Is it a dumb idea to transfer from a no name university to a well recognized one

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Protagonistic

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I am transferring from my current university because of family pressures and personal reasons. I commute to college as I may have noted on past threads and well, that is one of the reasons I want to transfer too (not the main one). Social life at my current university is basically not that strong because most kids stick with their high school groups and a lot of kids who are my friends, well they wanna transfer!

My school sends kids to UGA and Georgia Tech in LARGE numbers every single year, usually kids apply as junior transfers so they have at least a year to showcase how much they have improved and we even have kids who get accepted to places like Emory, Chapel Hill, UVA, and Georgetown as transfers.

One MAIN con about transferring is the grade drop I have heard. Some people have told me if I transfer to a bigger university my grades are probably going to drop and my GPA will most likely go down. A lot of people have said the adjustment can be a big one but I personally want to hear some advice from you guys.

Is it a bad idea for med school?

If you have any animosity towards me then try to help me by keeping this thread on topic.
 
you should transfer. and as far as the gpa drop goes, dont let it happen. work hard to ensure that doesnt happen. know yourself and your limits. just be a good human being. show people that its not hard in this day and age to be nice.
 
....
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=781767

look at the answer to question 10
...

btw i suggest u bookmark the link so that if, rather, when you have questions that can be answered by a simple search in the future all you have to do is go *click**click*

copy-pasted from http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=783861 which was made <15 minutes ago

Good job, those posts do not answer my question, perhaps you should read what I said about GPAs dropping. Those links I have read and they elaborate on how much strength of undergrad matters, I am more concerned with the adjustments a transfer student has to make and what impact it could have on his GPA.

You should sit this one out, you aren't going to be helping me much I can tell you that.
 
If you are planning on transferring and entering as a junior, does that mean you will have finished all your pre med requirements at your current university?

If so, I would say to transfer. I went to a big name university and me and my pre med friends struggled most in our intro classes. In my opinion, my upper level bio courses were easier then the pre med requirements, which are usually extra tough to weed people out. But, if you are done with them then you would just benefit from all the extra advantage a big university offers with little to no GPA drop.
 
Good job, those posts do not answer my question, perhaps you should read what I said about GPAs dropping. Those links I have read and they elaborate on how much strength of undergrad matters, I am more concerned with the adjustments a transfer student has to make and what impact it could have on his GPA.

You should sit this one out, you aren't going to be helping me much I can tell you that.

Replies like this may be the reason some have animosity towards you.

As far as transferring, it can work either way. The main thing you worry about at a smaller university is grade inflation. So, at a big time university, there is no issue on that.

However, not all smaller schools are considered to have grade inflation---while sometimes still having easier courses. You also get to know the professors better, and can get beaming letters of recommendation.

But if you tell a professor he should sit this one out, well, they may may write you $|-|itty letters
 
If you are planning on transferring and entering as a junior, does that mean you will have finished all your pre med requirements at your current university?

If so, I would say to transfer. I went to a big name university and me and my pre med friends struggled most in our intro classes. In my opinion, my upper level bio courses were easier then the pre med requirements, which are usually extra tough to weed people out. But, if you are done with them then you would just benefit from all the extra advantage a big university offers with little to no GPA drop.

That is the plan (addressing the part in bold).

I mean I am gonna have to transfer regardless, even if it is to another small university because I want to get away from home and my parents want me away from home.
 
For some of my friends who've gone through similar transfer situations, the transition was tough and their GPA ultimately took a hit. Many of your peers at your new university will have gone through the adjustment long ago in their freshman year. You might not be able to access the support as readily as an upperclassman in case you have any troubles academically.

Realize though that your college experience is for more than just prepping you for med school. If your social situation is that bad, which it very well could be, I would recommend transferring only if you feel capable of maintaining academic excellence at your target institution. There's certainly no use in transferring only to go through a grade drop funk your last two years. Check out if any of the schools' courses post material online. Talk to friends at these schools. Hopefully they'll help you get a better gauge on how well you might handle the transition.

First paragraph = GOLDEN, great piece of advice which is relevant to this thread.

Looks like this is a tough decision I would have to make.
 
Replies like this may be the reason some have animosity towards you.

As far as transferring, it can work either way. The main thing you worry about at a smaller university is grade inflation. So, at a big time university, there is no issue on that.

However, not all smaller schools are considered to have grade inflation---while sometimes still having easier courses. You also get to know the professors better, and can get beaming letters of recommendation.

But if you tell a professor he should sit this one out, well, they may may write you $|-|itty letters

I am generally a friendly guy. Some posters rub me the wrong way and their attitude can get on my nerves. Some posters just seem to be the type of people who are snotty and arrogant and I believe I need to put them in their place and well, drag them down into reality a little bit. The other guy seems to have an issue with me, sadly, a lot of people on this section have an issue with me but if I want advice then advice is what I will try to get.

I am getting mixed replies, maybe this thread can be helpful.
 
Good job, those posts do not answer my question, perhaps you should read what I said about GPAs dropping. Those links I have read and they elaborate on how much strength of undergrad matters, I am more concerned with the adjustments a transfer student has to make and what impact it could have on his GPA.

You should sit this one out, you aren't going to be helping me much I can tell you that.

Rather your thread was ambiguous to begin with

You ask if switching schools, even if there is a possibility of grades decreasing, is a good idea for medical school admissions.

"One MAIN con about transferring is the grade drop I have heard. Some people have told me if I transfer to a bigger university my grades are probably going to drop and my GPA will most likely go down. A lot of people have said the adjustment can be a big one but I personally want to hear some advice from you guys.

Is it a bad idea for med school?"

Also the name of your thread is misleading aswell, asking if and i quote: "Is it a dumb idea to transfer from a no name university to a well recognized one"

My answer, as evident in the link i posted, is that
a) if it harms your gpa then dont do it
b) it doesnt matter what undergrad you go to

You never once asked in your initial post about the "adjustments a transfer student has to make and what impact it could have on his GPA."

If you truly wanted people opinions about the adjustments one has to make when transfering colleges you wouldnt have worded your topic as:
"Is it a dumb idea to transfer from a no name university to a well recognized one"

ergo, it is you, Protagonistic, that is asking the wrong question, rather than receiving the wrong answer.

*btw, i wasn't directing any animosity at you, i was just clarifying/ rebutting what you asked in your question and your rebuttal of my post, i really am not a douche like how this post implies*

~political
 
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I am generally a friendly guy. Some posters rub me the wrong way and their attitude can get on my nerves. Some posters just seem to be the type of people who are snotty and arrogant and I believe I need to put them in their place and well, drag them down into reality a little bit. The other guy seems to have an issue with me, sadly, a lot of people on this section have an issue with me but if I want advice then advice is what I will try to get.

I am getting mixed replies, maybe this thread can be helpful.

Some admission committee members are snotty and arrogant. Be sure to put them in their place too when/IF you interview.

You get the troll cookie for this statement. Hopefully no one else responds to you.
 
Fair enough:

Question could have been worded properly.
 
Some admission committee members are snotty and arrogant. Be sure to put them in their place too when/IF you interview.

You get the troll cookie for this statement. Hopefully no one else responds to you.

Of course it is ignorant to assume behavior on the internet correlates to behavior in real life. As for admission committee members being snotty and arrogant, I will probably keep all of my feelings and things I want to say locked in, I have taken flak from professors and teachers for the smallest things.
 
Of course it is ignorant to assume behavior on the internet correlates to behavior in real life. As for admission committee members being snotty and arrogant, I will probably keep all of my feelings and things I want to say locked in, I have taken flak from professors and teachers for the smallest things.

Did you tell them "Ask me about my weiner!!!"
 
=/

that is really lame, like only idiots who can't come up with an insult do that
 
=/

that is really lame, like only idiots who can't come up with an insult do that

Ah I'm just tweakin' your bum...

But back to the topic...if it's going to drop your GPA, I wouldn't bother transferring. A high GPA is like the Holy Grail to med schools. Don't jeopardize it.
 
I am generally a friendly guy. Some posters rub me the wrong way and their attitude can get on my nerves. Some posters just seem to be the type of people who are snotty and arrogant and I believe I need to put them in their place and well, drag them down into reality a little bit. The other guy seems to have an issue with me, sadly, a lot of people on this section have an issue with me but if I want advice then advice is what I will try to get.

I am getting mixed replies, maybe this thread can be helpful.

Well, thank God you're here.
 
Undergrad does matter, and maybe its just that the top undergrads get the top students that work the hardest, maybe they have happier students or grade inflation or any number of things, but on all of my interviews there have certainly been a lot more kids from the top top universities in the country compared to others.

But regardless, you need to be where you are happiest, and if that is elsewhere, then transfer unquestionably.
 
I am transferring from my current university because of family pressures and personal reasons. I commute to college as I may have noted on past threads and well, that is one of the reasons I want to transfer too (not the main one). Social life at my current university is basically not that strong because most kids stick with their high school groups and a lot of kids who are my friends, well they wanna transfer!

My school sends kids to UGA and Georgia Tech in LARGE numbers every single year, usually kids apply as junior transfers so they have at least a year to showcase how much they have improved and we even have kids who get accepted to places like Emory, Chapel Hill, UVA, and Georgetown as transfers.

One MAIN con about transferring is the grade drop I have heard. Some people have told me if I transfer to a bigger university my grades are probably going to drop and my GPA will most likely go down. A lot of people have said the adjustment can be a big one but I personally want to hear some advice from you guys.

Is it a bad idea for med school?

If you have any animosity towards me then try to help me by keeping this thread on topic.

It sounds like you have some issues at your current school, so I would definitely recommend transferring. Being happy is the number one thing.

In terms of the grade drop. Sure that is a "con" of transferring. However, I think people brought it up more because it is something you should consider so that it doesn't happen to you, not because it is certain to happen. Transferring to a "better" school may bring some difficulties. However, if you are prepared for those, you should be ok. Work hard, don't get too caught up in the new found freedom, and you should be fine.
 
Okay, so how does a student avoid a grade drop when he transfers?
 
Okay, so how does a student avoid a grade drop when he transfers?

You must eat the heart of a Siberian Tiger. You must carry garlic cloves in your pockets at all times You must drink the semen of a rhino. I hear 70% of 40% of people that do all 3 things never have to worry about their GPA.
 
dude, if you gotta transfer, there is no magic pill. it may be harder than your school. it may be an adjustment regardless of which school is harder. assume your new classes will be very difficult, bust your ass, and if you feel like you're not getting it, don't assume that you'll figure it out later - go talk to the prof and study til you get it. there's just no easy fix typically.

do keep in mind where your recs will come from. if from your old uni, i hope they already know and like you. if your new one, you have less time to get to know those profs.
 
dude, if you gotta transfer, there is no magic pill. it may be harder than your school. it may be an adjustment regardless of which school is harder. assume your new classes will be very difficult, bust your ass, and if you feel like you're not getting it, don't assume that you'll figure it out later - go talk to the prof and study til you get it. there's just no easy fix typically.

do keep in mind where your recs will come from. if from your old uni, i hope they already know and like you. if your new one, you have less time to get to know those profs.

:troll:
 
dude, if you gotta transfer, there is no magic pill. it may be harder than your school. it may be an adjustment regardless of which school is harder. assume your new classes will be very difficult, bust your ass, and if you feel like you're not getting it, don't assume that you'll figure it out later - go talk to the prof and study til you get it. there's just no easy fix typically.

do keep in mind where your recs will come from. if from your old uni, i hope they already know and like you. if your new one, you have less time to get to know those profs.

Great points, will keep in mind.
 
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