Should I transfer?

[NeverMeetAgain]

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I am considering transferring from my current university (a small - about 6k students - public LAC) to a larger state university, but I am having my doubts about doing so.

The pros to transferring are:
-Better social life (currently, my school is considered a 'suitcase school')
-More intellectual/research opportunities at a larger school
-I could be challenged more at a larger school (I feel like a big fish in a little pond here)

Now, the cons:
-I love how liberal the environment is at my school (I live in South Carolina, not known for being liberal. As a gay guy, this is pretty important)
-Friends. Although I'll only be a sophomore when/if I transfer, I love my friends I have here
-I like the personal feel. Classes aren't large, and professors know me by name and will stop and talk to me outside.
-$6k/year in scholarships that are unique to my school


Any input?

 

[sakabato93]

I am considering transferring from my current university (a small - about 6k students - public LAC) to a larger state university, but I am having my doubts about doing so.

The pros to transferring are:
-Better social life (currently, my school is considered a 'suitcase school')
-More intellectual/research opportunities at a larger school
-I could be challenged more at a larger school (I feel like a big fish in a little pond here)

Now, the cons:
-I love how liberal the environment is at my school (I live in South Carolina, not known for being liberal. As a gay guy, this is pretty important)
-Friends. Although I'll only be a sophomore when/if I transfer, I love my friends I have here
-I like the personal feel. Classes aren't large, and professors know me by name and will stop and talk to me outside.
-$6k/year in scholarships that are unique to my school


Any input?

Two questions pop out to me:
Where do you want to go to med school? Top research/mid-tier research schools want to see significant research experience in your application, and sounds like your current school doesn't really help much with that.

What makes you feel comfortable? I think this is the more important question... Success in college (especially as a premed) is largely psychological. If you feel good about your school (close friends, comfortable learning environment, etc) then you should keep it that way. Since you're gay in SC (good luck to you, sir), I'd imagine that its going to be a rough transition to other schools (although universities are generally known to be more liberal in general, even in traditionally conservative states).

Honestly, its all about how you feel about moving. Your feelings have a much stronger effect on your hard data (GPA/MCAT) than you may think! If you really are more comfortable at the small school with your close friends and good relationships with profs, I'd say stay! If you feel like its time to move onto a new place (for whatever reason), then go!

But also factor in financial burdens. I'd imagine that your tiny college is probably private and has high tuition, meaning that its possible to be less burdened by going to the larger state school, even if you have a small scholarship to the tiny college.

If you do decide to stay, remember there are ways to improvise things like research. There are many third party programs from other schools that help you do research during the summers and winters. Its going to be a pain, but you should try and look into those and apply to get experience.

Hope this helps, and good luck to you!!!!

 

[fourhumours]

Two questions pop out to me:
Where do you want to go to med school? Top research/mid-tier research schools want to see significant research experience in your application, and sounds like your current school doesn't really help much with that.

What makes you feel comfortable? I think this is the more important question... Success in college (especially as a premed) is largely psychological. If you feel good about your school (close friends, comfortable learning environment, etc) then you should keep it that way. Since you're gay in SC (good luck to you, sir), I'd imagine that its going to be a rough transition to other schools (although universities are generally known to be more liberal in general, even in traditionally conservative states).

Honestly, its all about how you feel about moving. Your feelings have a much stronger effect on your hard data (GPA/MCAT) than you may think! If you really are more comfortable at the small school with your close friends and good relationships with profs, I'd say stay! If you feel like its time to move onto a new place (for whatever reason), then go!

But also factor in financial burdens. I'd imagine that your tiny college is probably private and has high tuition, meaning that its possible to be less burdened by going to the larger state school, even if you have a small scholarship to the tiny college.

If you do decide to stay, remember there are ways to improvise things like research. There are many third party programs from other schools that help you do research during the summers and winters. Its going to be a pain, but you should try and look into those and apply to get experience.

Hope this helps, and good luck to you!!!!

regarding research, often liberal arts colleges are great places to do research (the kind that will be good enough for medical school) because the professor do not have Grad students to be RA's and rely on undergrads, so I think that really doesn't matter to much.

I would say if you like your college and are getting good grades there is no reason to move because it probably wont help you get into medical school (unless you are going to Bumkin College of hillbilly mountain and are transferring to a college like U of South Carolina).

 

[sakabato93]

regarding research, often liberal arts colleges are great places to do research (the kind that will be good enough for medical school) because the professor do not have Grad students to be RA's and rely on undergrads, so I think that really doesn't matter to much.

I would say if you like your college and are getting good grades there is no reason to move because it probably wont help you get into medical school (unless you are going to Bumkin College of hillbilly mountain and are transferring to a college like U of South Carolina).

He said something about more opportunities at the larger college. I assumed that the opportunities are generally slim at his school.

 

[Pasmal]

Being a big fish in a small pond has its benefits.

I transferred from a larger school (~30k) to a small LAC (~3k). Best choice ever.

Research opportunities were far easier for me to come by, because I could actually talk to the profs after class. Funding was more competitive, but still attainable and nothing close to the competition at bigger schools (though there is also more money up for grabs to mitigate that somewhat).

My LORS were solid. I even knew the college president on a first-name basis (went to his office hours very regularly). He wrote me the first rec letter he had actually written himself (as opposed to his VP) in something like 6 years.

I didn't get as distracted as I did at the bigger school. Those distractions would have kept me from getting into medical school (not saying that's the case for everyone, but given the school/city I was in... it would have been tough).

It comes down to "what's best for you?" When you consider the answer to that question, consider whether your decision is emotionally-driven. You need to consider this logically, there's no room for emotions. What's going to get you from point A (now) to point B (med school)?

As someone who made the hard choice, I can tell you that a few years of laying low and getting my **** done was SO worth it.

I hope things work out for ya!

 

[gumdrops]

I am considering transferring from my current university (a small - about 6k students - public LAC) to a larger state university, but I am having my doubts about doing so.

The pros to transferring are:
-Better social life (currently, my school is considered a 'suitcase school')
-More intellectual/research opportunities at a larger school
-I could be challenged more at a larger school (I feel like a big fish in a little pond here)

Now, the cons:
-I love how liberal the environment is at my school (I live in South Carolina, not known for being liberal. As a gay guy, this is pretty important)
-Friends. Although I'll only be a sophomore when/if I transfer, I love my friends I have here
-I like the personal feel. Classes aren't large, and professors know me by name and will stop and talk to me outside.
-$6k/year in scholarships that are unique to my school


Any input?

Honestly, just stay wherever you feel like you'll stand out academically. If research opportunities are a real concern, apply for summer research programs at NIH, SURF programs, etc. Those are super-prestigious and will give you more than enough research experience to be competitive at even MD/Ph.D programs. A close friend of mine went to a school that sounds very similar to yours and she was interviewed at multiple top MSTP's because she excelled in summer research programs and looked like the promising big fish from a small pond. Good luck.

 

[NeverMeetAgain]

Thank you for all of the replies everyone! I should clarify one thing: there is research available at my school, but it is very limited. And we do have a grad school, so there is some competition with those students as well. I had never considered outside research opportunities before, so that is something I will definitely be looking into. Are those programs mentioned extremely hard to get into, or is it something relatively attainable?

I'm still mulling over the decision of whether to stay or go, of course, but all of this input is definitely making things easier.

 

[DokterMom]

Being a big fish in a small pond has its benefits.

I transferred from a larger school (~30k) to a small LAC (~3k). Best choice ever.

Research opportunities were far easier for me to come by, because I could actually talk to the profs after class. Funding was more competitive, but still attainable and nothing close to the competition at bigger schools (though there is also more money up for grabs to mitigate that somewhat).

My LORS were solid. I even knew the college president on a first-name basis (went to his office hours very regularly). He wrote me the first rec letter he had actually written himself (as opposed to his VP) in something like 6 years.

I didn't get as distracted as I did at the bigger school. Those distractions would have kept me from getting into medical school (not saying that's the case for everyone, but given the school/city I was in... it would have been tough).

It comes down to "what's best for you?" When you consider the answer to that question, consider whether your decision is emotionally-driven. You need to consider this logically, there's no room for emotions. What's going to get you from point A (now) to point B (med school)?

As someone who made the hard choice, I can tell you that a few years of laying low and getting my **** done was SO worth it.

I hope things work out for ya!

This. Being a big fish in a small pond means that your professors will actually *know* you and will give a hoot whether you get into medical school or not. That will show in your LORs, and that will really help when push comes to shove and ADCOMS are choosing between two applicants with approximately equal qualifications. That bit of extra enthusiasm and sincerity will become very obvious then...

I don't know how big the larger university you're considering is, but it will be very easy to become 'just another fish in the pond' and much harder to stand out.

Unless there's something specific you're missing and can't get there, don't assume that the grass must be greener at Big U, because very often, it isn't.

 

[Pasmal]

Thank you for all of the replies everyone! I should clarify one thing: there is research available at my school, but it is very limited. And we do have a grad school, so there is some competition with those students as well. I had never considered outside research opportunities before, so that is something I will definitely be looking into. Are those programs mentioned extremely hard to get into, or is it something relatively attainable?

I'm still mulling over the decision of whether to stay or go, of course, but all of this input is definitely making things easier.

Outside research availability depends on the location. I'd ask the school you're think about going to. Outside paid internships are also something to consider. That said, you don't need *alot* of research opportunities, just one 🙂