Bad Idea 4 med schol? Go to a college for one year, then transfer to a btter college

[jbon51]

I will most likely be going to Case Western Reserve next year (Im a HS senior right now) to study biomedical engineering. I am very interested in becoming an MD. Would it be bad for my med school app to go to CWRU for one year and then transfer to Duke?

I'd love to go to Duke all 4 years, but I did not apply b/c my chances of being accepted there are slim right now (I got pretty bad grades freshman year, now I get straight A's, go figure).

Any advice would be appreciated. Also, if any of you did something similar and still was accepted to some med schools, share your experience. Thanks.

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[beastmaster]

Having "Duke" on your medical school application instead of "CWRU" is probably of little consequence.

Transfer only if you feel that Duke will offer you services or opportunities you would not be able to receive at CWRU.

 

[Alexander99]

I'm not sure if Duke falls into the category of an elite undergrad but from what I hear, unless you go to a bigshot Ivy League/elite school like Harvard, MIT, etc, your undergrad institution doesn't matter all that much. Of course, I'm sure it never hurts to go to a school that's more famous so there's no reason why you shouldn't do it.

At the same time, it does seem to matter if you're shooting for Harvard Med, Johns Hopkins, etc cause they tend to be somewhat elitist. I think if you look at the students that got in, you'll see a predominance of top notch undergrads represented.

 

[hilikus]

I had the same dilemma when I went to MIT my first year then went to Yale my second...Stupid adcoms!

 

[Chirurgien]

Originally posted by jbon51
I will most likely be going to Case Western Reserve next year (Im a HS senior right now) to study biomedical engineering. I am very interested in becoming an MD. Would it be bad for my med school app to go to CWRU for one year and then transfer to Duke?

I'd love to go to Duke all 4 years, but I did not apply b/c my chances of being accepted there are slim right now (I got pretty bad grades freshman year, now I get straight A's, go figure).

Any advice would be appreciated. Also, if any of you did something similar and still was accepted to some med schools, share your experience. Thanks.

My advice is to stay at Case, make the most of it, study hard and get good grades. Duke is very hard to get into, especially as a transfer, so if they don't accept you, it may affect your emotional health negatively while at Case. I don't think it's worth it. Just do well at Case and have fun!

 

[exmike]

If your goal is to attend a elite medical school i.e. "top 10" then yes, the prestige of your undergrad institution can boost your chances immensely. That said, the reason those schools are prestigious is because they have the best students, and you might not do as well in comparison, thereby shooting yourself in the foot when you apply to med school.

Case Western isnt a bad undergrad. I dont think the added value of transferring to Duke is worth the effort or time or money. I think as long as you do well at Case, the over impact of choosing between the two will be negligible. Doesnt Case have an early assurance program too for qualified undegrads?

 

[Bones2008]

Originally posted by jbon51
Would it be bad for my med school app to go to CWRU for one year and then transfer to Duke?

As a Duke senior, I can only speak to what I feel Duke offers its premeds and can't really compare it to CWRU. Duke offers incredible opportunities to its students and has top-notch advising in the pre-health areas. Having one of the best medical centers in the world just a few hundred yards from your front door is pretty awesome. In addition, Duke's pre-medical curriculum is very highly respected by medical schools. That said, it is also very difficult. It is not uncommon for people to take physics or orgo here, withdraw due to terrible grades, and then retake them elsewhere and achieve B's and A's. I personally, though, feel that you wouldn't be harming youself in the slightest by transferring here if you're able. Best of luck to you.

 

[docmemi]

wow. a high school student already on sdn. i wonder how many of them there are on here?

its not bad at all. remember, your grades are the first and foremost important thing. so no matter where you go, just remember to keep ur grades up. i think that matters the most to adcoms. then maybe where you went will matter a bit.

good luck!

 

[MedJoe]

I began undergrad at a small private school and then transferred to a state school after losing my athletic scholarship due to injury and being unable to afford the hefty tuition. Also, I received my BS in Finance and just took the med pre-reqs. During the application process this was never an issue and I received acceptances to both schools that I applied to. However, I will say that during one of my interviews, the interviewer challenged me by saying that my undergrad. "path" was a bit chaotic. I retorted by telling him my GPA and MCAT score (closed-file interview) and then stated that it shows that I am able to handle many different subjects and disciplines at institutions with different teaching styles (large auditorium classes v. small lecture classes with mandatory student participation/input). Overall, it showed that I was a diverse canidate. The interviewer approved.

Best of luck to you. Just work hard and much more importantly play hard during undergrad. In other words, be half dork and half drunk.

 

[jbon51]

Thanks for the responses, everyone.

If I do transfer to Duke, it will not be because I want it to look better on a med school app (of course it would help, but that would not be the reason). Case's campus is... to say the least, quite unappealing. I will be (probably) be going there in August because 1. It is about 20 minutes away from my house and 2. They have an excellent Biomedical Engineering program. Then again, Duke has an even better BME program.

When I applied to colleges, I neglected to apply to Duke (I applied to Case, Boston U, and Vanderbilt) for various reasons. I would like to go to the best college possible, a college with a good mix of student life and program-prestige. Case definitely is well known for biomedical engineering, but the students that I have met that go there... seem to not have much fun at all.

Anyways, thanks for the advice and please feel welcome to give more