<p>Hello. I am a currently a senior in hs but next year I'm going to Rice in Texas. My mother lives in OH and my father lives in GA. Currently, I live in GA but not with my father. Because I plan to attend medical school, I want to know which state will give me the best benefit into getting into medical school. I am leaning towards OH because it has the more public medical schools that GA and I'll already be in TX (not sure if that counts for anything).</p>
<p>Basically, in terms of public schools with quotas, which state would be best to become a resident of? GA, TX, or OH?</p>
<p>Why Texas?
It appears to me that there are more medical schools in New York. How about Illinois where there are many medical schools, relative to the size of its population?</p>
<p>The scores (in GPA at least, not necessarily MCAT) for Texas medical admissions seem to be not that low.</p>
<p>It is well known that one big plus for Texas medical schools is that they are all very cheap for in-state.</p>
<p>The OP gave us three option: TX, GA, and OH. TX has seven medical schools with in-state preference; GA has three (two?); OH has 4. Texas has a better spread of programs, a matching system, and the advantage of being the easiest for the OP to interview at since she’ll be in Texas already. If she can, I’d go for residency there. But that might be rather a large “if”, since TX has relatively tough rules.</p>
<p>Oops…I did not read OP’s question carefully. TX is definitely the best of these three.</p>
<p>Not related to OP’s question but related to TX medical schools:</p>
<p>UT System just changes its grading system to the plus/minus system, starting fall of 2009. There is no grandfathering for sophomores, juniors, and seniors. So, for the application cycle next year, there will be many applicants whose grades will have a mix of plus/minus grades and non-plus/minus grades. It will be interesting to see how TMDSAS will calculate the GPA.</p>
<p>It will be interesting to see how TMDSAS will calculate the GPA. </p>
<p>According to the TMDSAS website- For those entering med school 2010 there is no change from the current system- simple 4.0, 3.0, etc. + and - are ignored. In the future? Who knows?</p>
<p>It may not work if you just register to vote there or rent an apartment.</p>
<p>If you are a dependent and your parents relocate to TX, it will work for sure. It may work if your family is rich enough to buy you some real-estate properties (need to be in your name, I think). (not 100% sure for the latter though.)</p>
<p>It is rumored that if you were graduated from a high school in TX, you will be considered as a Texas resident.</p>
<p>It does not concern you but it is quite strange that, for the undergraduate admission purpose in TX, an applicant can be not a US citizen (maybe not even a permanent resident) but still a Texas resident (and pay in-state tuitions). Or, somebody is not really an in-state officially but still pay in-state tuition.</p>
<p>BCM is a private medical school, but the tuition paid by in-state matriculants is similar to what they would pay for a state medical school. How can you find such a deal in other state?! Welcome to the “Republic of Texas”!</p>
<p>This is big news to me that being a TX resident might be some sort of advantage in med school admissions. </p>
<p>And to shed a new light on a sporadic family disagreement… </p>
<p>How do medical school opportunities in Texas compare to ones in CA? We occasionally bemoan the fact that we moved from northern CA to Austin 11 years ago, because our h.s. junior and senior would have had better choices of “cheap and great” UC schools versus UT basically. </p>
<p>Are the TX med schools better for TX residents, as compared to CA med schools for CA residents? </p>
<p>I realize I’m jumping the gun a bit because D2 is only in high school, but we’re thinking about the whole financial picture. Admittedly, I’m very new to all things med and pre-med, but I’m projecting 8 years of tuition at $50,000 (undergrad + med school or something postgrad), so I’m strongly encouraging D2 to go instate undergrad or try to get merit aid somewhere. Maybe I shouldn’t have such a heavy hand with our financial limitations if med school is not as expensive as I thought?</p>
<p>Also, if I cant get residency in TX, will going to Rice still give me an advantage over Texan medical schools?
I’m graduating from a school in GA.
Also, neither of my parents claim me as dependent.</p>
<p>yea cali kids get have it hard. it is extremely hard to get into a CA school even if a CA resident. Texas on the other hard, it is not as hard. good thing i live in texas. i love texas <3</p>
<p>“UT System just changes its grading system to the plus/minus system, starting fall of 2009. There is no grandfathering for sophomores, juniors, and seniors. So, for the application cycle next year, there will be many applicants whose grades will have a mix of plus/minus grades and non-plus/minus grades. It will be interesting to see how TMDSAS will calculate the GPA.”</p>
<p>ur refering to undergrad right? my school already does this which everyone at my school hates. good thing ut austin will get it too lol. will this have any effect on the tmdas gpa conversion? they’re still not taking account plus/minus right?</p>
<p>I went to an undergrad college that used +/-, when I applied to Texas schools using TMDSAS I thought it would make a major change in the GPA calculation-TURNING MY B+'S INTO B’S, but it made only a fraction of a point GPA difference as it turned A-'s into A’s etc. You will be surprised on how little difference it makes. I suppose if you had nothing but B+'s(a 3.3 turned into a 3.0) but that is rare. Most people have a mix and it all ‘comes out in the wash’ as they say.</p>
<p>There is an advantage for Texas residents when applying to Texas medical schools.</p>
<p>Texas public medical schools are mandated by state law to enroll 90% in state students which means that Texas residents do get preference in the admissions process. This does not however mean than an OOS student attending a Texas university gets the same advantages.</p>
<p>Texas is also a great place to practice medicine because the negotiated insurance pay rates for physicians are among the nation’s highest, there is no state income tax and we have a relatively low cost of living with housing really being a deal here when compared to places in NY, CA, DC even most major SE cities.</p>
<p>Whats your definition of super cheap, pyles? Are you considering doing that now, or waiting until you move off campus say, soph yr and then stay there for 3 years. You would have to have the downpayment, qualify for a mortgage (assuming you don’t have the cash to pay up front), pay the utilities,property/school taxes, insurance, etc, and whatever you buy will likely need renovations/repairs which will cost $$ as well. Then, when you go to med school, if it isnt in Houston, you’ll have to sell the property or try to rent it out-- not an easy thing to do. If you do, you’ll need a local realtor/landlord or such to handle the management of it, and that costs $$ too (usually a percent of the rent).</p>
<p>Will any/all of this affect the need-based $$ you are getting from Rice? Even if you do become a Tx resident, not sure what all this will do to your FA from year to year. Yes, TX has no state tax, which is a good thing compared to GA (dont know about OH), but you will have to file taxes in Tx, and if you are being declared a dependent of another family member’s taxes, they will lose that benefit. All this is pretty complex. If you have enough $$$ to buy a place and pay for the repairs and maintenance, maybe you should just bank it away and save it for med school instead. Just a thought.</p>
<p>Go to the school residency sites and find the form which must be completed, that will show you everything you need to do.</p>
<p>AustinHills- the above posts seem correct, in everything I have read it is a good thing to be a resident of any state other than CA for med school, most of the western states do not allow any one other than their residents; I think to protect themselves from a glut of high stat Californians!</p>