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Quidbert said:
I am a first year med student at a southern state allopathic school.

My long term gf of 5 years is a 3rd year dental student at a private dental school in the northeast and wants to return to our state to do her specialty schooling (same kinda thing as a residency). But it's a match system and she could end up at a number of schools in the southeast.

We really don't want to be apart for another 4 years. She is only going to apply to dental school that have med programs so that I can transfer to wherever she is after my 2nd year. So far I am near or at the top of my class in terms of grades.


How do I do it? How does it really work? What are the risks and problems that come along with the process?

(yes I did a search, but saw a ton of contradictory posts and wanted to get feedback on my exact situation)

Thanks!
Click to expand...


Transfers happen but are not as frequent in undergrad, and not something you can really bank on. The target med school needs to have a spot, they need to take transfer students, and usually you need a compelling reason for the transfer. A girlfriend probably doesn't suffice, so you might need to make it more permanent before a school would help you out. Instead of having your girlfriend apply to programs with affiliated medical programs, you should have her apply to schools in cities with multiple medical programs, even if none is affiliated -- that would improve your odds, I would think. Someone on here posted a link a while back indicating those schools that accepted transfers and how many -- the odds were not very favorable.

I defer to those who have actually tried to transfer. All I know is that there are rarely very many new faces at graduations and those that manage it likely beat out competition for the empty spot, and had a more compelling reason for the transfer (i.e. spouse, not girlfriend transfer). Good luck.
 
Quidbert said:
I am a first year med student at a southern state allopathic school.

My long term gf of 5 years is a 3rd year dental student at a private dental school in the northeast and wants to return to our state to do her specialty schooling (same kinda thing as a residency). But it's a match system and she could end up at a number of schools in the southeast.

We really don't want to be apart for another 4 years. She is only going to apply to dental school that have med programs so that I can transfer to wherever she is after my 2nd year. So far I am near or at the top of my class in terms of grades.


How do I do it? How does it really work? What are the risks and problems that come along with the process?

(yes I did a search, but saw a ton of contradictory posts and wanted to get feedback on my exact situation)

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I tried my da*ndest to get a transfer from one southern state school to another, and they didn't have room for me. Same exact reason. I was SOL. Transfers are tough in med school.
 
I had a friend try to do this. He was told indirectly that he would need to be married to have a chance.
 
so I've tried to transfer to a school in a city that my WIFE will potentially be in. I applied to 2 schools in cities (out of state) she got acceptances from, and I just got my second rejection letter yesterday. I'm SOL, so we'll be in a long distance marriage, which SUCKS, especially bc we just got married about a year ago.

However, I do know of 2 students from my school that transferred into 3rd year at another school in the same state as there original school, and one that transferred to a school in NY. The NY student and one of the others both already had PhDs, and were married to people at the med school they transferred to. The other student was engaged to a physician that may have had some pull on the admissions comittee at the other school (don't know for sure).

It's tough. I have like 2 other people in my class trying to transfer also bc of spouses, etc, and haven't heard much.

The schools I applied to said that IF there are spots open, priority is given to students that are residents of that state.

Good luck.
 
Quidbert said:
I am a first year med student at a southern state allopathic school.

My long term gf of 5 years is a 3rd year dental student at a private dental school in the northeast and wants to return to our state to do her specialty schooling (same kinda thing as a residency). But it's a match system and she could end up at a number of schools in the southeast.

We really don't want to be apart for another 4 years. She is only going to apply to dental school that have med programs so that I can transfer to wherever she is after my 2nd year. So far I am near or at the top of my class in terms of grades.


How do I do it? How does it really work? What are the risks and problems that come along with the process?

(yes I did a search, but saw a ton of contradictory posts and wanted to get feedback on my exact situation)

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Hey,
I know a person who transferred to USC from one of DC schools. He was a Cali resident and had an outstanding Step 1. He told me that USC accepts 2-3 transfers a year, but you need a good reason and a good Step 1 (so it means you have to take it in advance to get your score before 3rd year starts). It is tough but possible.
Good luck.
 
Quidbert said:
bump - still looking for someone who has pulled this off

if it helps . . . we are engaged. I'm just broke and haven't bought the rock.
Click to expand...

I'll get engaged to somebody if it improves my chances of a transfer.

My advice--fagettaboutit and move on. Transfers are about as common as non-URM's getting admitted to med school with sub-20 MCAT scores.

Okay, now is where you insert that anecdote about that one guy you heard about...
 
I'm currently in the transfer process right now with my fingers crossed and a knot in my stomach. My current school has been very supportive of my decision to transfer to be closer to my fiance and this has been important when it came to needing a Dean's letter, faculty recommendations, etc. I applied for a transfer to three different schools around the same area to give myself a better shot at getting accepted. I'm a first year transfer into a second year class. I have had to do some pretty hard core investigation into curriculums to make sure that I wouldn't miss any courses or be taking too many of them over again. From my experience, what makes the transfer process so hard is the fact that you have to basically reapply to medical school while being in the middle of medical school. It eats up time that you just don't have. Plus, I actually like my program that I am in and I am finding it very hard to possibly leave. Also, keeping the admission committees updated on all your new activities, awards, etc is really important. Most of the applicants applying for transfer are very competitive from what I have seen and heard (B+ to A average students with exemplary community service, clinical experience, etc). I have found that engaged/married couples facing unexpected (this is the key word here) circumstances or a sick family member are the most common. If you knew what your situation was like going into medical school and are now trying to transfer because of it, committees will probably not look highly on this. Unexpected situations do come up and I believe that these medical schools that take transfers understand these circumstances and try and take those most in need of the transfer. I am hoping that I will be in one of these spots in August of this year for 2nd year classes, but I am also realistic on how difficult it will be to get there. I'll keep you updated on when I hear any interview, rejection or acceptance news. Good luck with your process.
 
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