State residency

[pbehzad]

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The other day, the doctor that i worked for said that med school admissions is a game, and you have to know how to play it properly especially when declaring state residency. He told this to a guy from florida that is applying this year. the dr. said that he should declare georgia residency cause mcg accepts a higher # of students (in-staters in comparision) than the florida schools do. states like florida, texas, cali, ny may have more med schools but they also have so many more applicants that it makes it more competitive to get in. im wondering do you guys think this is a true of the whole med school admissions process? is it maybe worth it to come from a state that doesnt have as many med schools as the "big 4" states do? i come from a state that only has 1 med school, so im prolly thinking down the line to apply to some out of state schools. also i dont know the numbers or anything, im just going on what the dr. says, so i could be totally wrong for that matter. just wanted to see what everyone thinks.

 

[cabruen]

Well, he is mostly correct, but one is not allowed to declare residency in whatever state you wish. Most states have fairly strict guidelines for being considered a resident (there is a thread somewhere hear about a person fighting the admissions committee about residency). However, it is true that some states are "easier" to get into medicl school from that Texas, NY, Cali, etc. Assuming by easier that you are judging it on the applicant to acceptance ration. I believe a read that Arkansas is 50%. There is an excellent thread going on right now that I thoroughly agree with that there really are no such things as easy schools.

Best of luck.

 

[SMW]

Well, it is a game, but was this doctor really telling a Florida resident to declare Georgia residency? 🙄 Lying on an app is not a good way to play the game. I guess one could move to the state, register to vote there, get a driver's license there, and live there for a year or so, but it would certainly slow the application process down!! 😀

 

[Raptor]

Yep, it is very much so a game and if you play it well then you will get an acceptance. However, like every game there are rules and lying is breaking that rule, which will cause many consequences if the ADCOMs find out. But I don't think that you should lie about your residency. I really want to go to duke med, but they only accept few out of staters. So I might take some classes at UNC while doing research, and then apply there. But I have two more years to decide on that matter, so I have lots of time but I still wouldn't lie on my application though. Even though I do have some family member that lives there.

 

[gower]

If anyone could simply put on application any residency they choose, there would be no point in residency restrictions.
Only one state can be declared for residency on the AMCAS application. And the medical schools for which residency is important, will ask for proof of residency. Pick a wrong state and you have to live with the consequences.

Practicing physicians are among of the worst sources of advice on being a premedical student. Many of them earned their MD long enough ago that they are not up to date on medical school admission.

Medical school admission always appears to premedical students as a game in which the student has to outwit advisors, faculty and the medical schools. For every medical school, admissions uses up precious and expensive resources in faculty time, administrative work, paperwork, electronic work, personnel, etc., like any business. It would be a highly expensive game just to give any medical school faculty the fun, entertainment and satisfaction of jerking applicants around. They could do the whole job more efficiently, cheaply and in less time by just putting applicants' names in a bowl and picking at random, using the time and money saved to have office parties.

Some of you may wind up as medical school faculty and serve on admissions committees; what would be your preference: office parties or fun and games with applicants? Or is there a touch of evil in all physicians which provides satisfaction in seeing people suffering, whether by medical school admissions policies or by the invasion of bodies by all kinds of chemicals, scalpels, electronic machines such a NMR, X-rays, etc. For physicians, it is all too convenient to deny this side by convincing themselves that they are angels of mercy doing it to preserve health and save lives.

Be careful what you wish for: you may get it.

 

[pbehzad]

sorry but to clarify this, the guy is from tampa bay, but presently he is working in atlanta fro the year. he is tihnking about becoming a ga resident to maybe get into mcg. he said that since he is dependent upon his parents maybe he could have residency in ga and fl.
thanks for your responses.

 

[galen]

This is an interesting & true story-- the father of a friend who is a well-to-do Pennsylvania dr bought his son a condominium in W Va to live in for the son's 4 years of undergrad school and then the son was able to declare residency in W Va and was able to get into the W Va med school with resident status (and much lower tuition) plus he (and his younger non -premed bro) still have the condo to live in & they can sell it when he graduates and moves out.
Of course they did have to pay out of state undergrad fees but this was no prob for this family.

 

[Polar girl]

Originally posted by pbehzad
he said that since he is dependent upon his parents maybe he could have residency in ga and fl.
thanks for your responses.

You cannot have residency in two states. It's one or the other, no matter where you or your parents live. Also, most states I've seen you need to live there for x years and NOT be a dependent of your parents. If you are, then you are a resident of the state your parents are.

 

[spanky]

Hey guys, I have checked on the residency question very thoroughly because I live in one state, but work and pay taxes in another state. Here's the scoop:

Residency is determined not by where your drivers license is from but is based solely on where you file your state income tax. If you don't file any income tax and someone else claims you as a dependant (like your parents) you are considered to be a resident of that state. This is because med schools receive state funding in exchange for giving a preference to in-state applicants. Owning property in a state is not considered to be residency either. When I contacted a Florida school, they said that alot of people try to claim Florida as a residency using their parents or even grandparents vacation condo as an address, and it is unacceptable.

If you are accepted to a school, they will require you to fill out a state residency form with proof of income tax filing for in-state tuition and also for federal/state student loans. If you don't meet the requirements for in-state tuition, this could be considered as lying on your med school application and you could be booted out.

Also, because residency is based solely on income tax filing, it takes living in a state for one filing period before you can be treated as a state resident. Hope this info helps!!!!

 

[cabruen]

I think spanky might be general correct, but not universally. In Texas real estate and employment is the key to getting residency. There is no state income tax, so tha issue is mute.

 

[Mutterkuchen]

Spanky's claim is an over simplification of the process. States use several different criteria to determine residency, and these criteria can vary state to state. This criteria is usually easily available from a university's web site. In Missouri, the U of MIssouri asked me for a copy of my DL and a copy of my 2001 tax return to determine residency. Other state's require other things.

Do not make the decision to change your state residency designation for tuition purposes based solely on SDN! Independently verify with specific universities what their requirements are. This is a valuable forum and containing great information, but some poeple spew nonsense that they know little about, or make generalizations based on their experience that may not apply to another's experience. Be careful.

 

[Random Access]

Originally posted by cabruen
I think spanky might be general correct, but not universally. In Texas real estate and employment is the key to getting residency. There is no state income tax, so tha issue is mute.

Yeah, a lot of Baylor kids buy condos, so that their second year, they are considered in-state. Nice tuition benefit, eh?

It depends on the state and the school though. For example, UC-Hastings (law only) has a strict 3 year requirement, but I don't know what other UCs say.

 

[Bikini Princess]

UHM SOM is easy to get into compared to most schools, if you have residency. 🙂 They look at other things besides residency though.