what state is it the hardest to be 'average' in as an instate applicant? genuinely curious

[med112]

I've heard that there are some states where it is better to be an in-state applicant than others, but what causes these differences? For instance, would a 512 3.7 applicant fair better in Texas, California, Florida, or some other states?

(I have no plans on changing on my state of residency lol I'm genuinely just curious to know what is behind this)

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[Lifeblood_20]

Great question. I think it depends on:
1. the total # of applicants from that state
2. the proportion of applicants that are "excellent"
3. the # of IS med schools, and
4. how much IS preference those schools have

Taken together, I believe it's hard to be successful as an "average" applicant from states like CA and NY. There are a LOT of applicants from these states and many of their state schools have little preference for IS applicants. When the average CA or NY applicant applies out of state, they would be compared to with the applicant pool from their state, where there is no shortage of outstanding applicants.

 

[Rheopecty]

The hardest? Probably California. The number of in-state schools that are not mission or region driven is low, compared to the number of applicants from the state. Compared to Florida or NY, where you could reasonably apply to any part of the state with less issues (although it is still difficult).

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

 

[Goro]

I've heard that there are some states where it is better to be an in-state applicant than others, but what causes these differences? For instance, would a 512 3.7 applicant fair better in Texas, California, Florida, or some other states?

(I have no plans on changing on my state of residency lol I'm genuinely just curious to know what is behind this)

CA is a net exporter of medical students. That's because there is a huge pool of talented candidates. UCLA alone pumps out enough pre-meds to fill every CA MD school.

The excess is so great that my DO school gets a fair share of MD-caliber CA kids who would rather stay on our side of the Missouri River, than go to, say, Drexel or Albany.

 

[med112]

Thank you for all the perspectives!! can say im very humbled in my small northeastern state 😅