Medicine: California vs Texas vs Other

Pre-Med & Medical School
1

Hello all! I’m a high school senior in California and my goal’s to become a licensed physician. I’ve read a bit and what I’m seeing is California is quite a difficult place for aspiring medical practitioners. Because of this, my family was thinking that Texas may be better. We’ve heard from a family member that medical schools in Texas give preference to residents. Would it be worth it to move there for a better chance? We keep hearing that medical schools in California are extremely difficult to get into. Really our focus is on getting that secure doctor career the most sure way possible.

We’re also bamboozled about community colleges. We keep hearing that it’s often better to complete the first two years there and then transfer to a four year university, as the setting allows for closer interaction with professors, leading to better grades and experience opportunities. After the first two years, I could simply transfer over, and that way my GPA will also be cushioned, correct? We were wondering: if this is true, then why is this not a more popular option? Why is there so much fuss about getting into more picky schools? Do medical school application reviewers care if applicants first went to CC? All this has got my head spinning, I’d really appreciate some guidance!

Some important info: I have a weighted 4.02 GPA, a 1440 SAT, and a decent collection of extra curricular activities. My family is saying that cost shouldn’t be something to worry about right now and that I should instead take the best and most effective path to become a doctor. Thanks, deuces <<3

2

For a lot of students/families, pride. Students who are are not 100% sure of medicine (many, many students change their minds; many more discover that they can’t cut it, more discover that they don’t want to make the necessary sacrifices.

No. There are some nuances, though, so paging @WayOutWestMom, who is super-helpful on med school

3

Some med schools will only accept prerequisite classes from a 4 year school.

4

Texas public medical schools are relatively inexpensive (for medical school) for Texas residents. Their residency rules are listed here: https://www.tmdsas.com/PLAN/medical/before-you-apply/residency.html

Regarding starting at community college, some medical schools look down on taking pre-med courses at community colleges, although a typical transfer student (2 years at community college followed by 2 years at a four year school) has to take some of them there due to prerequisite sequencing. For a transfer student, taking many BCPM* upper level courses at a four year school and doing well in them would be the way to show academic strength when they look down at community colleges. This may not be hard to do if your major is in a BCPM subject, but if your major is something else, you need to carefully plan your schedule to have enough BCPM courses at the four year school.

Also, be aware that repeating college courses or AP credit can look like grade grubbing to medical schools.

*A common pre-med chemistry sequence of general 1 → general 2 → organic 1 → organic 2 → biochemistry is 5 semesters long. Also, depending on the student’s major, some may need to be taken before transfer as prerequisites for upper level major courses.

**BCPM = biology, chemistry, physics, math.

5

yes, TX is an excellent place to relocate, obtain residency, and apply to med school. The competition in CA is brutal, primarily bcos the state has fewer med schools per capita than some other states.

Community college is fine if you are extremely low income, and that is your only choice. But again, med school admissions is extremely competitive, and a 3.7 from a major R1 Uni will beat a 3.7 from a juco nearly every time. Similarly, a UC grad has a better shot than a Cal State grad (both unhooked).

(OTOH, attending a juco for more A’s will not hurt an app to law school.)

6

You can’t apply with a ‘3.7 from a juco’- you have to apply with a bachelor’s, not an associate degree.

What is the basis for this assertion? @WayOutWestMom does this fit with your experience?

7

WARNING–long, nit-picky answer ahead!

California vs Texas

California

California is considered a difficult state for pre-meds. It is the single largest producer of med school applicants in the country and its state public med schools are some of the highest ranked in the country. Most of the successful CA med school applicants end up going OOS for med school. (In-state matriculation rate --17.3%; OOS matriculation rate 24.5% Total successful CA applicants–41.8%)

California’s public med schools do not have a strong in-state preference when interviewing/accepting students.

That said the relative percentage of CA applicants who DO end up accepted at a med school is pretty consistent with the national averages (~40%)

BTW, California is not the worst state for pre-meds-- Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, Virginia and Utah all have much lower instate and overall matriculation rates than California. Florida and Oregon are only marginally better than CA.

Texas

Texas does offer a strong a in-state preference when accepting students. By law at least 90% of the matriculating class at all TX public med schools must be TX residents.

Does this make it easier to get accepted as TX resident?

Actually no, it doesn’t. TX also produces a surplus of applicants–more than can be accommodated in TX med schools. The net acceptance rate for in-state TX med school is actually lower than most other states, including CA. (Instate matriculation rate is 29.9%; OOS matriculation rate 5.2%; total matriculation rate - 35.1%–significantly lower than CA)

Additionally, because TX residents who are offered a in-state slot seldom turn it down due to the low cost of med school tuition in TX, most OOS med schools simply do not interview TX applicants. Why should a school waste an interview slot on a student who in all likelihood not matriculate? (Note the low OOS matriculation rate for TX listed above.)

If you want to move to state where you have the strong chance of matriculating into an in-state med school–try the South–Arkansas (42.8%), Kentucky (48.9%), Louisiana (40.7%), South Carolina (40.6%), West Virginia (52.6%) --or the Midwest–Nebraska (40.5%).

**data is from AAMC FACTS database for the 2019-20 cycle.


** CC-->4 year vs 4 year college**

As noted above there are a still a number of medical school that will not accept CC credits for pre-reqs. Probably around 2 dozen.  So going to the CC-->4 year college route is non-ideal. It is possible, but there are additional obstacles faced by students who choose to pursue this pathway. 

Additionally students who take the juco route must wait until they have graduated from college before applying to medical school. Adcomms will want to see 2 years of grades from a 4 year college because many view CC grades as being highly inflated and want to see how the student succeeds in the more competitive environment of a 4 year college.  This means taking at least one gap year before matriculation. (The opportunity cost of delaying med school matriculation by a year = one year of an attending salary or about $250K)

Students who take pre-reqs at a CC are consider less competitive applicants than those who did their pre-reqs at a 4 year college. In the FAQs of many med schools, you will find that most med school expect those who took pre-reqs at a CC to supplement any CC science/math credits with an equal or greater number of credits taken at 4 year college in the same department. IOW, if you take 4 semester of chemistry at a CC (gen chem, ochem), then you need to take an additional 4 semesters of chemistry at your 4 year college (biochem, advanced biochem, analytic, inorganic, pchem, etc) if you want to be considered a competitive applicant. Ditto for math--if take calc 1 and statistics at a CC, then you need to take 2 additional UL math classes at a 4 year college. 

Obviously, the CC--4 year college route will work best for someone who is pursuing a science degree. Taking your science pre-reqs at a CC, then pursuing a non-science major at a 4 year college (and not taking a significant number of UL science/math classes) is an application killer. 

**CC GPA vs GPA from a 4 year**

While it is true that AMCAS calculates your GPA based upon all credits you have taken ever, your GPA is broken down and reported on a year by year basis in your application. If your CC GPA is high and your GPA at your 4 year is lower, then the perception is that you are a weak student who couldn't compete with the stronger students and/or more complex material at the 4 year. A downward GPA trend is a guaranteed application killer. (It's an application killer even if you do all 4 years at a 4 year college.)
1 Like
8

There are a lot of misconceptions in this thread. First off, you’re going to pay out of state tuition if you go to college in Texas. The question becomes, is it really beneficial? The answer is no. You’re not going to get any more benefit paying triple the tuition as you could do in CA. Plus, if you’re really interested in medicine, you need to keep the debt down, because medical school is very expensive.

Second, medical schools look at grades and MCAT scores. If those are competitive, then you’ll be a competitive candidate. People go to community college for a variety of reasons. In fact, it’s encouraged if you plan medical school. It keeps undergraduate debt down. Own it. It makes you look more mature when you apply to medical school.

Third, your best chance for medical school is your home state, because they give preference to state residents.

9

Thanks for the insight. So do you think the best course of action would be trying my best in California at a four year university? Try to keep a high GPA, meaningful extra curriculars, MCAT, etc, and go from there?

And let’s say money wasn’t even something to consider. What’s the most effective route for someone in my place?

10

Thank you, I truly do appreciate the long, nit-picky answers! So in your view, the smartest way to go about it would be to give it my best shot here in California at a four year institution, right? If I were to become a resident and apply to a med school OOS, it should be in one of the other states you mentioned, and NOT Texas?

11

@Rah49635

California is a great place to do pre-med. You have a large number of excellent colleges to choose from and reasonable in-state tuition.

I would not advise uprooting and moving your entire family just because at some undefined future date another state may have a higher in-state acceptance rate for med school.

The journey to become a physician is a very long and challenging one and most pre-med hopefuls will drop off the path along the way. Don’t plan for a future that may not happen. For now, concentrate on getting into a college that is a good fit, is priced right and offers you a breadth of opportunities.

If in 4 (or more) years, you have all the necessary pieces in place for a strong med school application, then you can consider establishing residency in another state. Or you can just stay in CA and apply broadly from there.