Should I Transfer?

[JSJ1313]

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I have been struggling about whether or not to transfer schools for the upcoming year. Here's my situation:

• Second-year honors student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville
• Took 33 hours last year and earned a 4.00 GPA (3 honors courses)
• Was a business major, so last year's sciences did not apply to premedical requirements
• Currently taking honors general chemistry and general biology, and should earn an A in both classes

I have been told by my high school advisor that with my perfect GPA in the honors program, 30 ACT superscore, 1420 SAT, and solid volunteer work at the UT Medical Center, I should be able to get into schools such as Vanderbilt (I'm from Nashville), Cornell, etc.

My main objective is to get into medical school, and I would love to go to UT-Memphis Medical School. However, I am curious about whether or not my chances would go up for matriculation into more highly regarded medical schools if I attended an elite private university for the remainder of undergraduate studies.

So what do you think? Should I transfer or should I stay in Knoxville?

 

[FlowLimited]

Stay, stay, stay. The boost you'd get from transferring is insignificant. It sounds like you're doing great right where you are, so don't mess with a good thing.

 

[Decicco]

Absolutely do not transfer. It sounds to me like things are working out very well at your current institution, why risk changing that?

 

[TexasPhysician]

There is really minimal benefit to a transfer. Pull a high gpa where you are and score half decent on the MCAT and you will be fine.

 

[aebvd97]

I definitely agree with everyone else...stay at UT-knoxville. Continue rocking your classes, study hard and do well on the MCAT (it looks like you do well on standardized tests), and then aim for Vanderbilt, Cornell, etc. for med school.

 

[mmmcdowe]

I have been struggling about whether or not to transfer schools for the upcoming year. Here's my situation:

• Second-year honors student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville
• Took 33 hours last year and earned a 4.00 GPA (3 honors courses)
• Was a business major, so last year's sciences did not apply to premedical requirements
• Currently taking honors general chemistry and general biology, and should earn an A in both classes

I have been told by my high school advisor that with my perfect GPA in the honors program, 30 ACT superscore, 1420 SAT, and solid volunteer work at the UT Medical Center, I should be able to get into schools such as Vanderbilt (I'm from Nashville), Cornell, etc.

My main objective is to get into medical school, and I would love to go to UT-Memphis Medical School. However, I am curious about whether or not my chances would go up for matriculation into more highly regarded medical schools if I attended an elite private university for the remainder of undergraduate studies.

So what do you think? Should I transfer or should I stay in Knoxville?

Lol........

 

[JSJ1313]

Lol........

What's funny about my post?

Anyway, thanks to everyone for all of their advice. I am leaning towards staying here for the rest of undergraduate studies at the moment.

 

[PremedIowa]

I agree with all the posts here. I initially considered transferring just for some stupid prestige factor, but it would have been a terrible choice. Do some research, volunteer, rock your classes and MCAT, and have some fun!

This is the most relaxed time you will have for the rest of your life. Take it easy, go out on weekdays, and do not do any school work for an entire day.

 

[JeetKuneDo]

I have a question though, you say you're a second year? I'm assuming that means you graduated highschool not too long ago. How come your SAT score was only 1420? I thought the new ones were out of 2400. Did you leave out your writing score or were you just able to take the older version? (Not attacking, just wondering)

 

[biophysicianai]

This is the most relaxed time you will have for the rest of your life. Take it easy, go out on weekdays, and do not do any school work for an entire day

😱

i'm jealous

i wanna go to your school 🙄

here are my stats:
( )
( )
( )
( )

should I transfer to UT knoxville?

 

[Thrombomodulin]

.

 

[JSJ1313]

I have a question though, you say you're a second year? I'm assuming that means you graduated highschool not too long ago. How come your SAT score was only 1420? I thought the new ones were out of 2400. Did you leave out your writing score or were you just able to take the older version? (Not attacking, just wondering)

I took the new SAT, but I left out the writing portion; with it included, I scored a 2060.

 

[JeetKuneDo]

I took the new SAT, but I left out the writing portion; with it included, I scored a 2060.

Ah, that's cool.

 

[mmmcdowe]

What's funny about my post?

Anyway, thanks to everyone for all of their advice. I am leaning towards staying here for the rest of undergraduate studies at the moment.

That you called it a superscore. Is that what its really called now adays? You aren't the first one to use that term...

 

[Dookter]

As a UT Knoxville grad who was accepted to big name med schools [currently at Duke], I'd say don't even think about leaving UTK. UT is in some respects the perfect type of school to launch into medical school from because it has a lot of resources, lots of research to get involved with, an honors program that allows you to get the most out of the university, and a lot of volunteer/extracurricular opportunities. It is also a fun place to go to college where you can have a ton of fun without spending $45K a year to go to school. On top of that, you aren't fighting tooth and nail with all the other students since if you're one of the best there it is a little easier to rise to the top. One of the biggest drawbacks is the pre-professional advising [I know this because I worked as a pre-health advisor at UT and saw that EVERY piece of advice was centered on sending students to UT health programs while ignoring all the other programs in the country]. I'd also say to not get too cocky just yet. I say this as a word of caution since I met a lot of kids at UT whose high school guidance counselors thought they were oh so smart [let's face it, your high school scores aren't exactly through the roof]. Work hard and never think you're on easy street because once you get out of TN and UT you'll realize that combining your ACT score to get a 30 isn't all that impressive. As a UT grad it's almost a little offensive that you think you need to transfer away from UT and part of that is based on an ACT/SAT score that is lower than almost everyone I knew well at UT. Just stay where you are, continue what you're doing, go to medical school, etc...

EDIT: After reading my above post I realize that it sounds a little too negative. I'd like to say congrats for your strong work at UT. Keep up the good work and kick some @$$ so that we can continue to show schools like Vandy that we can launch to good places without having to pay $45K in rocket fuel a year! And get our football team back on track while you're at it!

 

[beachblonde]

It can be easier to transfer in to some of the top tier schools (as opposed to applying straight out while in high school), but there's 1) no guarantee you'd get in, and 2) really no reason for you to transfer. If you don't absolutely hate your college right now, transferring "up" really isn't going to make that much of an impact on going to medical school. Now, if you were interested solely in business, then I would say go ahead and try for it. But really, with a 4.0 GPA, and if you do reasonably well on the MCAT (plus the volunteering, etc) you'll probably have no issue getting into UT for med school. Stay put, do well, and enjoy college.

 

[crixx]

Do you have reasons for wanting to transfer other than the possible gain of prestige? If you have personal reasons, as in if you're miserable at your current school, then the decision becomes more difficult. But if you are going to transfer to a "betters school" only because it is a "better school", I'd suggest staying put.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Stay where you are and excel there. I'd take my 4.0 from my "party school" over a 3.7 at Harvard. Many schools account for increased difficulty, but many =/= all.

 

[JSJ1313]

That you called it a superscore. Is that what its really called now adays? You aren't the first one to use that term...

The superscore takes the best overall score from each part of the exam and derives a new composite score for the test.

 

[JSJ1313]

As a UT Knoxville grad who was accepted to big name med schools [currently at Duke], I'd say don't even think about leaving UTK. UT is in some respects the perfect type of school to launch into medical school from because it has a lot of resources, lots of research to get involved with, an honors program that allows you to get the most out of the university, and a lot of volunteer/extracurricular opportunities. It is also a fun place to go to college where you can have a ton of fun without spending $45K a year to go to school. On top of that, you aren't fighting tooth and nail with all the other students since if you're one of the best there it is a little easier to rise to the top. One of the biggest drawbacks is the pre-professional advising [I know this because I worked as a pre-health advisor at UT and saw that EVERY piece of advice was centered on sending students to UT health programs while ignoring all the other programs in the country]. I'd also say to not get too cocky just yet. I say this as a word of caution since I met a lot of kids at UT whose high school guidance counselors thought they were oh so smart [let's face it, your high school scores aren't exactly through the roof]. Work hard and never think you're on easy street because once you get out of TN and UT you'll realize that combining your ACT score to get a 30 isn't all that impressive. As a UT grad it's almost a little offensive that you think you need to transfer away from UT and part of that is based on an ACT/SAT score that is lower than almost everyone I knew well at UT. Just stay where you are, continue what you're doing, go to medical school, etc...

EDIT: After reading my above post I realize that it sounds a little too negative. I'd like to say congrats for your strong work at UT. Keep up the good work and kick some @$$ so that we can continue to show schools like Vandy that we can launch to good places without having to pay $45K in rocket fuel a year! And get our football team back on track while you're at it!

Don't worry about sounding too negative; I want honest opinions about the situation. Honestly, I don't think I was every really that serious about transferring. I just wanted to explore my options.

I feel like I should note a couple of things. First of all, I am not cocky about my situation. The whole reason I was considering transferring (outside of the 'prestige' factor) is that I want to put myself in the best possible situation for matriculation into an allopathic medical school. I work very hard for what I get; I am not one of those kids that can attend class and ace an exam without putting in hours of studying (as you can see from my high school test scores).

Secondly, I realize my ACT scores are not impressive, but it's not like I had a 26 and a 27 on my two individual tests (I received a 29 on both times). I think my actual aptitude lies somewhere between the 30 ACT and the 1420 SAT.

Lastly, I did not considering transferring because of my high school test scores. I came to UT in the first place because of money, and now that the Knoxville campus is experiencing significant budget cuts (which are directly affecting the honors program - classes have been cut, including upper-distribution courses), I am concerned I may have to take out more in student loans. The schools I planned on applying to for transfer have 100% need-based aid in the form of non-repayable scholarships and grants.

I really appreciate your input, since you have gone through what I am about to start.

 

[PornStarPreMed]

for the most part, i agree with everyone on this thread... BUT, there's no harm in applying around (except of course a few hundred on applications, along with some time).

i applied to some "bigger name schools" after second year, got in, but decided to stick around at my original institution... i haven't regretted it one bit.

but again, there might not be much harm in applying, and seeing what offers you get (admission, as well as financial offers).

 

[beachblonde]

Lastly, I did not considering transferring because of my high school test scores. I came to UT in the first place because of money, and now that the Knoxville campus is experiencing significant budget cuts (which are directly affecting the honors program - classes have been cut, including upper-distribution courses), I am concerned I may have to take out more in student loans. The schools I planned on applying to for transfer have 100% need-based aid in the form of non-repayable scholarships and grants.

Now, that is a very valid reason to look into transferring. You'll carry enough debt later on from med school, so if you are looking into attending a school where your undergrad debt will be minimized, go ahead and apply. The worst that happens at this point is you don't find a better deal and stay put. I have many a friend who attended colleges that required hefty loans, and boy are they now regretting that decision, especially when they could have easily attended an equally good, yet cheaper, school.

But really, with your GPA, you stand an excellent chance of getting admitted to med school, especially your state school. So I wouldn't worry about that too much.