Advice on a fairly unique situation?

[Stumpyman]

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Hey, been a while since I've been on SDN!

Well, basically I finished high school early and started off at a CC in the east coast, living at home with my family. I was still a Texas resident as I used to live there, so after ~55 credits at the CC, I transferred to a large school in Texas. My GPA took a bit of a hit (4.0 at CC to 3.5 at uni), but other than that things were all dandy.

However, after a year away from home now, my family has been having some issues with health. Not to delve too deep into it, but basically my mom has had some health problems, had to leave work, etc., and I've been highly considering going back to the DC area to be closer to them (as of now, I can obviously only see them about once every 4-5 months).

I could transfer to a local 4-year school up in the east coast (commuting to school from my family's place), but I did have plans on taking the MCAT this April, so it may make it a tad difficult (although my plan to to keep a light course load next semester).

Do you guys think this would be an OK move? I know 2 transfers seems indecisive, but I'm really not sure what else to do. I could just toughen it out here (and thankfully, my family isn't in "dire crisis" mode, but it's certainly something I'm very concerned about). The MCAT is also a big concern, since I obviously want to dedicate most of next semester to it.

Just in perspective, by cumulative GPA is about a 3.85 when the CC courses are factored into the 4-year courses (drop in GPA from 4.0 to 3.6 last 2 semesters).

Thanks, any insight is really appreciated.

Stumpy

 

[tantacles]

Hey, been a while since I've been on SDN!

Well, basically I finished high school early and started off at a CC in the east coast, living at home with my family. I was still a Texas resident as I used to live there, so after ~55 credits at the CC, I transferred to a large school in Texas. My GPA took a bit of a hit (4.0 at CC to 3.5 at uni), but other than that things were all dandy.

However, after a year away from home now, my family has been having some issues with health. Not to delve too deep into it, but basically my mom has had some health problems, had to leave work, etc., and I've been highly considering going back to the DC area to be closer to them (as of now, I can obviously only see them about once every 4-5 months).

I could transfer to a local 4-year school up in the east coast (commuting to school from my family's place), but I did have plans on taking the MCAT this April, so it may make it a tad difficult (although my plan to to keep a light course load next semester).

Do you guys think this would be an OK move? I know 2 transfers seems indecisive, but I'm really not sure what else to do. I could just toughen it out here (and thankfully, my family isn't in "dire crisis" mode, but it's certainly something I'm very concerned about). The MCAT is also a big concern, since I obviously want to dedicate most of next semester to it.

Just in perspective, by cumulative GPA is about a 3.85 when the CC courses are factored into the 4-year courses (drop in GPA from 4.0 to 3.6 last 2 semesters).

Thanks, any insight is really appreciated.

Stumpy

It seems like something you can easily explain in your medical school application, so if you think you'll be able to manage it, move back. No medical school will penalize you for moving back home to be close to an ailing family member, and most probably won't even render a judgment at all (or even notice or care) as long as your grades and MCAT are up to par.

 

[gyngyn]

Just don't lose your TX residency status.

 

[Stumpyman]

Thanks-- yeah, I do think the explanation for it should hopefully be alright.

I probably will lose my TX residency status, but I don't think it's too big of a deal, as I know I really wanted to apply out-of-state to schools closer to home (be that MD or DO). Texas also has tons of applicants applying in-state, so it seems like it's on-par with most of the country.

 

[pietachok]

Depending on what the problem is, have you asked your mother (if she has capacity) whether or not she wants you to move home? How about any other family members? Is this a condition that could be remedied? Are you going to find yourself home with your mother doing well & you without anything to contribute at some point?

It's hard to know what type of situation you're talking about based on the info you provided. However, if you're actually talking about transferring schools, I would be concerned that graduating is not going to be as simple as you'd wish (most institutions like you to have completed a certain # of credits from them if they're going to give you a diploma with their name on it). . . and when stuff gets really stressful, it gets easy to get derailed academically (like not finishing your degree). I have known several high-functioning, brilliant people who ended up shy of an undergrad degree b/c of such a move. And in the end, I think feeling like you've changed your kid's future for the worse is often the last thing an ailing mother wants.

Some schools allow "study away" like study abroad but in a US school. That way you would never lose your matriculant status at your current institution. You need to talk to an academic adviser at your school to see what options they have for someone with a serious family issue -- you're not the first person to encounter this and they should be able to help you pick a plan that is most likely to keep you on track without compromising this time with your family.

 

[Stumpyman]

Depending on what the problem is, have you asked your mother (if she has capacity) whether or not she wants you to move home? How about any other family members? Is this a condition that could be remedied? Are you going to find yourself home with your mother doing well & you without anything to contribute at some point?

It's hard to know what type of situation you're talking about based on the info you provided. However, if you're actually talking about transferring schools, I would be concerned that graduating is not going to be as simple as you'd wish (most institutions like you to have completed a certain # of credits from them if they're going to give you a diploma with their name on it). . . and when stuff gets really stressful, it gets easy to get derailed academically (like not finishing your degree). I have known several high-functioning, brilliant people who ended up shy of an undergrad degree b/c of such a move. And in the end, I think feeling like you've changed your kid's future for the worse is often the last thing an ailing mother wants.

Some schools allow "study away" like study abroad but in a US school. That way you would never lose your matriculant status at your current institution. You need to talk to an academic adviser at your school to see what options they have for someone with a serious family issue -- you're not the first person to encounter this and they should be able to help you pick a plan that is most likely to keep you on track without compromising this time with your family.

Thanks, I appreciate the insight. Well, in terms of graduation, I have looked at credit requirements and such at the local university near home, and I would be able to graduate at the same time I had planned because I only need to have 1/4th of the total degree credits done at the university, which should be fine.

My mother has an immune system disorder, and there's been an ongoing scare of ovarian cancer, which has definitely made it all the more stressful. Obviously, pragmatically there's not too much I can do being there, but it would just help to be there and keep it less stressful for the family (I've talked to other family members and they never openly would say to come back, but it's pretty clear being so far away certainly makes it more stressful for myself and the family).

For sure, you're right about the graduating concern. Transferring now would essentially be the only option, since it would only be more difficult to graduate as semesters go on. The hope is that my mother gets much better, but in the case that she doesn't, it really wouldn't be great if I had to be stuck over a 1000 miles away.

I'm going to speak to my current school's adviser and see what they say as well.