Switching UGrad schools

[Sir Buckethead]

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I failed out my freshman year (put on probation then dropped), took a year off, grew up and then finished a year at community college. I have my AS in biology now and I'm trying to choose which university to finish off my last two undergrad years at.

A premed advisor told me that to help my case I should switch to a different university, that way there is a very clear division between my screwoff freshman grades and the rest. Has anyone else heard this or does it not matter since AMCAS is entered in one big lump anyway?

If it changes anything, the school I'm thinking of switching to has a slightly higher reputation for academic rigorosity.

 

[DrMidlife]

I don't think it matters very much.

There's some AMCAS lumping, but AMCAS is also going to give year-by-year breakdowns. That freshman year is on there all by itself no matter what you do. (Don't be sad. Focus on how good your upward trend looks.)

You could argue the opposite of what your advisor says, and both points of view probably have merit. If you went back to your old school and succeeded, that would demonstrate that you've recovered.

I recommend that you choose a university where you're going to succeed and have a good time. It sounds like you found a school you want to attend - can you make the time to visit, sit in on a class, and find some unhappy students who wish they'd gone somewhere else? (You don't have to follow their advice.) Forewarned is forearmed.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Sir Buckethead]

Cool, thanks.

It appears that like so much on SDN it really comes down to "do what you want."