Is it okay to transfer twice?

[james1988]

If I decide to transfer to another school after I have already transfered once, will this look bad to adcoms?

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[Character]

If I decide to transfer to another school after I have already transfered once, will this look bad to adcoms?

are you talking 4 yr to 4 yr to 4 yr institution, or are you talking cc to cc to 4 yr, or r u talking cc to 4 yr to 4 yr

 

[Isoprop]

i have been to 7 undergraduate institutions, 3 of them are 4-year universities. so you won't be the outlier, trust me.

 

[james1988]

I'm talking about transferring from a 4Yr after freshman year to another 4Yr, and to another 4Yr after sophomore year.

Also, isoprop, I'm not worried out being the outlier, I'm just concerned with being in the BEST POSITION POSSIBLE when applying to med school, and want to know if this will be of issue or will be a moot point, if I do end up going through with a second transfer.

 

[james1988]

I'm talking about transferring from a 4Yr after freshman year to another 4Yr, and to another 4Yr after sophomore year.

Also, isoprop, I'm not worried out being the outlier, I'm just concerned with being in the BEST POSITION POSSIBLE when applying to med school, and want to know if this will be of issue or will be a moot point, if I do end up going through with a second transfer.

 

[Isoprop]

I'm talking about transferring from a 4Yr after freshman year to another 4Yr, and to another 4Yr after sophomore year.

Also, isoprop, I'm not worried out being the outlier, I'm just concerned with being in the BEST POSITION POSSIBLE when applying to med school, and want to know if this will be of issue or will be a moot point, if I do end up going through with a second transfer.

there will be no red flag. they may ask you, and if you give them a good reason, they'll drop it.

 

[james1988]

there will be no red flag. they may ask you, and if you give them a good reason, they'll drop it.

are you sure about this?
also, how am I supposed to know if my reasons are good reasons?

 

[135892]

are you sure about this?
also, how am I supposed to know if my reasons are good reasons?

ummm.... do you have a good reason, or are you transferring for the hell of it? Usually people don't transfer without a legitimate reason, so I'm sure you have a valid reason. Also, please realize that every decision does not have to be made with med school Adcoms in mind.

 

[james1988]

ummm.... do you have a good reason, or are you transferring for the hell of it? Usually people don't transfer without a legitimate reason, so I'm sure you have a valid reason. Also, please realize that every decision does not have to be made with med school Adcoms in mind.

i dont know if this is a good reason, but it would be because i didnt like the previous school and felt i could get a better education elsewhere

also, though im aware every decision need not be made only with med schol adcoms in mind, i think one who is planning to go to med school should certainly consider what impact major educational choices will have on his or her chances of getting into medical school

 

[nikeshp]

i would say that that shows you might be a bit indecisive. im not sure if thats the best quality for a doctor to have

 

[BluePhoenix]

If I were an adcom, I'd start to question it after the second transfer. Understandable if you didn't make the right choice the first time. But transferring between 3 different 4 yr schools by your sophomore year, I'd wonder if you actually did any research when picking schools or if you just bounce between them. Maybe you need to sit down and really think about this decision and maybe you need to try out a school for longer than a semester. It may not be a huge red flag but it does say either you can't make decisions or that you're not very good at making them.

 

[jebus]

If I decide to transfer to another school after I have already transfered once, will this look bad to adcoms?

i transferred. yes, schools will ask you about it. i was asked by like 10 different interviewers why I transferred once.
twice? without a good reason? good luck. they'll think you're a fickle little douchebag who doesn't think things through. well, that's what i think of you.

 

[james1988]

i transferred. yes, schools will ask you about it. i was asked by like 10 different interviewers why I transferred once.
twice? without a good reason? good luck. they'll think you're a fickle little douchebag who doesn't think things through. well, that's what i think of you.

why did you transfer? do you think they looked down on you for it?
what qualifies as a "good reason"?

 

[SaveThisLabRat]

i transferred. yes, schools will ask you about it. i was asked by like 10 different interviewers why I transferred once.
twice? without a good reason? good luck. they'll think you're a fickle little douchebag who doesn't think things through. well, that's what i think of you.

Holy fudge, 10 interviews? You really must be Jebus.

Also, I think it's going to look like you can't finish what you start. What's to keep an adcom from thinking that once you get to their school, you'll want to transfer out? Unless, as someone mentioned, you have a very good reason, just stay where you are.

 

[SaveThisLabRat]

why did you transfer? do you think they looked down on you for it?
what qualifies as a "good reason"?

Experienced being a victim of crime at the school.
Dying family member that lives far away.

Saying "I wanted a better education" really doesn't cut it. You can get just as good an education where you are if you are determined.

 

[HumidBeing]

Let's remember to treat each other with respect. Insulting other members is a violation of the Terms of Service that we agree to when using these forums.

 

[LeLu]

I went from cc to cc to 4 yr. I didn't even realize it was an issue until the moment I was asked about it in an interview. I did it because I moved away to the first cc which was sister school to my 4 yr and then had to go back home to cc there due to knee injury and resulting loss of wages. When I graduated from cc at home, I went to the 4 yr I had been preparing to attend. I guess those are good reasons, because they didn't seem to care.

 

[cpants]

What is your issue with the second school? Why do you think you'll get a better education elsewhere? This is a bad idea.

 

[LucidSplash]

What is your issue with the second school? Why do you think you'll get a better education elsewhere? This is a bad idea.

He doesn't have an issue with the 2nd school. He hasn't chosen it yet. See the UMBC vs. UMCP thread. He's trying to decide where to transfer, has been waffling back and forth for awhile, and is trying to figure out what he'll do after he finally makes a decision on this transfer, if he doesn't like the new school.

 

[jebus]

why did you transfer? do you think they looked down on you for it?
what qualifies as a "good reason"?

bad reason: because i didnt like the previous school and felt i could get a better education elsewhere. "didn't like the previous school" tells me nothing. also, med schools apparently don't want bookworms. they want well-rounded people who can do the academic stuff. the academic threshold is pretty straight forward: get decent grades and a decent MCAT. It's the other stuff that's going to be difficult. By focusing on "better education" you're already shooting yourself in the foot. the education you get depends on the effort you put in. again, they care about the education you got outside of the classroom.
my reason wasn't good but i played it off a little different than i'm telling you. the truth: i was 18, what the hell are you busting my chops for? kids make mistakes.
in interviews i tried to play it off like a learning experience, it seemed to work out ok.
you do your research for the second school. By the third school you look like a flake. med schools don't want flakes. they want people who are strong, like me, who will finish their schooling and represent their school well. it's a pain to find students. they won't want one who bounces after a year.
by ditching the 2nd school anyone will be suspect: employers, med schools, hell, if i were a chick, i'd think you'd bail on me, too. because chicks are hormonal and can't be trusted to think about these difficult thing. all of a sudden they start bleeding on the insides and i become the bad guy? whatever, it's clear that you're the bad one because you're bleeding. i'm not bleeding, god must like me better. you see what i'm saying?

 

[sugeny]

I have been to four different colleges for undergrad...I was asked about it in the interview, but I had a good reason (got into an accident, had some incapacitating injuries, needed to move home to get help from the family and stay in school) I try to emphasis how going to so many different types of school have allowed me to interact with a greater variety of people (community college vs. private liberal arts vs. state school, etc) than your average undergraduate uni would

 

[james1988]

I have been to four different colleges for undergrad...I was asked about it in the interview, but I had a good reason (got into an accident, had some incapacitating injuries, needed to move home to get help from the family and stay in school) I try to emphasis how going to so many different types of school have allowed me to interact with a greater variety of people (community college vs. private liberal arts vs. state school, etc) than your average undergraduate uni would

thank you for this insight!

 

[sully677]

I am kinda in this situation. I wanted to go to school A my freshman year, but I had surgery and could not attend so I went to school B. However, I transferred once I recovered, and loved School A. But my dad lost his job, and I had to transfer back to school A. Does this look bad? I have good grades at both.


Thanks

 

[notdeadyet]

what qualifies as a "good reason"?

Rather than run through a long list, there's basically only one "good reason": you had no other choice.

Transferring schools once is okay. You get a pass. Any old reason will do. Folks do it from junior colleges as a matter of course. Some folks go to a local state school with hopes of transferring junior year to a top school.

But transferring twice? Unless you have no other choice, your reason is poor. Just trying to step up to better schools shows a lack of commitment, which can be the kiss of death in the medical school.

 

[cpants]

Another thing you should consider is that you probably won't be able to do this anyway. Without a hell of an explanation that third college probably will not admit you.

 

[Law2Doc]

Rather than run through a long list, there's basically only one "good reason": you had no other choice.

Transferring schools once is okay. You get a pass. Any old reason will do. Folks do it from junior colleges as a matter of course. Some folks go to a local state school with hopes of transferring junior year to a top school.

But transferring twice? Unless you have no other choice, your reason is poor. Just trying to step up to better schools shows a lack of commitment, which can be the kiss of death in the medical school.

I tend to agree with this as well. Med schools want folks who are thought out. When you transfer once that's fine -- might just might mean you were in a bad spot and needed to get things back on track. When you transfer multiple times, it starts to suggest that the problem is not where you were, but you. Either you didn't think through your first transfer, or you are the type that will never be happy where you are. Either way, it's concerning to a med school that is going to expect that you stay put for 4 years, under much more difficult circumstances than most undergrads. So as long as you have solid reasons for the transfers, and can explain them to the satisfaction of a skeptic, that's fine. But if you look like you are just jumping around for no real good reason other than not being able to make yourself happy for a few years, that's bad.

 

[james1988]

thanks for all the input; I hope I won't have to transfer a second time, as it seems that this really would look bad.

 

[batch5000]

I went to a CC out of high school because it was cheap (free actually.) Then I transfered to a four year art school. It was there that I decided I wanted to go into medicine. The school did not have a full bio, chem, orgo, and phys with lab sequence. So I transfered to a school to get a BS in bio. Does this constitute a good reason for transferring twice? -- That my school didn't offer the med school prereqs and that I wanted to show that I could handle a rigorous course load in the sciences, which I would have been unable to have done at my second school?

 

[LucidSplash]

I went to a CC out of high school because it was cheap (free actually.) Then I transfered to a four year art school. It was there that I decided I wanted to go into medicine. The school did not have a full bio, chem, orgo, and phys with lab sequence. So I transfered to a school to get a BS in bio. Does this constitute a good reason for transferring twice? -- That my school didn't offer the med school prereqs and that I wanted to show that I could handle a rigorous course load in the sciences, which I would have been unable to have done at my second school?

Yes. This is a good reason. Your situation is altogether different than the OP's.

 

[echidna]

What about those of us doing postbaccs? I started at a CC and transferred and graduated from a 4-year, then decided on medicine afterward. Doing coursework at the same institution wasn't an option so I'm doing it at another 4 year and thinking about transferring to another for a variety of reasons. That would make 4 undergrad institutions, five if you count one trig class I did at another CC. Would they hold that against me in the same way as a regular undergrad?

 

[LucidSplash]

What about those of us doing postbaccs? I started at a CC and transferred and graduated from a 4-year, then decided on medicine afterward. Doing coursework at the same institution wasn't an option so I'm doing it at another 4 year and thinking about transferring to another for a variety of reasons. That would make 4 undergrad institutions, five if you count one trig class I did at another CC. Would they hold that against me in the same way as a regular undergrad?

No, all that should be fine with the caveat that transferring to a different place to finish your post-bacc work is for a decent reason. Going to a CC and then transferring and finishing at a 4-year is pretty standard, especially if you weren't initially planning on medicine. No one will really care that you took one class at a separate CC back in the day, especially as it is not a pre-req. Doing post-bacc work is standard for those that decide on medicine later on. As long as your "variety of reasons" for finishing your post-bacc somewhere else than where you started don't have anything to do with trouble with the law or not liking the school colors/mascot, you should be ok. You might be asked about it, but as long as you have a reason, you will be fine.