Residency: MA vs. SC

[Iris257]

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I'm trying to decide which state to establish my residency for a more favorable application cycle, and would appreciate some feedback. Here's a brief timeline:

*Up to 2016: MA resident
*2016-2018: Moved to SC for grad school (science unrelated to medicine), including getting a new driver's license, registering to vote and technically qualifying as an employee of the university as an RA
*June 2018: finished my program, moved back to MA to start a job; living with family until August/Sept of 2018
*August 2018: technically graduate, lease runs out in SC, move into an apartment in MA

I am planning to apply for the next cycle June 2019. State schools from both states are very IS student friendly. I would prefer to stay in MA personally, however, SC is less expensive (if I would still qualify for IS tuition) and easier to get into. My application is not academically strong (3.4c/3.4s undergrad, 4.0 grad gpa). I am wondering if I would be better off claiming residency/strong ties to SC? I did enjoy living there and was a resident for over 2 years.

Thanks!

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

I'm trying to decide which state to establish my residency for a more favorable application cycle, and would appreciate some feedback. Here's a brief timeline:

*Up to 2016: MA resident
*2016-2018: Moved to SC for grad school (science unrelated to medicine), including getting a new driver's license, registering to vote and technically qualifying as an employee of the university as an RA
*June 2018: finished my program, moved back to MA to start a job; living with family until August/Sept of 2018
*August 2018: technically graduate, lease runs out in SC, move into an apartment in MA

I am planning to apply for the next cycle June 2019. State schools from both states are very IS student friendly. I would prefer to stay in MA personally, however, SC is less expensive (if I would still qualify for IS tuition) and easier to get into. My application is not academically strong (3.4c/3.4s undergrad, 4.0 grad gpa). I am wondering if I would be better off claiming residency/strong ties to SC? I did enjoy living there and was a resident for over 2 years.

Thanks!

I'd argue SC is better for you. Looking at SC it looks like there are 3 IS public med schools as opposed to MA (where there is one public and 3 privates). In addition, UMass's average GPA is 3.73 (where-for example South Carolina is 3.6) and they've been taking more OOSers the last few years. If it were me I'd take the 3 better shots than the 1 preferred one. There's no real IS bias for the privates in Massachusetts so you won't hurt yourself there.

 

[ndafife]

Agree on SC. Also UMass has pretty rigid criteria for what they consider "in-state" that you likely do not meet.

UMass website:
The following shall be considered by the School of Medicine’s Office of Admissions as indicia of “residence”:
First and foremost – seven years of uninterrupted federal and Massachusetts tax returns for the seven year period immediately prior to enrollment, wherein Massachusetts is listed as the applicant / filer’s legal residence (and not merely a P.O. Box).

 

[LizzyM]

If you graduated from HS in Mass and you went to school in SC with the intention of returning to Mass (which you did) I do believe that you qualify for residency in Mass. Has at least one parent lived in Mass for the past 7 years?

Changing to SC might be feasible as it may have less rigorous criteria that you may be able to meet after moving back there.

 

[Iris257]

I'd argue SC is better for you. Looking at SC it looks like there are 3 IS public med schools as opposed to MA (where there is one public and 3 privates). In addition, UMass's average GPA is 3.73 (where-for example South Carolina is 3.6) and they've been taking more OOSers the last few years. If it were me I'd take the 3 better shots than the 1 preferred one. There's no real IS bias for the privates in Massachusetts so you won't hurt yourself there.

Thanks for the feedback. I agree that disregarding residency, on stats alone my application would have a better chance in SC. My concern is that it will look questionable that I bounced back up to MA so quickly. I actually looked for jobs in SC for this reason, but could not find one nearly as good as the position I started in MA which is exposing me to clinical experience while providing a decent salary.

Agree on SC. Also UMass has pretty rigid criteria for what they consider "in-state" that you likely do not meet.

UMass website:
The following shall be considered by the School of Medicine’s Office of Admissions as indicia of “residence”:
First and foremost – seven years of uninterrupted federal and Massachusetts tax returns for the seven year period immediately prior to enrollment, wherein Massachusetts is listed as the applicant / filer’s legal residence (and not merely a P.O. Box).

If you graduated from HS in Mass and you went to school in SC with the intention of returning to Mass (which you did) I do believe that you qualify for residency in Mass. Has at least one parent lived in Mass for the past 7 years?

Changing to SC might be feasible as it may have less rigorous criteria that you may be able to meet after moving back there.

Both parents have lived in MA for over 20 years, and I was born and raised there. It's an interesting position to be in, as I legally changed my residence while living in SC. Per MUSC's website, they require continuous presence in SC for the "past 12 months." If I had submitted my app June 2018, I would have qualified. Perhaps I can apply and claim strong ties and hope for the best. I have been in contact a bit with a pre-health adviser for undergrads at an SC school, so I may reach out to them to get their advice on this.