Texas Schools.

[kypreos]

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I am applying the 2011 cycle and am taking the mcat the first time available, january 30th. I am just curious how difficult it is for some oos applicants to get into Texas Schools. I understand that they are mostly instate friendly and if your going to bother applying you better have better stats then normally expected. I have been looking through the MSAR and theres only one school in the UT system that is even remotely oos friendly. I know this is true of most schools who are public, state funded schools. Besides the stats, what else can you do? I understand that you shouldnt really get your heart set on one or two schools as the application process is a crapshoot sometimes, however I am a NJ resident and have wanted to live in Texas since I was a child. I have visited with my father, when he was alive and he used to take me there when he had conferences for work and I absolutely loved it down there. Don't misunderstand this thread however, I am applying broadly and to the NJ schools. I am just curious what I can do on my part to show my commitment to studying medicine in Texas. I have read on SDN that they would like to see that you plan on living in Texas if you are an oos resident and it is important to them that you have ties to Texas. I do not have any family there but I would love to live there. Are there any students out there that were oos students that are now attending UT system schools?

 

[armybound]

Some of my OOS classmates have strong ties to the region, e.g. family in the city. Others have done research rotations at our school during the summer.

One of my tankmates is from NJ and another guy is from NY.

 

[aggie08]

As armybound said, there are a few things that can help your case....unfortunately most are out of your control.

1. Family ties to the region.
2. Stats above average for our schools.
3. Genuine interest in practicing in rural, under served communities.
4. Research or job positions at one of these schools (summer-time option for you or no?)

The only thing you can really do is to kick MCAT butt (but you want to do that anyway, right?! 🙂 ) and hope for the best. You have a chance.

And yes, Baylor is more OOS friendly (I'm assuming this is the school you're referring to), because it is a private school

 

[longhorn09]

As armybound said, there are a few things that can help your case....unfortunately most are out of your control.

1. Family ties to the region.
2. Stats above average for our schools.
3. Genuine interest in practicing in rural, under served communities.
4. Research or job positions at one of these schools (summer-time option for you or no?)

The only thing you can really do is to kick MCAT butt (but you want to do that anyway, right?! 🙂 ) and hope for the best. You have a chance.

And yes, Baylor is more OOS friendly (I'm assuming this is the school you're referring to), because it is a private school

But Baylor is not in the UT system. OP said there is one school within UT system that is OOS friendly. I wonder which school is it? I am guessing UTSW.

 

[kansaskid]

I want to go to Texas so badly. I am so sick of Boston weather...

 

[tixe]

The only two that are oos friendly, UT southwestern and Baylor. UTSW is bound by the Texas law but will take the max allowable where Baylor has taken up to 40% in the past I have been told. All the other schools take very few oos. I have been at a few interviews so far and the oos candidates are coming from the top of the game BU/Duke/Yale. Same goes for Cali UC schools and Stanford being private but I think Cali oos is higher than Texas.

 

[aggie08]

But Baylor is not in the UT system. OP said there is one school within UT system that is OOS friendly. I wonder which school is it? I am guessing UTSW.

O yeah, I didn't see that. I guess they must have been referring to UTSW....although I wouldn't call them OOS friendly, just sliiiightly oos friend-lier than the others. 😛

 

[armybound]

The only two that are oos friendly, UT southwestern and Baylor. UTSW is bound by the Texas law but will take the max allowable where Baylor has taken up to 40% in the past I have been told. All the other schools take very few oos. I have been at a few interviews so far and the oos candidates are coming from the top of the game BU/Duke/Yale. Same goes for Cali UC schools and Stanford being private but I think Cali oos is higher than Texas.

All of the Texas public schools are required to fill at least 90% of their class with Texas residents, as far as I know.

 

[tixe]

armybound you are correct. All public schools have to follow the no more than 10% guideline for oos student enrollment. The only school that is exempt is Baylor.

 

[Jolie South]

The only two that are oos friendly, UT southwestern and Baylor. UTSW is bound by the Texas law but will take the max allowable where Baylor has taken up to 40% in the past I have been told. All the other schools take very few oos. I have been at a few interviews so far and the oos candidates are coming from the top of the game BU/Duke/Yale. Same goes for Cali UC schools and Stanford being private but I think Cali oos is higher than Texas.

No, this is not true. While Baylor is private, the school accepts funding from the state of Texas, so they will not accept that high of a percentage OOS. It's 75% instate and 25% OOS.

 

[kypreos]

But Baylor is not in the UT system. OP said there is one school within UT system that is OOS friendly. I wonder which school is it? I am guessing UTSW.

yes UTSW is it

As armybound said, there are a few things that can help your case....unfortunately most are out of your control.

1. Family ties to the region.
2. Stats above average for our schools.
3. Genuine interest in practicing in rural, under served communities.
4. Research or job positions at one of these schools (summer-time option for you or no?)

The only thing you can really do is to kick MCAT butt (but you want to do that anyway, right?! 🙂 ) and hope for the best. You have a chance.

And yes, Baylor is more OOS friendly (I'm assuming this is the school you're referring to), because it is a private school

thank you for the positive encouragement. And yes, kicking the MCAT's but is part of the plan!

I want to go to Texas so badly. I am so sick of Boston weather...

I'm done with the northeast in general

The only two that are oos friendly, UT southwestern and Baylor. UTSW is bound by the Texas law but will take the max allowable where Baylor has taken up to 40% in the past I have been told. All the other schools take very few oos. I have been at a few interviews so far and the oos candidates are coming from the top of the game BU/Duke/Yale. Same goes for Cali UC schools and Stanford being private but I think Cali oos is higher than Texas.

baylor is out of the cards IMO the stats for acceptance are very high, I am not saying that it is impossible for me but even if I had say the average 3.6 and 30 mcat,and I lived in texas my chances at that school would be low. also I'm coming from a small liberal arts school in southern jersey, No top tier school. that sucks

armybound you are correct. All public schools have to follow the no more than 10% guideline for oos student enrollment. The only school that is exempt is Baylor.

so you need to have some legits stats.

 

[tixe]

No, this is not true. While Baylor is private, the school accepts funding from the state of Texas, so they will not accept that high of a percentage OOS. It's 75% instate and 25% OOS.

I met with the admissions department 2 weeks ago at an interview and they said they are not bound by any Texas law pertaining to admissions percentages, thats all I know.

 

[jcm14]

You should definitely try. Apply to ALL of the TMDSAS schools if you are an OOS student and want to prove that you are interested in living in Texas. I applied this year as an OOS student with strong ties to Texas, a <3.5 gpa and 31 MCAT, and have one interview (so far!). Apply, write the optional essay about why you want to live in Texas, and hope for the best!

 

[aggie08]

Apply to ALL of the TMDSAS schools if you are an OOS student and want to prove that you are interested in living in Texas.

I second this. Don't limit yourself to the UT schools, the non-UT schools tend to be less stat-oriented in my experiences.

 

[Jolie South]

I met with the admissions department 2 weeks ago at an interview and they said they are not bound by any Texas law pertaining to admissions percentages, thats all I know.

I go there, and historically the school's OOS percentage hovers around 25%. I don't know if that's a "rule" or not, but that's what it's been for the recent past.

We do receive state funding even though we are a private school. The reasoning behind this was to allow Baylor to compete for in-state students that otherwise would go to the Texas state schools due to cost.

 

[GoSpursGo]

I met with the admissions department 2 weeks ago at an interview and they said they are not bound by any Texas law pertaining to admissions percentages, thats all I know.

True, but then they'd lose some of their state funding. In practice, they're probably going to stay around 70ish%.

 

[kansaskid]

so what constitutes a 'strong tie' to Texas and is there a place on the application to report it? For example, my mother's family is from Texas, she was born in Waco, and her parents and grandparents lived there the entire time I was growing up...I visited a few times when I was little...or does a strong tie mean something more like..."i lived there until I was 15 and then my family moved" ...?

 

[jcm14]

Use whatever tie you have to explain why you want to live in Texas. Mine was the "I lived in Texas until I was 15" one though. I used the "describe a unique experience" essay to explain why I left Texas and why I now really, really want to return. There are two optional essays on the TMDSAS application, either of which could be used to explain your ties (even if it is a bit of a stretch, given the prompts).

 

[armybound]

so what constitutes a 'strong tie' to Texas and is there a place on the application to report it? For example, my mother's family is from Texas, she was born in Waco, and her parents and grandparents lived there the entire time I was growing up...I visited a few times when I was little...or does a strong tie mean something more like..."i lived there until I was 15 and then my family moved" ...?

Does having family there make you want to practice medicine in Texas? Not just go to school there, but to stay there the rest of your life.