Out-of-State Acceptances... what gave YOU the edge?

[Pequitas]

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Hey guys,

So a quick search makes it pretty clear that California doesn't seem to have a lot of love for out-of-staters. But I am just DYING to go to (an allopathic) school there. Private, public, doesn't matter. There are a number of reasons, some of them legit (like the more egalitarian atmosphere in medicine there vs. the strict medical hierarchies at some of the East Coast schools), and some of the reasons less-legit (I am so DONE with snow!).

Obviously, ANY medical school acceptance is exciting, and I am going to apply to a broad number of schools. But for the people who got accepted to one or more schools in California from out of state - I mean, no previous residency there, no family connections, zilch - do you think anything in your application might have given you a slight edge? Did you emphasize anything about CA or the school in particular? Did your thoughts on medicine "mesh" with the West Coast philosophy better? Was there anything you mentioned that you think sealed the deal at the school? What do you think helped you, beyond the basic admissions tips, get into that California school? Or, if any adcom members or faculty members at CA schools have other thoughts on what you're looking for in out-of-state applicants, I would be so, so SO grateful! 🙂

If it helps at all, I am hoping to eventually practice in California. Thanks so much in advance.

PS- One more note. There are some people here with ridiculous 4.0 GPA/40 MCAT/first-author/founder-of-a-third-world-health-clinic superstar stats who would basically get into anywhere. You guys are awesome, but that's pretty much never gonna be me. So please only answer if you're a typical/slightly-better-than typical med school applicant who did well in CA admissions and think you might know why. Thank you!

 

[Evergrey]

Hey guys,

So a quick search makes it pretty clear that California doesn't seem to have a lot of love for out-of-staters. But I am just DYING to go to (an allopathic) school there. Private, public, doesn't matter. There are a number of reasons, some of them legit (like the more egalitarian atmosphere in medicine there vs. the strict medical hierarchies at some of the East Coast schools), and some of the reasons less-legit (I am so DONE with snow!).

Obviously, ANY medical school acceptance is exciting, and I am going to apply to a broad number of schools. But for the people who got accepted to one or more schools in California from out of state - I mean, no previous residency there, no family connections, zilch - do you think anything in your application might have given you a slight edge? Did you emphasize anything about CA or the school in particular? Did your thoughts on medicine "mesh" with the West Coast philosophy better? Was there anything you mentioned that you think sealed the deal at the school? What do you think helped you, beyond the basic admissions tips, get into that California school? Or, if any adcom members or faculty members at CA schools have other thoughts on what you're looking for in out-of-state applicants, I would be so, so SO grateful! 🙂

If it helps at all, I am hoping to eventually practice in California. Thanks so much in advance.

PS- One more note. There are some people here with ridiculous 4.0 GPA/40 MCAT/first-author/founder-of-a-third-world-health-clinic superstar stats who would basically get into anywhere. You guys are awesome, but that's pretty much never gonna be me. So please only answer if you're a typical/slightly-better-than typical med school applicant who did well in CA admissions and think you might know why. Thank you!

Hey, I don't know if I can really offer you significant advice, but I'll try. I'm an above-average applicant from Colorado that had some luck "breaking into" the CA bubble by getting into USC. My girlfriend is from CA -- I enjoyed visiting California and I wanted to have the chance to experience living in it, so I'm probably going to end up at USC next Fall depending on how my financial aid turns out. Lucky for me the school is a really good fit! Strong community/support for personal lives, P/F, pretty good research opps, and one of the coolest teaching hospitals imaginable (Los Angeles County, hello rare tropical disease and gunshot wounds).

One of the things I did was start taking Spanish during my application year.. I think this helped show my application was serious and that I understood what kind of patient population I would be interacting with in California. Spanish is obviously big (particularly in Southern California. For instance at USC's main teaching hospital, a majority of the patients have Spanish as their primary language). So if you have skills in that realm, you should highlight them. Otherwise it may be helpful to start learning. Even if you don't get into CA schools, it's still a very useful skill to have as a US physician!

Also, I think well-roundedness matters more for West Coast (as opposed to East Coast) schools.. there are a lot of intelligent people in CA that would love to stay there, so I think all the standard application truisms apply except to a greater extent. Definitely be well-rounded, have good research experience, have something that you are excellent at that sets you apart (whether it's volunteering with underserved communities, artistic or scholastic interests, or journalism, whatever).

I wish I had been able to interview at other CA schools, but I am really grateful and excited about my acceptance at USC. Other schools that would be friendly to OOS are UCLA, Stanford, Loma Linda (although they are a school that only appeals to a very specific subset of applicants). UCLA and Stanford of course are difficult to get into for reasons beyond merely being in California. UCSF is moderately friendly to OOS applicants, but extremely difficult to get into (I didn't even get invited to fill out the secondary!). UCSD does take a few, and UCI/UCD take almost no OOS applicants. I wouldn't even bother applying to UCI/UCD. So, if you are an average applicant looking to get into CA, USC is probably your best bet, and maybe you can target your application toward their school?

This probably isn't an option for you but the best way to maximize your chances would simply be to move there, establish residency while working (maybe at a research job), then apply after a year. I don't know exactly how to go about establishing residency though, but keep in mind there are plenty of good CA applicants that can't make it into their state schools still! It may not be an option for med school or residency, but depending on the specialty you pick it could be very easy for you to get a good job there as an attending, once you're done with everything.

 

[bucks2010]

like the more egalitarian atmosphere in medicine there vs. the strict medical hierarchies at some of the East Coast schools)

Please elaborate.


Anyhow, be sure and keep your grades up. Even people with 3.8's/35+'s have problems getting into a UC school from in-state.

It may be considerably easier for you to get into Loma Linda than one of the state schools (or Stanford). Of course, going there comes with some strings attached.

 

[Pequitas]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pequitas
like the more egalitarian atmosphere in medicine there vs. the strict medical hierarchies at some of the East Coast schools)

Please elaborate.

Well, basically my cousin, who went to East-Coast undergrad and Stanford Med, remarked that he got the feeling that professors seemed a lot more willing to work with students on what they were interested in, there appeared to be much more mobility within departments, and generally a more laid-back/flexible atmosphere in the schools he looked at in California vs. the East Coast schools. This was also true for him when he was matching, and one of the reasons why he turned down a number of pretty prestigious residencies out east to stay in Cali.

I've looked through the forums and spoken to other friends who are considering/attending California schools and most of them seem to be in agreement about this. Now, obviously, I'm sure this is not the case for ALL West Coast schools, just as I'm sure not all of the other medical schools in the country are rigid and stuffy. This is not my only reason however, and frankly, I'm also just plain sick of the East Coast. There are plenty of wonderful things about it and if I'm only accepted to schools here, then I couldn't complain. But you can always dream, right?

Anyhow, the Spanish thing is a really great idea! Thanks. Does anyone have any other thoughts?

 

[WeAreNotRobots]

I highly doubt that starting to learn Spanish or just being well-rounded are what gave you, or can give someone else, the edge in dealing with CA schools. Keck for the record takes about 30% of its class from OOS so it's pretty friendly. but yeah, congrats it's a great school. You must have something more impressive to tell than just that...let's have it!

Here's some data to look at
https://www.aamc.org/download/161128/data/table1-facts2010school-web-pdf.pdf

 

[Evergrey]

I highly doubt that starting to learn Spanish or just being well-rounded are what gave you, or can give someone else, the edge in dealing with CA schools. Keck for the record takes about 30% of its class from OOS so it's pretty friendly. but yeah, congrats it's a great school. You must have something more impressive to tell than just that...let's have it!

.

 

[WeAreNotRobots]

I'm not exactly sure what helped, so I just outlined what my own strategy ... it still doesn't make very much sense to me. Half of my school decisions make sense, the other half have just left me puzzling 😕

Hey yeah, I was only half serious, so I appreciate the way you handled my post. It would be difficult for most people to really pin down exactly what got them in at a particular school...so many variables. I honestly do think being a well-rounded person (even if it's just one enthusiastic non-medical interest) counts for something in the app game. Anyway, your stats are what got the attention, but the lapdance likely sealed the deal.

 

[Gigantron]

Well, I know I'm only in high school right now, and my opinion may not be as relevant as those who are actually in college right now, but bear with me. I was accepted into a B.S./M.D. program in West Virginia...the schools for which are public schools. I'm from NY, so one thing that definitely helped with my acceptance is the fact that I was OOS to begin with. They even told me that they've never had a new yorker attend the program before. It's not going to help me, tuition wise, but at least I can go to college with a peace of mind.

 

[Lil Mick]

MD/PhD. Seriously, some schools (especially state schools like UF, Arkansas, Alabama, MUSC...) only take out-of-state students for combined degree tracks (not sure about California--southern girl here), and those programs generally have a range of scores/gpas...

 

[premed414]

I know Keck requires an upper level Bio course: molec cell, genetics or something along those lines. Are they the only school that has this requirement? It is in addition to Biochem, which is annoying because at my school molec cell is a pre-req to genetics and a terribly hard course at my school.

Any way around this?

 

[n3xa]

Well, basically my cousin, who went to East-Coast undergrad and Stanford Med, remarked that he got the feeling that professors seemed a lot more willing to work with students on what they were interested in, there appeared to be much more mobility within departments, and generally a more laid-back/flexible atmosphere in the schools he looked at in California vs. the East Coast schools. This was also true for him when he was matching, and one of the reasons why he turned down a number of pretty prestigious residencies out east to stay in Cali.

I've looked through the forums and spoken to other friends who are considering/attending California schools and most of them seem to be in agreement about this. Now, obviously, I'm sure this is not the case for ALL West Coast schools, just as I'm sure not all of the other medical schools in the country are rigid and stuffy. This is not my only reason however, and frankly, I'm also just plain sick of the East Coast. There are plenty of wonderful things about it and if I'm only accepted to schools here, then I couldn't complain. But you can always dream, right?

Anyhow, the Spanish thing is a really great idea! Thanks. Does anyone have any other thoughts?

I'll chime in and add another vote to that statement. I definitely got a certain vibe from the Ivies when I was applying for graduate programs in chemistry that was a bit of a culture shock to me (Bay Area born and raised) and it ultimately led me to come out to the Midwest instead for grad school.

 

[kexy]

I don't know of a way around it, I go to USC and explicitly asked an advisor... and they said nope. Mol bio and biochem for all of us! Irvine has the same requirement, but those are the only ones I know of.