Should i stay or should i go?

[tryin2suxede]

I am a Freshman at Wayne State University, studying for a BA in Anthropology and a minor in Biology. I am studying to be a premed and have already started to study for the MCATs and volunteer at a local hospital on the weekends.

Academically, I have no complaints against Wayne, but i feel it lacks many social activities and extracurricular activities which would interest me. As i commute, i do not see much that Wayne State has to offer for students, socially. This is why i am debating on whether to transfer to Michigan or Michigan State. I am leaning on Michigan State mainly because only half my credits transfer to Ann Arbor and my APs don't.

I also feel that the lack of reputation that Wayne State has outside of Michigan will hinder my chances of a good med school. I want opinions and thoughts about whether i should take this decision, so feel free to say anything. I would especially like a person who is an alumni of Wayne or MSU who are in med school currently or graduated from (names would be nice, if you wish to disclose)

If it helps, these are some of the med schools i am interested in, in no particular order.
Northwestern, Michigan, Wayne, Vanderbilt, Alabama, UCLA, UChicago, Mayo, Case Western, Duke, Yale (reach), George Washington, Georgetown, Brown

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[eablackwell]

After reading the topic all I could hear in my head was drums...

Sorry, I'm not much help.

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

I don't have any advice regarding the school transfer but why have you started studying for the MCAT as a freshman? You really don't need to study for more than 3-4 months before you take it...

 

[eablackwell]

I don't have any advice regarding the school transfer but why have you started studying for the MCAT as a freshman? You really don't need to study for more than 3-4 months before you take it...

Now I hear drums, Blue Oyster Cult, and cowbell... Thank you.

BTW, I agree. You're studying way too early for the MCAT. Study for classes. Also, is there a doctor's office, a hospital, and a research lab within driving distance of Wayne? If so, you're set for pre-med ECs. Don't forget to help build a house or something for non-medical oriented community service.

Schools don't care all that much for the prestige of your undergrad. I mean, it's a small factor, but nothing compared to gpa, MCAT, and ECs. Also, they do not care if you are on the flag football team or won at beer pong olympics. So while awesome social activities might be something you're looking for, too much of them would likely only hurt your chances at keeping the high, stable gpa you should be hoping for.

 

[doctoroftha313]

Honestly, going to MSU over Wayne really won't make a big difference for med school, if it make a difference at all.

On the other hand, social environment will make a big difference for YOU. You say that YOU don't like the social environment of Wayne, and may enjoy MSU better. This is all entirely up to YOU. Being a commuter to Wayne you may not enjoy your college experience as much as MSU, and maybe it may be a better choice for you. You have to decide this on your own really. Some things I would look into are:

Costs - I would try to minimize debt in undergrad
Clubs/Activities That Interest You - You're going to have to ask around at Wayne to see what's available. I wouldn't be so quick to give up on Wayne because who knows you may end up finding out about more activities/opportunities, meet new people, and end up liking it. On these forums you probably won't get a lot of activity/responses from Wayne (undergrad) alums so yeah.
Commute - Do you have a long commute? Because this can become really annoying.
Comfort - Do you feel more comfortable living at home? Or in dorms/apartments?

Bottom Line: Look into what YOU like best; don't worry so much about which undergrad school is better for med school because it really doesn't matter. If you got the grades/stats the acceptances will come in. Enjoy your college experience because time will fly by!

Personally, I would apply transfer/ go to orientation perhaps and see which school I like better. Although it seems like this is something you should have done during senior year of HS (oh well).

And by the way, it's slightly silly that you write "reach" next to Yale. How do you know?!? You're a freshman for god's sake! And as far as the MCAT is concerned, the best way to 'study' for it as a freshman is to simply ROCK your pre-req courses. Don't bother with passages/prep books right now. Focus on mastering the topics in your classes.

 

[ischemic2]

Transfer for your own social and mental well being instead of thinking that it's going to make a difference in how your medical school application will be viewed.

 

[SterlingArcher]

I am a Freshman at Wayne State University, studying for a BA in Anthropology and a minor in Biology. I am studying to be a premed and have already started to study for the MCATs and volunteer at a local hospital on the weekends.

Academically, I have no complaints against Wayne, but i feel it lacks many social activities and extracurricular activities which would interest me. As i commute, i do not see much that Wayne State has to offer for students, socially. This is why i am debating on whether to transfer to Michigan or Michigan State. I am leaning on Michigan State mainly because only half my credits transfer to Ann Arbor and my APs don't.

I also feel that the lack of reputation that Wayne State has outside of Michigan will hinder my chances of a good med school. I want opinions and thoughts about whether i should take this decision, so feel free to say anything. I would especially like a person who is an alumni of Wayne or MSU who are in med school currently or graduated from (names would be nice, if you wish to disclose)

If it helps, these are some of the med schools i am interested in, in no particular order.
Northwestern, Michigan, Wayne, Vanderbilt, Alabama, UCLA, UChicago, Mayo, Case Western, Duke, Yale (reach), George Washington, Georgetown, Brown

Seriously? Calm down about the MCAT or its going to be a long four years. Also, be careful about AP credits for your prerequisites, because a lot of schools wont accept them/require you to take a higher level course.

Take the advice of the posts above and just find a place where you are happy, otherwise you could end up miserable and burnt out simply because you wanted to name drop on your application.

 

[morning]

MSU doesn't exactly have an amazing rep nationwide either. I'd say there are only a handful of schools that do, University of Michigan being one of them. However, it would be silly to transfer to U of M if more of your credits transfer to MSU. I don't blame you for not wanting to commute into Detroit every day. I've heard only good things about WSU's education (my dad graduated from there) but I wouldn't go out of my way to attend school there. Transferring is not unusual for an undergrad, and if you feel like you would fit better into another school, go for it. Just don't do it because you think med schools will like you more.

 

[tryin2suxede]

Honestly, going to MSU over Wayne really won't make a big difference for med school, if it make a difference at all.

On the other hand, social environment will make a big difference for YOU. You say that YOU don't like the social environment of Wayne, and may enjoy MSU better. This is all entirely up to YOU. Being a commuter to Wayne you may not enjoy your college experience as much as MSU, and maybe it may be a better choice for you. You have to decide this on your own really. Some things I would look into are:

Costs - I would try to minimize debt in undergrad
Clubs/Activities That Interest You - You're going to have to ask around at Wayne to see what's available. I wouldn't be so quick to give up on Wayne because who knows you may end up finding out about more activities/opportunities, meet new people, and end up liking it. On these forums you probably won't get a lot of activity/responses from Wayne (undergrad) alums so yeah.
Commute - Do you have a long commute? Because this can become really annoying.
Comfort - Do you feel more comfortable living at home? Or in dorms/apartments?

Bottom Line: Look into what YOU like best; don't worry so much about which undergrad school is better for med school because it really doesn't matter. If you got the grades/stats the acceptances will come in. Enjoy your college experience because time will fly by!

Personally, I would apply transfer/ go to orientation perhaps and see which school I like better. Although it seems like this is something you should have done during senior year of HS (oh well).

And by the way, it's slightly silly that you write "reach" next to Yale. How do you know?!? You're a freshman for god's sake! And as far as the MCAT is concerned, the best way to 'study' for it as a freshman is to simply ROCK your pre-req courses. Don't bother with passages/prep books right now. Focus on mastering the topics in your classes.

I am NOT using prep books/passages to study, i am just reviewing science classes i have already take from time to time. I think the way that i worded my statement may have caused some problems

I found your list very helpful, and I had compared many of these things in my decision

Cost Wayne State definitely wins in this category and its cost was one of the reasons i had chosen it. the cost of attending MSU was expensive, especially with living fees and the fact that i had no scholarships/grants from them.

Clubs MSU wins because it offers more activities which interest me, especially intramural/club sports. MSU also offers more social activities (not necessarily wild parties/raves) Wayne State activities are difficult to manage, especially since it is a commuter school, so many members are difficult to organize. Also, many sports go into the evening, and i am not keen in staying at Detroit after 7.

Commute It is definitely a long commute, (45 mins to and 45 mins from) and Michigan's constructions doesn't help much either. commuting is especially not attractive when someone has late classes (like me) It is one of the things that is definitely a setback. I think that I would be able to have be involved in much more eC's if i stayed in a campus where i felt safer after dark.

Comfort I am pretty adaptive, so i think that i will be ably to be comfortable anywhere. My parents, on the other hand, would worry too much about how i am doing, and its nice to always have a home cooked meal every night. But, like I said earlier, i would be able to accomplish more (and also be able to rest between classes) and still be able to visit home (only 1.5 hours away from MSU) so i call this a tie.

My primary focus in this was to see if alumni, current students or people who were in my situation could share their stories about how they did in med school. This is mainly because many alumni from Wayne (that i know) have only gone In-state or DO (i am more interested in MD). I do not know that many premeds at State, so that led to my initial belief that State is not very "suitable" for premeds.

 

[morning]

If you live north of Detroit, look at Oakland. If you live south or west, look at U of M or Eastern. Those will be closer than MSU, right?

 

[the duck]

I am NOT using prep books/passages to study, i am just reviewing science classes i have already take from time to time. I think the way that i worded my statement may have caused some problems

I found your list very helpful, and I had compared many of these things in my decision

Cost Wayne State definitely wins in this category and its cost was one of the reasons i had chosen it. the cost of attending MSU was expensive, especially with living fees and the fact that i had no scholarships/grants from them.

Clubs MSU wins because it offers more activities which interest me, especially intramural/club sports. MSU also offers more social activities (not necessarily wild parties/raves) Wayne State activities are difficult to manage, especially since it is a commuter school, so many members are difficult to organize. Also, many sports go into the evening, and i am not keen in staying at Detroit after 7.

Commute It is definitely a long commute, (45 mins to and 45 mins from) and Michigan's constructions doesn't help much either. commuting is especially not attractive when someone has late classes (like me) It is one of the things that is definitely a setback. I think that I would be able to have be involved in much more eC's if i stayed in a campus where i felt safer after dark.

Comfort I am pretty adaptive, so i think that i will be ably to be comfortable anywhere. My parents, on the other hand, would worry too much about how i am doing, and its nice to always have a home cooked meal every night. But, like I said earlier, i would be able to accomplish more (and also be able to rest between classes) and still be able to visit home (only 1.5 hours away from MSU) so i call this a tie.

My primary focus in this was to see if alumni, current students or people who were in my situation could share their stories about how they did in med school. This is mainly because many alumni from Wayne (that i know) have only gone In-state or DO (i am more interested in MD). I do not know that many premeds at State, so that led to my initial belief that State is not very "suitable" for premeds.

You will forget everything you are reviewing now by the time it comes to take the MCAT, take the little extra time you are putting into that, and get a girlfriend, or study for classes.

 

[Slowpoke]

in my opinion, op is late in studying for the mcat. I started studying summer of 7th grade.

 

[BF2BC EMT]

I am a Freshman at Wayne State University, studying for a BA in Anthropology and a minor in Biology. I am studying to be a premed and have already started to study for the MCATs and volunteer at a local hospital on the weekends.

Academically, I have no complaints against Wayne, but i feel it lacks many social activities and extracurricular activities which would interest me. As i commute, i do not see much that Wayne State has to offer for students, socially. This is why i am debating on whether to transfer to Michigan or Michigan State. I am leaning on Michigan State mainly because only half my credits transfer to Ann Arbor and my APs don't.

I also feel that the lack of reputation that Wayne State has outside of Michigan will hinder my chances of a good med school. I want opinions and thoughts about whether i should take this decision, so feel free to say anything. I would especially like a person who is an alumni of Wayne or MSU who are in med school currently or graduated from (names would be nice, if you wish to disclose)

If it helps, these are some of the med schools i am interested in, in no particular order.
Northwestern, Michigan, Wayne, Vanderbilt, Alabama, UCLA, UChicago, Mayo, Case Western, Duke, Yale (reach), George Washington, Georgetown, Brown

your a freshman, 18-19ish? stuck in the awkward to young to drink or go out age, once your 21 (even if you dont drink) it will get better. As others have said drop the MCAT and creep on local sorority girls

 

[apumic]

in my opinion, op is late in studying for the mcat. I started studying summer of 7th grade.

That's pretty good. I didn't start until spring of 7th... but I had to take a gap year after college to finish my studying, so I guess it all evens out in the end.

 

[tryin2suxede]

Seriously? Calm down about the MCAT or its going to be a long four years. Also, be careful about AP credits for your prerequisites, because a lot of schools wont accept them/require you to take a higher level course.

Take the advice of the posts above and just find a place where you are happy, otherwise you could end up miserable and burnt out simply because you wanted to name drop on your application.

I am not exactly transferring for a name drop. I am actually wondering whether colleges would care if i transferred. Also, i know that AP scores are not always accepted but if i do transfer to UMich, i would be required to take the same classes which i studied to test out (waste of time and money? yes.)