Does my state matter?

[Nontrad_FL_LGBT]

With Roe being under fire for reasons beyond my understanding, talk of gay marriage being next on the chopping block, and the general trans panic going on the past couple years, my fiance and I are simply no longer comfortable in our home state of Florida. We are planning to pursue assisted fertility as a transgender couple over the next few years as well, and I would be incredibly bitter if this was unable to happen because of the current political climate in our area. Therefore, we are considering moving to a new state prior to my upcoming application to medical school (24-25 cycle). We would of course wait to establish residency prior to any application if it ends up happening too late for that cycle.

Would this be a huge mistake? I know Florida has a ton of schools in it but a lot of them are super OOS friendly so I'm not sure that it even matters much. I'd be unlikely to apply to any of them if we did leave, and restrict my applications to more trans friendly locales where I'm less likely to be actively legislated against. Other than that I'm really not picky and would be happy to attend any med school, MD or DO. I am currently a rural FM hopeful and don't really see myself entering a competitive surgical field in any circumstance.

States we are currently considering include: WA, OR, VT, ME, CO, NM, even potentially something Midwestern like IL/MN/WI. I would be totally open to hearing any further suggestions that might be particularly friendly for a med school hopeful.

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[KnightDoc]

My heartfelt advice is to not try to arrange your life around where you might, maybe, potentially, have a marginally better shot at an IS admission to a public medical school. Since the political climate in FL is becoming increasingly hostile to you, just figure out where you'll be happiest and go there. The rest will sort itself out.

There is no way to know what a med school application cycle is going to look like in 2025. Strong applicants find success in all 50 states. Weak ones don't. Focus on being happy and being a strong candidate, without regard to whether one state or another might give you a small bump.

Unfortunately for you, the states with the highest IS success rates are places you'd never want to be (WV, KY, PR, AR) and the place you'd likely be very comfortable is also expensive as hell and really tough to apply to med school from (CA). So I really would put my happiness and well being first, and let med school take care of itself. If it were me, I'd probably go to NY. Lots of schools. Mix of urban, suburban and rural. And, you'll never be legislated against there. Good luck!!

 

[JoyFairy]

My heartfelt advice is to not try to arrange your life around where you might, maybe, potentially, have a marginally better shot at an IS admission to a public medical school. Since the political climate in FL is becoming increasingly hostile to you, just figure out where you'll be happiest and go there. The rest will sort itself out.

There is no way to know what a med school application cycle is going to look like in 2025. Strong applicants find success in all 50 states. Weak ones don't. Focus on being happy and being a strong candidate, without regard to whether one state or another might give you a small bump.

Unfortunately for you, the states with the highest IS success rates are places you'd never want to be (WV, KY, PR, AR) and the place you'd likely be very comfortable is also expensive as hell and really tough to apply to med school from (CA). So I really would put my happiness and well being first, and let med school take care of itself. If it were me, I'd probably go to NY. Lots of schools. Mix of urban, suburban and rural. And, you'll never be legislated against there. Good luck!!

I agree with everything here! As a former NY resident, I can attest that it's an excellent state to be a resident. There's a great range of school in terms of both competitiveness and location. The biggest challenge is the COL, but there are a lot of job opportunities, public schools for your future kiddos, and good in-state tuition.

Best wishes and be safe!

 

[GoSpursGo]

The bottom line is that yes, your state of residence matters. But it is not the only factor by any means, and maximizing your application chances is not necessarily the most important consideration within the context of your overall life.

Live where you believe you will be happy and then let the rest figure itself out.

 

[Nontrad_FL_LGBT]

I really appreciate all the input! Just for clarity, I do think I'll be a fairly competitive applicant disregarding my state affiliation completely. ~3.5 cGPA (~3.85 PB, 3.8 sGPA, 4.0 gGPA), starting my MCAT study now so idk about that yet, and will have close to 1k hours of both clinical and non-clinical volunteering with meaningful contributions in leadership positions. I will also have 15k+ hours working as a software engineer/game dev/engineering leader. I even already have my letters of recommendation from professors and work colleagues with whom I've had long relationships, including my engineering mentor of 4+ years, a doctor I've been volunteering with for 1+ year, and a professor who taught me in every chemistry class.

The only other states we have ties to are also places we wouldn't feel comfortable with (TX, WV), so we are honestly just looking at places that seem cool. The plan is to take a couple trips to explore since we both work remotely before we finalize a choice. My partner wants to start homesteading while I'm in med school, so really whatever he wants to do tbh.

Personally I really don't care where I end up as long as I'm with my partner, in medical school, and not being attacked by politicians. This def isn't like our #1 factor or anything, just something we're considering in the background. We are both currently software engineers, so we truly are happy to go just about anywhere without COL or anything along those lines being a factor. Seems like we should just pick the spot that speaks to us most to hang out at for a year or two until med school. Thanks for the thoughts everyone!

 

[LizzyM]

Vermont or upstate NY might have what you are looking for. (Plus winter which might not be your jam but hey-- don't knock it until you've lived it.)

 

[Nontrad_FL_LGBT]

Vermont or upstate NY might have what you are looking for. (Plus winter which might not be your jam but hey-- don't knock it until you've lived it.)

VT was another on our list! I grew up in NH and spent a lot of time in the mountains as a kid. We hadn't considered NY but two suggestions on this thread, maybe we'll take a look. Thanks!

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Of course it matters,

Applicants from California, New York, Massachusetts have it much much harder than applicants from iowa, nebraska, kentucky etc.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Florida is one of the most favorable states

Ucf, UF, USF, Florida state, FAU, FIU

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thats really challenging. Illinois definitely has a ton of medical school spots and is likely to be pro-LGBTQ for the foreseeable future. I also can pitch for Pennsylvania; Univ of Pittsburgh at least seems to have a very active diversity office.

 

[candbgirl]

Thats really challenging. Illinois definitely has a ton of medical school spots and is likely to be pro-LGBTQ for the foreseeable future. I also can pitch for Pennsylvania; Univ of Pittsburgh at least seems to have a very active diversity office.

I was just going to say exactly this. Right now you’d have little trouble (if any) but as with everything it depends on elections. But we have pretty strong laws so for sure look at Illinois with our big bunch of med schools. Good luck.

 

[TragicalDrFaust]

Am gay married in Nevada and not feeling the backward slide here. Though it’s “light blue” the state is beholden to the gaming and tourism industry above all else. It doesn’t benefit politicians to be anti lgbtq here. the healthcare isn’t great here so I’m not sure how much success youll find with fertility treatments. Although the paltry healthcare here is a boon for OOS applicants since our medical schools’ goal is arguably to trap OOS kids here. My school is majority OOS. Feel free to PM me if you want to chat.

Now my home state Maryland is dark blue and has great health care. Not an abundance of medical schools though.

 

[LadyDustyBlue]

I really appreciate all the input! Just for clarity, I do think I'll be a fairly competitive applicant disregarding my state affiliation completely. ~3.5 cGPA (~3.85 PB, 3.8 sGPA, 4.0 gGPA), starting my MCAT study now so idk about that yet, and will have close to 1k hours of both clinical and non-clinical volunteering with meaningful contributions in leadership positions. I will also have 15k+ hours working as a software engineer/game dev/engineering leader. I even already have my letters of recommendation from professors and work colleagues with whom I've had long relationships, including my engineering mentor of 4+ years, a doctor I've been volunteering with for 1+ year, and a professor who taught me in every chemistry class.

The only other states we have ties to are also places we wouldn't feel comfortable with (TX, WV), so we are honestly just looking at places that seem cool. The plan is to take a couple trips to explore since we both work remotely before we finalize a choice. My partner wants to start homesteading while I'm in med school, so really whatever he wants to do tbh.

Personally I really don't care where I end up as long as I'm with my partner, in medical school, and not being attacked by politicians. This def isn't like our #1 factor or anything, just something we're considering in the background. We are both currently software engineers, so we truly are happy to go just about anywhere without COL or anything along those lines being a factor. Seems like we should just pick the spot that speaks to us most to hang out at for a year or two until med school. Thanks for the thoughts everyone!

That’s really cool you and your partner do software engineering! Honestly, it sounds like there’s more flexibility than most couples who are trying to get out of their state. I agree with many here who have mentioned New York & Illinois as states with plenty of medical schools to choose from. If you have roots in NH, Vermont is a good one too.

Choose where you see both of you feel most comfortable homesteading and making medical school work. I just had a friend who moved to Albany in New York last October — and he’s from Southern California. I feel like it’s the year of unexpected big moves. I genuinely believe that many people are changing their minds about which states are friendly to them - be that out of a financial reason overall (can’t find a job/school — even in Cali — that satisfies them, too expensive), social (tired of staying where they’ve been for awhile, post-pandemic makes them want to get away from hometown blues) & political concerns… in places they never would expect (myself included, as I’ll be moving to Hawaii next year - even though I currently live in Southern Cali). It was not even in my radar… that said:

Be open to the possibilities.

You’ve got time before applying anyhow! Best to the two of you on your endeavors. It sounds like you’ve got strong heads and hearts for what you want in the future. Don’t lose faith, the (next) home for your future family exists.

 

[StressedBiClown]

With Roe being under fire for reasons beyond my understanding, talk of gay marriage being next on the chopping block, and the general trans panic going on the past couple years, my fiance and I are simply no longer comfortable in our home state of Florida. We are planning to pursue assisted fertility as a transgender couple over the next few years as well, and I would be incredibly bitter if this was unable to happen because of the current political climate in our area. Therefore, we are considering moving to a new state prior to my upcoming application to medical school (24-25 cycle). We would of course wait to establish residency prior to any application if it ends up happening too late for that cycle.

Would this be a huge mistake? I know Florida has a ton of schools in it but a lot of them are super OOS friendly so I'm not sure that it even matters much. I'd be unlikely to apply to any of them if we did leave, and restrict my applications to more trans friendly locales where I'm less likely to be actively legislated against. Other than that I'm really not picky and would be happy to attend any med school, MD or DO. I am currently a rural FM hopeful and don't really see myself entering a competitive surgical field in any circumstance.

States we are currently considering include: WA, OR, VT, ME, CO, NM, even potentially something Midwestern like IL/MN/WI. I would be totally open to hearing any further suggestions that might be particularly friendly for a med school hopeful.

Hey there, I have been living quite happily in my area of MI for several years and there are many large pockets of the rainbow community all over around here. Feel free to reach out to me if you ever want to chat about it (or anything else). I have personal experiences with three of the universities that have MD or DO programs here and know some folks at the other MD schools. Good luck and I'm sorry about the added stress of living in your state right now.

 

[Nontrad_FL_LGBT]

Seriously appreciate the well wishes and support, everyone. Your words are very encouraging and helpful. ❤️

EDIT: to those of you who offered your DMs, I will likely reach out but maybe not for a little bit. Thank you very much.