May 20, 2015
By Ned Holstein, MD, MS, Founder and Acting Executive Director, National Parents Organization
Thanks to the dogged work of National Parents Organization’s Peter Hill, Massachusetts divorced and separated dads have come a little step closer to being considered actual parents. Formerly, if mom moved out of state with Heather, when she graduated college and applied to the UMass School of Medicine, she would not qualify for in-state tuition.
Now, thanks to Peter, if dad has remained in-state, Heather qualifies for in-state tuition.
Kudos to Peter.
Here is the email Peter received from the Director of Admissions in response to his complaint:
Dear Dr. Hill:
Following our email exchange on May 7th, l consulted senior leadership at the School of Medicine. Please be advised that we are in the process of revising our residency requirement and criterion for how an applicant might meet residency.
The revised policy will soon be posted on our website. The policy will state that an applicant may meet MA residency if an immediate family member has maintained residence in MA for 7 consecutive years prior to the applicant’s enrollment. As you would be considered an immediate family member, she would need to list your MA residency history in her secondary application to the UMass SOM. This may qualify her as meeting our residency requirement. Graduation from a MA high school will no longer define residency but may be considered as documentation supporting the required 7 years of residency in some cases.
To be considered an in-state applicant, your daughter would need to list MA as her legal residence on her AMCAS application.
Thank you for your inquiry. I hope this information is helpful to you and your family.
Karen J. Lawton, MBA
Director of Admissions
University of Massachusetts
Medical School-School of Medicine