Out-of-State State Schools

[Abbeyroad1791]

I was bumming in the internet late last night and perusing med school programs.. And I'm wondering, what is the etiquette on applying to state schools from out of state? Say you live in a state that borders lots of others fairly closely, like NJ, NY and CT. Is "residence" status assumed because you live say, within 20 minutes of the school, but just don't live directly in that state?

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[Dookie2010]

I was bumming in the internet late last night and perusing med school programs.. And I'm wondering, what is the etiquette on applying to state schools from out of state? Say you live in a state that borders lots of others fairly closely, like NJ, NY and CT. Is "residence" status assumed because you live say, within 20 minutes of the school, but just don't live directly in that state?

No. Residence is a legal issue, and is usually important for funding reasons, school missions (i.e. to provide physicians for the state of NJ), etc. You can only be a resident of one state. However, state schools that aren't particularly stringent on only accepting residents in the strictest legal definition would probably still look favorably on you and understand your reason for applying. Wanting to stay in an area and serve your "home" community is definitely a valid reason for wanting to go to a medical school even if you don't technically live in that state. Make sure to check with the school though, because some states are bound to only accept legal residents.

 

[Malice]

I was bumming in the internet late last night and perusing med school programs.. And I'm wondering, what is the etiquette on applying to state schools from out of state? Say you live in a state that borders lots of others fairly closely, like NJ, NY and CT. Is "residence" status assumed because you live say, within 20 minutes of the school, but just don't live directly in that state?

Look on the MSAR and don't apply to schools that say in their selection criteria that they give preference to in state residents (as in legally living in the state the school is physically in) if you do not live in the state. The only times when living in a state that borders or is close to the state with a school in it is for special circumstances like states in the upper east and upper west parts of the US. They have these little alliances where schools will give preference to you if you live in Idaho or some state without a medical school. If you're from NJ or NY you cannot get into an OOS hating school.

 

[mvenus929]

And I'm wondering, what is the etiquette on applying to state schools from out of state? Is "residence" status assumed because you live say, within 20 minutes of the school, but just don't live directly in that state?

As stated above, residency is based on where you pay taxes, where you vote, etc. It's a legal thing, so just because you live within 20 minutes of the school (even if you live in the same state as the school), doesn't automatically make you a resident.

I go to a state school in Virginia and am from Colorado, so you can certainly get into state schools without being a resident of the state (I also got into University of South Carolina). Generally, when applying to OOS schools, you should apply to those schools that have >25-30% of their class from OOS, unless you have close ties to the state. They are designed to make physicians for their own state, after all.