State Residency: California or Illinois??

[pr0foundbsguy]

So i'm in the most fortunate of situations, where I can either choose to apply with either California residency or Illinois residency.

California: Went to high school here, so thats why.

Illinois: Parents moved there almost a year ago, so since I am part of their 'domicile' I can claim residency in Illinois: read this on the UIC website.

So my dilemma is to pick either one before I apply, but I would really love to go to California, however it's not the most realistic option for me since scores are uber competitive. But at the same time I feel that I might be losing a shot at California schools, no matter how grim the outlook.

Schools in Illinois, however are not as competitive as California when it comes to numbers, but the winters of Illinois are the main thing that makes me not want to go there.

Would you try to take a shot at California schools or try to play it a little safer? Any advice?

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[diosa428]

Apply as a CA resident (make *sure* you can still do this), but also apply to the schools in Illinois and explain that your parents live there. Then, if you don't get into any of the CA schools, but you do get into the Illinois schools, you can always argue that you should get instate tuition at the IL schools.

 

[cubbbie]

I've heard how hard it is to get into CA schools, but at the same time, I'm not the only one who has noticed and commented on how hard it was this past cycle to get love from Illinois schools as an Illinois resident. If anything, they seem to prefer out-of-staters lately. Plus, as you mention, they're not as competitive as CA schools, so I would stick with the CA residency if I were you.

 

[tacrum43]

So i'm in the most fortunate of situations, where I can either choose to apply with either California residency or Illinois residency.

California: Went to high school here, so thats why.

Illinois: Parents moved there almost a year ago, so since I am part of their 'domicile' I can claim residency in Illinois: read this on the UIC website.

So my dilemma is to pick either one before I apply, but I would really love to go to California, however it's not the most realistic option for me since scores are uber competitive. But at the same time I feel that I might be losing a shot at California schools, no matter how grim the outlook.

Schools in Illinois, however are not as competitive as California when it comes to numbers, but the winters of Illinois are the main thing that makes me not want to go there.

Would you try to take a shot at California schools or try to play it a little safer? Any advice?

Well what are your stats? If they're below a 3.7 and 32, it would be risky to apply as a CA state resident when you have another option that has some nice state schools. If they're at or above those, I'd say you have a pretty good chance of getting into at least one UC (or USC) if everything else about your app is in order.

 

[Critical Mass]

Well what are your stats?

Ditto. General note for pre-allo: asking for odds of acceptance without providing an MCAT score is like asking us for odds that you'll get laid at a frat party without a photograph.

 

[pr0foundbsguy]

The question was never about my odds of acceptance, but rather the advantage over claiming one states residency over the other...as someone already said, in-state people in Illinois aren't getting any love from their own schools...I just want a different perspective.

 

[tacrum43]

in-state people in Illinois aren't getting any love from their own schools...I just want a different perspective.

What are you talking about? Rush, for example, is accepts almost entirely Illinois residents. The UC's give pretty good preference too, except UCLA, the thing is that there are just so many incredibly competitive Californians who are also applying.

 

[pr0foundbsguy]

I've heard how hard it is to get into CA schools, but at the same time, I'm not the only one who has noticed and commented on how hard it was this past cycle to get love from Illinois schools as an Illinois resident. If anything, they seem to prefer out-of-staters lately. Plus, as you mention, they're not as competitive as CA schools, so I would stick with the CA residency if I were you.

Straight from the source...

No need to take things out of context, my man.

 

[tacrum43]

Straight from the source...

No need to take things out of context, my man.

Okay, well you seem to have made up your mind already that you want to apply as a CA resident. That's fine, it's your application, but there's no way it's harder for in-state IL residents to get into their schools than for in-state CA to get into theirs. Sorry, but no.

On the other hand, maybe applying as a CA resident is a good idea for you since if asked for ties to IL on a secondary/interview you can readily provide them.

 

[pr0foundbsguy]

I apologize if I came off as being a bit rowdy with my "virtual" tone, I do appreciate everyone's advice. But more often than not, I see SDN folk just taking things out of context for humor or whatnot.

 

[tacrum43]

I apologize if I came off as being a bit rowdy with my "virtual" tone, I do appreciate everyone's advice. But more often than not, I see SDN folk just taking things out of context for humor or whatnot.

No problem. It's true that some SDNers do take things out of context, but I wasn't trying to.

 

[Doctor~Detroit]

op, you're using a sample of 1 to form an assessment. it's way harder for california residents than illinois residents. ui-c prefers in-staters, and it's the biggest med school in the country (equals at least two typical med schools in size). rush and i believe most of the other privates have (some) in-state preference. add to that that il has far fewer applicants than ca and there you go. i mean, the average stats say just as much. ui-c and rush have lower acceptance stats than most/all of the uc's. if you don't have the numbers (and you're not urm), don't claim ca.

 

[WCGee]

Illinois has been mean to us Illinoisians this cycle.

 

[tangledupinblue]

You definitely don't want to get stuck paying out of state tuition at UIC! $52K in tuition a year! Yikes!

 

[BigRedPremed]

The question was never about my odds of acceptance, but rather the advantage over claiming one states residency over the other...as someone already said, in-state people in Illinois aren't getting any love from their own schools...I just want a different perspective.

That's just not true looking at the in state and out of state acceptance rates at Illinois schools. Even if that's the case, CA schools are still harder to get into than IL schools. Your odds of acceptance (ie how competitive your application is) is most definitely a factor in choosing which state to be a resident in.

 

[OneDayDoc]

OP, just to let you know, it isn't easy to get CA residency. I went to school out of state. My parents still live there and I went to high school in CA. In order to get CA state residency, I was required to:
Be registered to vote (and have voted in the past) in CA
Have a CA drivers license
Have paid CA state income taxes as a permanent resident
Have printed on letterhead from my employer that CA what they have on file as my state of permanent residence
Have printed on institutional letterhead from my University that they have CA listed as my official residence (note: if you go to an non-CA public school and are paying in state tuition for it, you will not be accepted as a CA resident).

Good luck.

 

[Flopotomist]

Often people who think they have a choice of which state to claim residency in are shocked to learn that you can't just choose. There are fairly strict criteria put in place to determine where you are a resident. Did you pay instate tuition somewhere other than CA? Well, CA won't let you be considered a state resident anymore. Did you earn any money and pay state income taxes? That is now your state.

Where you went to HS is pretty irrelevant to state residency.

 

[notdeadyet]

OP, just to let you know, it isn't easy to get CA residency.

Agreed.

OP- Do not assume you will get California residency because you went to high school there. If you've been out of state for more than one calendar year, the burden is on you to prove residency, and it's not as easy as you think. Verify the process with each school you're interested in to make sure you qualify.

If you're a very strong applicant, California is the best state for residency. If you're an average applicant, it can be one of the worst.