Rhode Island and Med School

[LegendAmI]

Hi, everyone.

I'm an incoming junior, and I hope to go to college and medical school in New England. However, I do have a preference towards staying in Rhode Island and that's where my problem arises. The main problem is we don't have a public medical school; The only medical school in the state is a private Ivy League school with very high entrance requirements. Thanks to my residency in this tiny state, I have no medical school to which I can easily achieve entry.

I do rather well in school but it generally seems that one class will hold me back each year. I've managed to make almost entirely A's and high B's, except for one class each year that usually ends up in the high C range. This year should be better, as I was able to tailor my classes more, so my GPA should see a significant upwards trend.

Now, do you guys think it's unreasonable for me to want to try and get into Brown's PLME, or do you think (in the next...6 years) there will be a public medical school in Rhode Island that I'll be able to attend? It just seems like I've gotten the short end of the stick; if I were in a state with a state medical school it would be much easier for me to get accepted, and have a lower tuition.

Thanks in advance. 🙂

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[Neurocentric]

Hi, everyone.

I'm an incoming junior, and I hope to go to college and medical school in New England. However, I do have a preference towards staying in Rhode Island and that's where my problem arises. The main problem is we don't have a public medical school; The only medical school in the state is a private Ivy League school with very high entrance requirements. Thanks to my residency in this tiny state, I have no medical school to which I can easily achieve entry.

I do rather well in school but it generally seems that one class will hold me back each year. I've managed to make almost entirely A's and high B's, except for one class each year that usually ends up in the high C range. This year should be better, as I was able to tailor my classes more, so my GPA should see a significant upwards trend.

Now, do you guys think it's unreasonable for me to want to try and get into Brown's PLME, or do you think (in the next...6 years) there will be a public medical school in Rhode Island that I'll be able to attend? It just seems like I've gotten the short end of the stick; if I were in a state with a state medical school it would be much easier for me to get accepted, and have a lower tuition.

Thanks in advance. 🙂

Your undergrad and pre-med course grades are going to matter much more than your HS grades for the medical school admissions, so I wouldn't really worry about grades until you get into college. That's not to say you don't want to do well in HS, but you know.

I don't think it's unreasonable to try and go to Brown. I don't think it's unreasonable to shoot for any huge school. I plan on having a few "reach" schools on my list as well. That being said, medical school will cost a bit no matter where you go, although I completely understand your want to make it as cheap as you can. I am currently living in Texas, and have been for a year, but the state does not consider me a resident so I am paying out of state tuition for my undergrad, and getting into one of the state medical schools here might be a real problem. However, I don't want that to stop me, so I will apply to any school I can.

It seems, however, that most of the schools in NE are private - Dartmouth, Harvard, Brown, etc. I'm not really sure where you could go in the NE area that wouldn't cost a lot of money, to be completely honest. But still, don't let that sway you. You still have 6 years before you have to worry about that. Get through HS first, get into college, and then you can start to think a bit more about the medical schools. Tuition could change a lot by then.

Good luck 🙂

 

[indya]

actually Brown is your guy's "state medical school." They give heavy preference to RI residents because of some partnership with the state.

 

[Neurocentric]

actually Brown is your guy's "state medical school." They give heavy preference to RI residents because of some partnership with the state.

I think they do that with Dartmouth too, for New Hampshire residents, but I could be wrong.

 

[J-Rad]

It generally is very premature to plan so strictly for medical school while in high school given 1) How frequently pre-meds change their minds to something else during college and 2) The fact that it is exceedingly rare for a US high school student to have proven themselves fit for medical school while in high school (i.e. people generally prove themselves in college).

But for the sake of conversation I will lay out one option for you (one that actually has some safety mechanisms):
Move over the border to MA. If you are particularly attached to RI, stay in Southeastern MA (as I'm sure you know is, culturally, quite similar to RI), otherwise try to live on-the-cheap with a relative). Pay at least one utility in the state, and start establishing your residency by getting a job and paying MA state taxes. Work for at least one year in MA. During this time apply to either a state U (again, if particularly attached to RI, then shoot for UMass Dartmouth. The state colleges are OK as wel, but the Us will be preferable) or a community college with plans to transfer to a state U (an underutilized money-saver; important with the debt that you may accrue if you do, indeed, get to medical school). Get a 4-year degree of your choice while taking pre-med classes (avoid "pre-med" and biology as majors unless you are willing to get a graduate biology degree to make it remotely useful if you don't get to med school or truly are just passionate about biology). Obviously you have to do well in college and in your premeds and on your MCAT. If you do well and are in range academically and by MCAT, now apply to UMass medical, the only state med school in New England*. So why the work-year: 1) to get your initial MA residency for in-state tuition for undergrad 2)You need 5 years of MA residency for eligibility for UMass Medical and 3) a lot of people benefit from some time to mature before going to college.

So, again, don't be married to a single plan. The above was just one hypothetical.

*I think. I can't remember if UVM med is state or private.

 

[LegendAmI]

Your undergrad and pre-med course grades are going to matter much more than your HS grades for the medical school admissions, so I wouldn't really worry about grades until you get into college. That's not to say you don't want to do well in HS, but you know.

I don't think it's unreasonable to try and go to Brown. I don't think it's unreasonable to shoot for any huge school. I plan on having a few "reach" schools on my list as well. That being said, medical school will cost a bit no matter where you go, although I completely understand your want to make it as cheap as you can. I am currently living in Texas, and have been for a year, but the state does not consider me a resident so I am paying out of state tuition for my undergrad, and getting into one of the state medical schools here might be a real problem. However, I don't want that to stop me, so I will apply to any school I can.

It seems, however, that most of the schools in NE are private - Dartmouth, Harvard, Brown, etc. I'm not really sure where you could go in the NE area that wouldn't cost a lot of money, to be completely honest. But still, don't let that sway you. You still have 6 years before you have to worry about that. Get through HS first, get into college, and then you can start to think a bit more about the medical schools. Tuition could change a lot by then.

Good luck 🙂

This is great advice, but this is geared towards somebody who is trying to get into medical school out of undergrad, whereas I would like (ideally) to get accepted to an 7/8 year program out of High School. If I'm unable to do so, I will certainly take your advice as I go through the traditional method in undergrad.

It generally is very premature to plan so strictly for medical school while in high school given 1) How frequently pre-meds change their minds to something else during college and 2) The fact that it is exceedingly rare for a US high school student to have proven themselves fit for medical school while in high school (i.e. people generally prove themselves in college).

But for the sake of conversation I will lay out one option for you (one that actually has some safety mechanisms):
Move over the border to MA. If you are particularly attached to RI, stay in Southeastern MA (as I'm sure you know is, culturally, quite similar to RI), otherwise try to live on-the-cheap with a relative). Pay at least one utility in the state, and start establishing your residency by getting a job and paying MA state taxes. Work for at least one year in MA. During this time apply to either a state U (again, if particularly attached to RI, then shoot for UMass Dartmouth. The state colleges are OK as wel, but the Us will be preferable) or a community college with plans to transfer to a state U (an underutilized money-saver; important with the debt that you may accrue if you do, indeed, get to medical school). Get a 4-year degree of your choice while taking pre-med classes (avoid "pre-med" and biology as majors unless you are willing to get a graduate biology degree to make it remotely useful if you don't get to med school or truly are just passionate about biology). Obviously you have to do well in college and in your premeds and on your MCAT. If you do well and are in range academically and by MCAT, now apply to UMass medical, the only state med school in New England*. So why the work-year: 1) to get your initial MA residency for in-state tuition for undergrad 2)You need 5 years of MA residency for eligibility for UMass Medical and 3) a lot of people benefit from some time to mature before going to college.

So, again, don't be married to a single plan. The above was just one hypothetical.

*I think. I can't remember if UVM med is state or private.

Thank you for your advice, but again, I was hoping for some analysis on Brown's 8 year BS/MD program, and other options I have as a RI resident. While I appreciate your suggestion that I change my residency to Massachusetts (ironically, I live less than a mile from the border), this is unfeasible for me due to my inability to postpone my education for a year.

I was hoping that somebody who had gone through this process before might be able to assist me. Also, I was wondering if any schools in the region will give regional or instate tuition for Rhode Island residents due to the small geographic area that states like RI, CT, MA, etc. are located in.

 

[Brachyury]

Move over the border to MA. If you are particularly attached to RI, stay in Southeastern MA (as I'm sure you know is, culturally, quite similar to RI), otherwise try to live on-the-cheap with a relative). Pay at least one utility in the state, and start establishing your residency by getting a job and paying MA state taxes. Work for at least one year in MA. During this time apply to either a state U (again, if particularly attached to RI, then shoot for UMass Dartmouth. The state colleges are OK as wel, but the Us will be preferable) or a community college with plans to transfer to a state U (an underutilized money-saver; important with the debt that you may accrue if you do, indeed, get to medical school). Get a 4-year degree of your choice while taking pre-med classes (avoid "pre-med" and biology as majors unless you are willing to get a graduate biology degree to make it remotely useful if you don't get to med school or truly are just passionate about biology). Obviously you have to do well in college and in your premeds and on your MCAT. If you do well and are in range academically and by MCAT, now apply to UMass medical, the only state med school in New England*. So why the work-year: 1) to get your initial MA residency for in-state tuition for undergrad 2)You need 5 years of MA residency for eligibility for UMass Medical and 3) a lot of people benefit from some time to mature before going to college.

So, again, don't be married to a single plan. The above was just one hypothetical.

*I think. I can't remember if UVM med is state or private.

UMass states that one must either have graduated from high school, or have resided in the state for at least five years. The website states that education does not establish residency, and even if you work and pay taxes in MA while in UG, if your parents claim you as a dependent, then you are still not a MA resident. http://www.umassmed.edu/som/admissions/residency.aspx?linkidentifier=id&itemid=95704

OP, I'm not crazy about 8-year programs, but two of my good friends did the Brown program, and it is definitely very flexible.

Also, OP, many of the top undergrads in the country offer EXCELLENT financial aid., and very few people ever pay the sticker price. NE is filled with dozens of excellent schools, so don't sell yourself short

 

[J-Rad]

Thank you for your advice, but again, I was hoping for some analysis on Brown's 8 year BS/MD program, and other options I have as a RI resident. While I appreciate your suggestion that I change my residency to Massachusetts (ironically, I live less than a mile from the border), this is unfeasible for me due to my inability to postpone my education for a year.

I mean this in the kindest possible sense, but you did not paint a picture of someone who would be accepted to the Brown program. While Brown Medical doesn't exist on the same "Ivy" playing field as Harvard or Yale, the undergrad institution does. I'm sure others with a similar HS track record go to Ivy League schools, but they are the minority and usually have some other distinguishing factors to their application (e.g. stellar ECs, some evidence of surmounting seemingly insurmountable obstacles, etc.). I've never had anything to do with Brown, but I'd put money them being even more particular with someone accepted to the PLME program.

UMass states that one must either have graduated from high school, or have resided in the state for at least five years. The website states that education does not establish residency, and even if you work and pay taxes in MA while in UG, if your parents claim you as a dependent, then you are still not a MA resident. http://www.umassmed.edu/som/admissions/residency.aspx?linkidentifier=id&itemid=95704

Also, OP, many of the top undergrads in the country offer EXCELLENT financial aid., and very few people ever pay the sticker price. NE is filled with dozens of excellent schools, so don't sell yourself short

"Attending school in Massachusetts does not establish residency. The foremost is that your federal and state income tax forms (or your parents tax forms if they are residents of Massachusetts and claim you as a dependent) reflect that you file as a Massachusetts resident. You do not need to provide copies of tax returns unless requested by the admissions office."

Your parents can choose not to claim you as a dependent. You can work and pay taxes to MA while in UG (though I don't claim that this is a good idea for everyone). Regardless, your latter adice is quite true. Personally (and this is just one person's opinion) I think the OP will get burned by his/her narrow view of what is an acceptable path to med school (and I don't claim that the one path I laid out was a great one either. Far more important to be open to many paths).

 

[schrizto]

There are some states that don't have their own public medical school for the typical IS applicants... Delaware and Maine might be other examples: while they have agreements with private med schools to accept kids from those states, the accepted students won't get much of a tuition break.

It's unlikely RI will open up its own public med school anytime soon. In fact, Brown Med was opened ~30 years ago partly in response to RI pressuring to have a med school within the state, otherwise Brown is an institution firmly committed to the liberal arts and undergraduate education (explains why it has no business or law school but has a med school).

The last time I heard PLME has a few (maybe 2 or 3 I guess?) RI residents in each class out of ~60 entrants every year and these were probably the best hs students in RI. That is a very small number but RI is a small state.

I don't think OP should be worried about this now, really. It's not like every state has an real true IS option. Even in Pennsylvania, what would be thought of as the IS options don't truly favor PA residents since the public PA med schools are classified as state-related.