Should I Change My State Residency?

[HealthHare]

I am currently a Massachusetts state resident, but have not been one long enough to be eligible to apply to UMass.

My parents are splitting up and my dad will most likely be relocating to California while my mom stays in Mass.

Since I would still be my parents dependent would it be a good idea to switch to being a California resident? I know this sounds like a no-brainer given my lack of eligibility for Umass, but would being a Cali resident put me a disadvantage for schools in other parts of the country. I've heard that Cali applicants aren't liked very much outside of their state.

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[Asyouwereatrio]

I am currently a Massachusetts state resident, but have not been one long enough to be eligible to apply to UMass.

My parents are splitting up and my dad will most likely be relocating to California while my mom stays in Mass.

Since I would still be my parents dependent would it be a good idea to switch to being a California resident? I know this sounds like a no-brainer given my lack of eligibility for Umass, but would being a Cali resident put me a disadvantage for schools in other parts of the country. I've heard that Cali applicants aren't liked very much outside of their state.

Umm, I would think that isn't true. Because it's pretty well-known that there just aren't enough seats for Cali applicants at Cali medical schools, a lot of people are forced to go outside of the state for medical school.

I don't think it really matters what state you claim for residency--but I guess being a CA resident would make it easier for you to apply to the University of California system, but that's only if you will be eligible for Cali residency by the time you apply (which you didn't state).

 

[HealthHare]

Umm, I would think that isn't true. Because it's pretty well-known that there just aren't enough seats for Cali applicants at Cali medical schools, a lot of people are forced to go outside of the state for medical school.

I don't think it really matters what state you claim for residency--but I guess being a CA resident would make it easier for you to apply to the University of California system, but that's only if you will be eligible for Cali residency by the time you apply (which you didn't state).

Thanks for the reply. If I do become a resident it will be at least a year before I apply. I believe that would make me IS for UCs (not 100% sure if this is true).

 

[0919mmk]

No, if I were you I'd stay a MA resident. Being a CA resident is brutal. They have lots of schools, but they are super hard to get in to even for residents. I suppose that applies to MA as well, but, I would argue, to a lesser extent.

Anecdote: My SO is a CA resident. She applied to all the CA state schools plus 12-15 others. She got 10+ interview offers, but not a single one from the CA schools. It's that crazy.

 

[Suncrusher]

How much longer do you need to stay in Mass to gain residency?

My personal understanding is that the reason being from Cali is hard is because all the Cali state schools are highly competitive. It's not because applicants from Cali aren't liked. In fact, some schools like SLU, MCW, and Creighton have absolutely tons of students from Cali because there are so few private schools in the west/midwest to absorb the overflow of well-qualified Cali students (found this out at interview days)

 

[HealthHare]

I moved to Mass last August and won't be considered a resident until I have been here for 5 years.

Cali seems attractive because I would at least be able to apply to schools where I could get instate tuition, unlike if I were to stay a Mass resident.

As for competitiveness I'm 3.66 at top 20 after two years, still haven't taken the MCAT yet so that is till a big question mark. Have good EC's and am URM.

Don't know if this will be good enough for UCs

 

[0919mmk]

I moved to Mass last August and won't be considered a resident until I have been here for 5 years.

Cali seems attractive because I would at least be able to apply to schools where I could get instate tuition, unlike if I were to stay a Mass resident.

As for competitiveness I'm 3.66 at top 20 after two years, still haven't taken the MCAT yet so that is till a big question mark. Have good EC's and am URM.

Don't know if this will be good enough for UCs

My SO was URM with a good MCAT and 3.75 at an Ivy, so...yeah its brutal out there!

 

[NickNaylor]

So let me get this straight - your options are:

1) List your home address in MA, where you won't be counted as a resident, or
2) List your home address in CA, where you will be counted as a resident

Hmmm...

 

[HealthHare]

So is there no credence to geographic bias against CA residents applying to top private East Coast schools?

 

[cherryghost]

So is there no credence to geographic bias against CA residents applying to top private East Coast schools?

Since there are so many qualified CA applicants that the state schools cannot take them all, I believe the opposite is true.

But really, if you're not going to wait it out to get the MA residency, this seems like an incredibly easy decision. You either (a) apply to UC schools as a resident + other schools or you (b) apply to just other schools, right?

 

[boobelle]

No, if I were you I'd stay a MA resident. Being a CA resident is brutal. They have lots of schools, but they are super hard to get in to even for residents. I suppose that applies to MA as well, but, I would argue, to a lesser extent.

It's actually harder for UMass than Cali, in that it's a state law *requiring* that all students meet the residency requirement (5 consecutive years prior to applying or having graduated from a MA high school). The only way you can attend UMass's med school as a non-MA resident is as a MD/PhD student. As it stands it would be literally illegal for the OP to be accepted to UMass, so even if the OP has a 0.0000000001% shot of getting into a Cali school it's still better than the OP's chance at UMass.

OP, he only possible reason to preserve your MA residency is if you hope to stay in New England, where your MA residency might give you a bump at local non-UMass schools (and that's not just MA schools, but schools in New England in general).

 

[newbie909]

I'm in a similar situation and wanted to piggyback on this thread. I'm a CA resident (lived in CA for 7 years but have been living in MA for the past 2 years doing a post-bac,paid MA taxes for 2012, still have my CA license, voters registration etc). I graduated from a high school in MA so can qualify as a MA resident. Mediocre stats, 3.6 GPA from state school and planning to take the MCAT in July (aiming for low 30's), non-URM. Should I choose MA or CA residency to maximize my chances of getting into a state school? CA is more selective but has more schools (and UCR is opening up), while MA only has 1 med school. Any thoughts?

 

[Goobs]

I'm in a similar situation and wanted to piggyback on this thread. I'm a CA resident (lived in CA for 7 years but have been living in MA for the past 2 years doing a post-bac,paid MA taxes for 2012, still have my CA license, voters registration etc). I graduated from a high school in MA so can qualify as a MA resident. Mediocre stats, 3.6 GPA from state school and planning to take the MCAT in July (aiming for low 30's), non-URM. Should I choose MA or CA residency to maximize my chances of getting into a state school? CA is more selective but has more schools (and UCR is opening up), while MA only has 1 med school. Any thoughts?

I'm not sure about the selectivity of UMass, but I think a 3.6 low 30s MCAT will effectively blend you in with the tens of thousands of other Californians at the UCs. I know it's just one person's experience, but when I started the cycle I scoffed at the notion that I'd have to leave CA with all the med schools in this state. Turns out I should have believed SDN more

 

[Espadaleader]

The UC Med schools are the best in the world. That's so unfair. UCLA, UCSF, UC Davis are sick schools. Lol, state schools are usually safety choices for most but in California the state schools are in the same league as Sinai, Harvard, NYU etc. I've met ppl that have gotten into every other school but the Cali ones.

 

[HealthHare]

UMASS only takes IS applicants for MD admissions so your best bet is to keep the mass residency.

 

[gyngyn]

If CA is your only hope for IS, you are not very lucky. Just about anywhere else gives you better odds of IS acceptance. If you qualified in MA for example, you would enjoy a 21% chance of IS acceptance. CA is only 16% (including private allopathic schools!).

 

[sinombre]

If CA is your only hope for IS, you are not very lucky. Just about anywhere else gives you better odds of IS acceptance. If you qualified in MA for example, you would enjoy a 21% chance of IS acceptance. CA is only 16% (including private allopathic schools!).

Do you think UCR will make a significant dent in this percentage over the next several years (I've heard they plan on increasing their class size)?

 

[gyngyn]

Not in the foreseeable future. It would take hundreds of new positions to move the stats a point!.

A new school would not risk rapid expansion without proven basic science teaching and strong, equivalent clinical experiences (not to mention the rest of the infrastructure needed to ensure good residency outcomes!).