Out of state medical schools

[Mopp22]

I was reading through my Agnes Scott College catalog today about their pre-med program. It said that students should apply to schools in their state because out of state applicants are not usually accepted.

What are everyone's thoughts on this - facts, opinions......

Should I apply to schools outside of my state? Honestly, there is only one decent medical school in my state that I want to attend. The other would be a back-up. I know it's bad to apply to only one school and what would happen if I don't get into that one school I want to attend are my concerns.

Why did I post this in this forum? I'm surprised it hasn't been moved.

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[schrizto]

Your best shot is likely to be your own state school, but private schools usually don't make your state of residence a huge factor.

 

[sgtbrushes]

Check this out:
http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/2007/2007school.htm

Now, these stats are from 2007, but you can see that some public universities take more OOS applicants than other. For example, unless you are from California, don't apply to UCLA Drew. 100% of the matriculants are California residents.

On the other hand, 25% of the University of Kentucky's matriculants are Kentucky residents. [No statistical basis whatsoever,] but I would assume (careful here) that there are more in-state applicants than out of state applicants here. If that's the case, then the percentage of OOS students accepted may not be that much lower than percentage of in-state students accepted.

Moral of the story: When applying out of state, apply to either private schools or OOS-friendly public schools.

 

[JAWSCIENCE]

There are some state medical schools that require you to be from the region in order to apply - University of Washington for example. They aim to produce physicians that will practice within the region and feel out of state students are less likely to do so. Make sure to read a schools requirements page carefully. Other school welcome out of state applicants. UMDNJ also lets you become in state very quickly after matriculation so you might only have to pay one or two semesters of out of state tuition.

Some states have really easy residency requirements and attending undergrad in the state may qualify you. Other states do not. This might be something to consider when applying to college.

 

[oran berry]

What exactly constitutes being an 'in-state' student? Since I'm from California but am attending undergraduate in Colorado, does that mean I have in-state status in both?

 

[sgtbrushes]

What exactly constitutes being an 'in-state' student? Since I'm from California but am attending undergraduate in Colorado, does that mean I have in-state status in both?

No. You can only be a resident of one state (for the most part).

In-state students are students who have been paying taxes to that state, thereby subsidizing the state schools, for time of one year or longer (usually). So, you're most likely a California resident, since you are probably financially dependent on your parents, and they are California residents.

 

[MilkmanAl]

In-state students are students who have been paying taxes to that state

That is not always true. The requirements for residency vary dramatically by state and circumstance. Chances are that Oran is only a CA resident, though.

 

[r0ckaction]

I applied as an out-of-state resident to a school who took less than 4% of out-of-state students last year. In fact they interviewed less than 50 OOS students (of >1000 OOS applications).

It was the first school to accept me.

My scores are not remarkable by any means; my MCAT was one point below the average for this particular school last year, my GPA is above their average. The interviews just went extremely well in my opinion.

Apply to every school that you are legitimately interested in, give it your best shot. Write good secondary essays, convince them during the interview that you would fit well with the school and you will have a fighting chance.

The fact is, no one knows exactly what the committees are looking for. Statistically speaking, my case is an anomaly. But hey, I was very close to not applying because i thought it would be a waste of my money. I was pleasantly surprised.

The interviewers and those who read your essays will likely be able to tell if you are legitimately passionate about the school and excited about the prospects of attending. That's the crucial part.

It will be CRITICAL to submit everything as early as possible in my humble opinion. My applications and secondary essays were sent out as soon as it was possible. Promptness is vital as an OOS applicant.

 

[Depakote]

I am attending a school in a state that was originally not my home state.


Check the MSAR for IS v. OOS class representation. Private schools may show minimal to no bias, some state schools with large classes may take as much as 40% of their class from OOS. If you're applying to a place with 200 seats, this is a good number of spots to shoot for. If your numbers are slightly above the average for that class, then your odds are increased. SDN ran an article about selecting schools to apply to that might apply to your situation.



Other things to look for...

Multiple public and private medical schools in that state. New York and Ohio have an abundance of medical schools to serve the IS populations, thus it is slightly easier for a more competitive OOS applicant to take an OOS spot at one of the state institutions.

Does the school offer in-state tuition after certain requirements are met? New Jersey and some Ohio schools do this to my knowledge, I believe the SUNY system does this as well. Virginia schools do not. Getting in somewhere is better than nowhere but if you can save 100K over 4 years by getting IS tuition, that's worth applying to the schools that do offer IS tuition.

 

[derek320]

For the most part it is easier to get into a school in your own state, and it usually is cheaper considering some state schools have reduced tuition for in-state students.

I live in MA, and the only public medical school is Umass Medical School, they only accept in-state applicants for their MD program. They will accept OOS applicants for their MD/PhD program, but for the regular MD program it is limited to MA residents only.