Where do I have better chance of getting into med school VA or TX?

[doc@2025]

Hello,
I would be grateful if you could give some suggestion so that I can make an informed and meaningful decision for my son who wants to be doctor.

We currently live in VA and I have an option to move to Texas. (I am fully aware of the residency requirements. We will move to TX and live there for indefinite period if it helps my son).
I understand it depends on lot of factors. But assuming all things equal (GPA, MCAT and other relevant experiences), will he have better of chance of getting into med school in Texas as an in-state applicant vs limited schools/opportunities here in Virginia? I see Texas has 16 schools vs 6 in VA).
He is currently 3rd year undergrad and plans to take a gap year.

cGPA and sGPA ~ 3.8. (Hopefully might go up a little).
MCAT based on the practice tests - 514 (of course, just to give some idea for better understanding).
Research @nih during two summers and once at U-Pitt and many volunteering and clinical hours. (I will provide details in another post following the template for the same)

Very thankful for any insights regarding this.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[AJS59]

Hello,
I would be grateful if you could give some suggestion so that I can make an informed and meaningful decision for my son who wants to be doctor.

We currently live in VA and I have an option to move to Texas. (I am fully aware of the residency requirements. We will move to TX and live there for indefinite period).
I understand it depends on lot of factors. But assuming all things equal (GPA, MCAT and other relevant experiences), will he have better of chance of getting into med school in Texas as an in-state applicant vs limited schools/opportunities here in Virginia? I see Texas has 16 schools vs 6 in VA).

Very thankful for any insights regarding this.

I think it's up to you and your goals. If your goal is to go to medical school in the state that you would be living in (either Virginia or Texas), then I'd say take the move to Texas, if nothing else but for the tuition (and depending on where you currently live/move to, lower cost of living). If you want to go to med school somewhere outside of either state though, then perhaps you'd be better served by remaining in Virginia. Applicants with Texas residency generally have an uphill battle for OOS med schools because many med schools (rightly so) assume that you'll stay in Texas.

So in summary, I don't think it'll make any impact on your ability to get into a med school period (the rest of your application matters more), but it might have an impact on which med schools you might get into.

*EDIT* - just read this is for your son. I believe my advice is the same, but would your son move to Texas with you, or is he claiming residency based on your address.

 

[TennCare]

Hello,
I would be grateful if you could give some suggestion so that I can make an informed and meaningful decision for my son who wants to be doctor.

We currently live in VA and I have an option to move to Texas. (I am fully aware of the residency requirements. We will move to TX and live there for indefinite period).
I understand it depends on lot of factors. But assuming all things equal (GPA, MCAT and other relevant experiences), will he have better of chance of getting into med school in Texas as an in-state applicant vs limited schools/opportunities here in Virginia? I see Texas has 16 schools vs 6 in VA).

Very thankful for any insights regarding this.

he should probably figure out where he wants to do undergrad before he starts selecting a state to complete medical school

 

[txbritish]

Hello,
I would be grateful if you could give some suggestion so that I can make an informed and meaningful decision for my son who wants to be doctor.

We currently live in VA and I have an option to move to Texas. (I am fully aware of the residency requirements. We will move to TX and live there for indefinite period).
I understand it depends on lot of factors. But assuming all things equal (GPA, MCAT and other relevant experiences), will he have better of chance of getting into med school in Texas as an in-state applicant vs limited schools/opportunities here in Virginia? I see Texas has 16 schools vs 6 in VA).

Very thankful for any insights regarding this.

TX applicants are at an advantage because the majority of the schools have to compose their classes of at least 90% from in state. Not sure if this is the case of VA schools.

 

[pablo213]

@wysdoc thoughts?

 

[doc@2025]

he should probably figure out where he wants to do undergrad before he starts selecting a state to complete medical school

Thank you. My son is in the Jr year Undergrad. He will most likely be taking a gap year.

 

[doc@2025]

TX applicants are at an advantage because the majority of the schools have to compose their classes of at least 90% from in state. Not sure if this is the case of VA schools.

Thank you. Thats what I was thinking.
My son is in Jr year Undergrad will likely take a gap year. He will move with us after he graduates. He will have strong ties to VA (completed his HS here) and hence wont miss his opportunities here, even when we move. However, if we do move, It will open up more opportunities for him by the fact that there are greater number of public schools that are required to take in-state students in TX and he will be an in-state as a dependent of parents living in Texas. Is that a reasonable assumption?

 

[wysdoc]

@wysdoc thoughts?

You have to reside in Texas for 12 months or longer, to qualify as a Texas resident. This 12 month period is counted “as of Nov 1” in the year you will be submitting an application.
If you, his parents, moved to Texas before Nov1 2024 he should qualify in time to apply in the 2025-2026 cycle.

 

[doc@2025]

You have to reside in Texas for 12 months or longer, to qualify as a Texas resident. This 12 month period is counted “as of Nov 1” in the year you will be submitting an application.
If you, his parents, moved to Texas before Nov1 2024 he should qualify in time to apply in the 2025-2026 cycle.

Thank you for the info. What is your thought on how this move would affect his chances of getting into med school in TX? Positive, negative or doesn't matter?

 

[wysdoc]

Thank you for the info. What is your thought on how this move would affect his chances of getting into med school in TX? Positive, negative or doesn't matter?

Positive for getting into a Texas school, as 90% of matriculants are TX residents.
The percentage of applicants getting in is similar to that of AMCAS, about 40%.

So, if you didn't end up moving to Texas and he applied to AMCAS schools instead, his odds of admission are about the same.
Odds are dependent on his stats and activities, as well as wise AMCAS school selection

 

[gyngyn]

TX residents have a 33.7% chance of matriculating IS. VA is 16.7...

https://www.aamc.org/media/6016/download?attachment

 

[Mr.Smile12]

A splash of cold water here. (I appreciate the intentions of the poster to help position their child for medical school, and moving to another state involves many more issues than this simple one, so understand my thoughts with this in mind.)

Most medical schools will adhere to mission-focused holistic selection. Part of that mission is focused on helping applicants who have grown up in the communities the schools are charged to train and serve. We can look numerically at chances of admission, but the outcomes reflect the aggregate admissions policies these schools have to play with.

Many Texas schools take socioeconomic status and its effects on life experiences during childhood very seriously. Each applicant's disclosure of impactful experiences, parental employment/education, and school resources points to this determination. The current residency is only one factor in this calculation. If the applicant has grown up in medically underserved areas of Texas, the applicant will likely get some more attention. This is the case for a few of the Texas medical schools that have explicitly stated and asked candidates about their familiarity with the communities in their areas (as it would be for California).

If the OP's family has the option of moving to Texas due to military-related reasons, both Texas and Virginia value military-related applicants within their classes, and Texas will have more seats available in comparison. But I'm not sure if your chances (per seat) is much better for Texas in this situation.

In the end, if the candidate had lived a childhood in one stable area where they have the greatest familiarity with health needs in that community, that state would likely have interest.