increase my chance of getting in. I have had 2 II in Texas so far, do you think I should spend more time and money to submit those or just simply focus preping for those II I have? I am also planning to apply to some OOS DOs too. Thanks!!

The oos bias thing is really just anecdotal at this point, but I don't think (if it exists) that it is as strong with OOS DO schools. I know a few of my current classmates with rockstar stats that got nothing from OOS schools but got interviews from every school in TX.

 

[gyngyn]

The oos bias thing is really just anecdotal at this point, but I don't think (if it exists) that it is as strong with OOS DO schools. I know a few of my current classmates with rockstar stats that got nothing from OOS schools but got interviews from every school in TX.

It's real.
Out of 4,559 TX applicants, only 259 matriculated OOS!
I'll bet that most of them were UiM, military or folks who attended an OOS school for undergrad. We have data that supports the contention that they just won't leave (without a substantial incentive!).

Compare that to CA where the majority of successful applicants must go OOS.

https://www.aamc.org/download/321466/data/factstablea5.pdf

 

[MyOdyssey]

The oos bias thing is really just anecdotal at this point, but I don't think (if it exists) that it is as strong with OOS DO schools. I know a few of my current classmates with rockstar stats that got nothing from OOS schools but got interviews from every school in TX.

What do you consider rock star stats?

 

[gyngyn]

What do you consider rock star stats?

The combination of stats and accomplishments that cause us to open up the pocketbook.

 

[calipremed5768]

Glad I’m not from Texas (but wouldn’t mind getting accepted to baylor tbh)

 

[MyOdyssey]

It's real.
Out of 4,559 TX applicants, only 259 matriculated OOS!
I'll bet that most of them were UiM, military or folks who attended an OOS school for undergrad. We have data that supports the contention that they just won't leave (without a substantial incentive!).

Compare that to CA where the majority of successful applicants must go OOS.

https://www.aamc.org/download/321466/data/factstablea5.pdf

It's real like "The Force."

 

[OfMiceAndWomen]

Glad I’m not from Texas (but wouldn’t mind getting accepted to baylor tbh)

Where we have 9 schools that admit 90% IS student body and have 20k tuition?

I'm actually glad I'm not from Cali

 

[MyOdyssey]

Where we have 9 schools that admit 90% IS student body and have 20k tuition?

I'm actually glad I'm not from Cali

I believe the stats show that TX residents don't have a higher success rate getting into medical schools than the average outside of TX despite the large number of in state schools and their high preference for instate schools. This is probably due to (1) the large number of applicants from TX and (2) the OOS bias against TX residents.

It also means competition for a spot at Baylor or UT Southwestern must be really tough because Texas applicants interested in academic medicine have limited recourse to out of state schools.

 

[Obnoxious Dad]

I will now beat a horse that I've beaten before. (That's just a figure of speech.) The so called success rate (matriculants/applicants) is irrelevant. The key is whether a subset of the population of applicants is held to higher or lower admission standards than the total applicant pool. The fact is Texas matriculants meet the national norms among matriculants. The Texas average MCAT is slightly lower and the Texas GPA is slightly higher.

https://www.aamc.org/download/321502/data/factstablea20.pdf

The State of Texas has seen to it that its medical school seats have grown at roughly the same rate as its population. The sweet thing about Texas for applicants is that tuition. Even if a Texas Medical student has to borrow the whole shebang, after a four year residency the debt will be about $200K What a deal.

 

[esob]

What do you consider rock star stats?

Everything that others have stated, but if you want an example of a specific #, 519+/4.0