Which Schools to Avoid as an OOS Applicant?

[Ask]

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Okay, I'm a traditional applicant applying this summer with a cumulative/science GPA of 3.3 and a rounded-30 MCAT. I'm a New York resident and plan to apply VERY broadly on my primary application due to my low GPA. (I am only applying to DO schools.)

From my personal research I have put together a list of schools that do not seem to be very OOS friendly. I would definitely like some feed back on schools I may be missing or am wrong about. I plan to submit my primary next week so getting some feedback soon would be great!

Unfriendly OOS Schools:
TCOM
MSUCOM
OSUCOM
OUCOM
PNWU
WCUCOM
WUCOMP - Oregon

Questionable:
WVSOM
Rocky Vista

 

[sylvanthus]

Yes avoid PNWU.

 

[nicolemsm]

UNECOM is little biased towards northeastern'ers' (may not be a problem being a NY resident)

WesternU/COMP in Oregon (WICHE states)

GA-PCOM (towards Southern region)

 

[Ask]

Are you sure about GA-PCOM, I am applying to the other PCOM. Do you think applying to different campuses has any effect on one's application? Like the 3 Touros or the 2 LECOMS...ect..

Should I avoid both WesternUs, California and Oregon?

 

[MedPR]

PCOM and UMDNJ-SOM. I applied to Western Pomona and I don't think they have a strong regional preference.

 

[drshark]

actually pamona does favor in state, they don't outright say it, but their stats show over 80% IS, and their dean mentioned their preference as well, but maybe its bc the majority of applicants are west coast? I do know of people from the east coast getting in though

 

[nirvikalpa]

WV, really?

 

[oms2]

i wouldn't categorically rule out the state schools if their application fees are low.

 

[circulus vitios]

Exactly how state/regionally biased are UNTHSC/TCOM, OSU-COM, GA-PCOM, and UMDNJ-SOM?

 

[nirvikalpa]

Exactly how state/regionally biased are UNTHSC/TCOM, OSU-COM, GA-PCOM, and UMDNJ-SOM?

umdnj is extremely regionally biased, 85% of their class is NJ residents, with the rest usually having 30+ MCAT's and high GPAs.

 

[doublefrick]

Don't apply to MSU-COM, UMDNJ, or Oklahoma. OU-HCOM will take 25% OOS an is an awesome program so it's worth a shot

 

[UrshumMurshum]

TCOM is forced to take 90% IS students. (It's IS for me )

Also you have to apply through TMDSAS if you're going to be applying to TCOM.

I heard MSU isn't necessarily regionally biased, but that their OOS tuition is so high that people largely self select.

 

[The kitchen sink]

okay, i'm a traditional applicant applying this summer with a cumulative/science gpa of 3.3 and a rounded-30 mcat. I'm a new york resident and plan to apply very broadly on my primary application due to my low gpa. (i am only applying to do schools.)

from my personal research i have put together a list of schools that do not seem to be very oos friendly. I would definitely like some feed back on schools i may be missing or am wrong about. I plan to submit my primary next week so getting some feedback soon would be great!

unfriendly oos schools:
tcom
mscucom
osucom
oucom
wvsom
rocky vista

( pnwu not sure about this one?)

nycom?

 

[dntke1518]

I was unaware that RVU had any bias... I could be wrong. Everything else is correct, make sure you avoid PNWU for sure, they will put your app off to the side until the end of December or January (they send a little e-mail letting you know)

 

[411309]

WCU takes mainly gulf states, so I reccomend not applying since you're from new york. Pikeville is prefers KY residents and nova gives a bit of a preference to florida resident.

 

[circulus vitios]

Don't apply to MSU-COM, UMDNJ, or Oklahoma. OU-HCOM will take 25% OOS an is an awesome program so it's worth a shot

Even as an applicant with a 3.7-3.8 GPA?

 

[The kitchen sink]

Even as an applicant with a 3.7-3.8 GPA?

If you don't mind shelling out the dough, do it. Oklahoma has Goljan as their path professor, I believe... can't let that opportunity slide

 

[Ask]

PCOM and UMDNJ-SOM. I applied to Western Pomona and I don't think they have a strong regional preference.

What was your state of residence? and what makes you say that?

 

[circulus vitios]

Some data I pulled from each school's website just now:

UMDNJ-SOM: Up to 25% OOS.
UNTHSC/TCOM: 9% OOS. (State mandate that 90% or more of each class is composed of Texas residents.)
Western U/COMP: 17% OOS. (8% West coast, 3% Midwest, 2% East coast, 2% South, 2% International.)
OSU-COM: 14% OOS.

 

[MedPR]

What was your state of residence? and what makes you say that?

Missouri. What makes me say what?

 

[NurWollen]

WVSOM currently, according to their website, has 230 students from West Virginia and 588 students from 47 other states. I just applied, we'll see how I do. They had a recruiter come to a grad school fair at my small, private, western-U.S. undergrad. I never knew a single person from West Virginia at my undergrad.

In short, I don't think they have as strong an in-state preference as other state schools.

 

[lolcat]

Any more info on Western (ponoma campus)? I've heard great things about that school and they have an impressive match list. I'm from Florida if that matters.

 

[yas710]

is this list accurate? I'm a wisconsin resident.

 

[maybemed2013]

Refer to the link in this post.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=1009598

 

[TwinsFan]

TCOM is big on service ECs. So as an OOS you want 3.6+/28+ with excellent ECs and preferably ties to the state to get an interview. From who I tallked to most of their OOS were moderately-very allo competitive but chose to go to TCOM.

 

[TylerMcM]

Im from Texas with a 3.3 GPA and 25 MCAT. I had no isses getting interviews at PNWU, WVSOM, KYCOM, or William Cary.

 

[preopgirl91]

Im from Texas with a 3.3 GPA and 25 MCAT. I had no isses getting interviews at PNWU, WVSOM, KYCOM, or William Cary.

nice! which did you go with?

 

[Strudel19]

Like others said, definitely leave out MSU-COM. 86% of students are in-state and the OOS tuition is obscene. The website says they have a strong preference for in-state students. I'm from Michigan and personally know a few in the school and they say the same.

 

[SurgeDO]

.

 

[Back 5]

Oklahoma State certainly seems to be regionally biased. Links show they accept 104/114 matriculants from in-state. Don't think I have the stats or the ties to the area to be one of those 10 oos folks.

 

[Dreamstoo]

PCOM and UMDNJ-SOM. I applied to Western Pomona and I don't think they have a strong regional preference.

I live in NY would that be an issue? These are two schools I would love to apply to once I graduate.

 

[aslan]

OMS-2 here, what I did was look at the tuition difference between IS and OOS. At schools where there was a significant difference, I didn't apply.

 

[advair250]

MSUCOM is not biased toward in-state students. THE STATE IN WHICH YOU LIVE HAS NO IMPACT ON YOUR APPLICATION WITH MSUCOM.

Because there are so many scholarships at MSUCOM, OOS students pay close to/less than in-state students. Don't believe me? The proof is in the pudding as momma always said:

http://finaid.msu.edu/read/prospectcom.pdf

That is misleading. I assume people who are oos would be more likely to have parental support or saved assets to afford the higher cost of MSU vs a different school.

Just because the indebtness for OOS is not significantly higher, this DOES NOT imply they got significant scholarships, this could simply imply they have a better financial situation.

 

[advair250]

You can also see the numbers don't add up, why does the indebtness for all 192 grads have a value just below the 10 nonresident tuition paying grads? A simple weighted average gets you $188981. Not taking into account the 3 special cases.

Again, don't make false inferences from reported data.

 

[TylerMcM]

nice! which did you go with?

I chose KYCOM because I liked the location and their resources. For financial reasons I only interviewed at KYCOM and then Edward Via in SC. I was pretty sold on KYCOM before I ever went to the second one. All told I applied to 15 schools, was granted interviews at 6 of them, went to 2 interviews and was accepted at both.

 

[SurgeDO]

You can also see the numbers don't add up, why does the indebtness for all 192 grads have a value just below the 10 nonresident tuition paying grads? A simple weighted average gets you $188981. Not taking into account the 3 special cases.

Again, don't make false inferences from reported data.

Although it's subtle, I see what you are doing. You are going to be a fantastic gunner, and I will not be the one to rain on your parade.

Gun on, my friend.

 

[Back 5]

Bottom line with MSU...OOS should apply because financial aid will work with you to bring tuition costs down, or avoid because there are cheaper options for OOS students?

My federal loans are maxed, so I will need Grad Plus to pay for everything. The interest rate difference means I need to worry about the financial implications of another medical school debt.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Some data I pulled from each school's website just now:

UMDNJ-SOM: Up to 25% OOS.
UNTHSC/TCOM: 9% OOS. (State mandate that 90% or more of each class is composed of Texas residents.)
Western U/COMP: 17% OOS. (8% West coast, 3% Midwest, 2% East coast, 2% South, 2% International.)
OSU-COM: 14% OOS.

Class composition means little. What matters if interview pool composition. If UMDNJ interviews 5% of all OOS apps and only accepts 20% of them then applying there is not going to be fruitful.


* Disclaimer: Numbers not real, made up to prove point.

 

[Cells4life]

im sry to sound stupid ( rough day lol) but does that mean we should not believe those data reports on OOS students vs in state residents?

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

im sry to sound stupid ( rough day lol) but does that mean we should not believe those data reports on OOS students vs in state residents?

No, it's just you shouldn't look at a class composition, see that 50% is OOS and immediately assume that 50% of interviewed candidates are OOS. Look at Rush University, 50% OOS class, borderline minimal OOSers interviewed. The reason being that most in-state admitted applicants will choose another school.

 

[MakesSense]

WCU takes mainly gulf states, so I reccomend not applying since you're from new york. Pikeville is prefers KY residents and nova gives a bit of a preference to florida resident.

While there is a PREFERENCE for those from Gulf South States, there are several people at WCUCOM from the Northeast. You will never know until you try. You will only be out the Primary fee as they will not waste your time or money if they are not interested. We have students from all over, including California and a large contingent of Texans. Good luck in the application process!

BTW, From the info I got from an OSU-COM student last summer, this year was Dr. Goljan's last year teaching.

 

[geh926]

Just a random question to help me narrow down my list

Money and/or regional biases aside,

Which schools did you NOT apply to and why not?

 

[coolingglasses]

I wouldn't even say WVSOM is questionable w/r/t accepted applicants.

The bias towards in-staters exists in their school policies, if anything (tuition, deposit fees).

 

[coolingglasses]

And if you can demonstrate any connection to the PNW/Inland NW, PNWU is worth a shot.

 

[jhu6569]

While there is a PREFERENCE for those from Gulf South States, there are several people at WCUCOM from the Northeast. You will never know until you try. You will only be out the Primary fee as they will not waste your time or money if they are not interested. We have students from all over, including California and a large contingent of Texans. Good luck in the application process!

BTW, From the info I got from an OSU-COM student last summer, this year was Dr. Goljan's last year teaching.

Note from a faculty member and member of the admissions committee: WCUCOM DOES require, usually, at least some established "tie" to the Gulf South (yep, we include Texas, FL etc. in this area!) Accepted students from, say New England (MY home area!) have most probably completed some graduate work at a school located in the Gulf South region, or have original family ties to the region, etc. Our core recruiting region in MS-AR-LA-TX and all adjoining states.

It is correct that we have students in our classes from CA, OK (several), NY, and Canada (just to pull examples from memory). However, our mission statement is clear, and is important to us. Please find it and read it before applying.

If in doubt, contact our admissions office and discuss your issue. I sincerely think that you will find us to be much more attentive to individual potential applicant inquiries than are many other medical schools, osteopathic or allopathic.

 

[as1212559]

While there is a PREFERENCE for those from Gulf South States, there are several people at WCUCOM from the Northeast. You will never know until you try. You will only be out the Primary fee as they will not waste your time or money if they are not interested. We have students from all over, including California and a large contingent of Texans. Good luck in the application process!

BTW, From the info I got from an OSU-COM student last summer, this year was Dr. Goljan's last year teaching.

This rumor seems to be prevalent. The incoming second years were told the same thing. It hasn't materialized.

If you are competitive stats-wise and can afford it you should apply. Those 10% of people from oos at these schools are real people. They didn't get their seats by avoiding the schools because they read some percentages online.

 

[AlabamaPop]

This rumor seems to be prevalent. The incoming second years were told the same thing. It hasn't materialized.

If you are competitive stats-wise and can afford it you should apply. Those 10% of people from oos at these schools are real people. They didn't get their seats by avoiding the schools because they read some percentages online.