transfer after first year?

[yjj8817]

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If I wanted to transfer to another institution after my first year, would that affect my admission to medical schools? Do medical school admission officers prefer students to stay at one institution?

Also, is transfer admission harder than freshman admission for top 20 schools?

 

[mspeedwagon]

It will not matter at all for medical school. Medical schools have no preference for students that stay at one institution versus transferring to a different one. What will matter is how well you do academically.

I can only speak to the school I went to (an Ivy), and transfer admission was much harder than freshman admission. That said, there were always kids that got in as transfers that didn't initially, but they normally worked their butt off to prove themselves their first year of college.

If I wanted to transfer to another institution after my first year, would that affect my admission to medical schools? Do medical school admission officers prefer students to stay at one institution?

Also, is transfer admission harder than freshman admission for top 20 schools?

 

[GoodmanBrown]

If I wanted to transfer to another institution after my first year, would that affect my admission to medical schools? Do medical school admission officers prefer students to stay at one institution?

Also, is transfer admission harder than freshman admission for top 20 schools?

Agree with ^, you're unlikely to get a transfer if you couldn't get in originally. That counts for pretty much all schools, but doubly so Ivies.

 

[yjj8817]

If I decided to attend my state school to take premed req classes such as O Chem that are killer at schools like Northwestern and then transfer after one year to schools like Northwestern, would that be a good idea?

Also, is getting into top notch medical schools like Harvard really beneficial to my medical career?

Thank you!

 

[mspeedwagon]

Going to your state school, and then going to Northwestern won't be a problem. Though, remember that the harder pre-medical classes are not taken in your first year (normally second and third). Also, there is no guarantee that Northwestern will take you as a transfer student. If you'd be happier at Northwestern than your state school, it'll be much easier to go to Northwestern from the start. Transferring is a pain for so many reasons, including socially since most people form friends in their first year, but it can be done.

Getting into a top notch medical school for the most part is not really of much benefit if you want to practice in the US. Getting a high USMLE score is of great benefit and this should be your goal. Also, remember that half of applicants to medical school do not get in any where, so getting in anywhere is impressive.

If I decided to attend my state school to take premed req classes such as O Chem that are killer at schools like Northwestern and then transfer after one year to schools like Northwestern, would that be a good idea?

Also, is getting into top notch medical schools like Harvard really beneficial to my medical career?

Thank you!

 

[yjj8817]

I am a high school senior right now and I already got into Northwestern but due to financial reasons it is hard for me to afford out of state education for my first year. Wouldn't Northwestern just accept me right away for my transfer admission since I got in with first year admission? Of course, I am talking about transferring after doing well in my first year at my state school

thank you!

 

[mspeedwagon]

Normally the answer is no. You would have to re-apply and it'll depend on a number factors, including some that are out of your control such as how many transfer spaces they have open.

I would contact Northwestern and tell them that you would love to attend, but finances are holding you back and they may sweeten the deal. No guarantees here, but if the difference is not substantial, I'd take on a few thousand dollars more in loans to go to Northwestern.

Remember, while medical school won't care where you go to school, if you change your mind and decide to work, it'll be easier to land a job coming out of Northwestern than most state schools.

I am a high school senior right now and I already got into Northwestern but due to financial reasons it is hard for me to afford out of state education for my first year. Wouldn't Northwestern just accept me right away for my transfer admission since I got in with first year admission? Of course, I am talking about transferring after doing well in my first year at my state school

thank you!

 

[MossPoh]

It is always tempting to go to the flashy school, but you have to remember that as an incoming college freshman you really have no clue what you will end up doing. I know I know, you have dreamed of being a doctor since you were a little kid and all that, but once you enter college you have an entire world of things you never knew existed thrown into your face. Very few people enter college wanting to major in computational linguistics, biochemistry, german lit, american studies or whatever else one can think of. They start off in the big things like "biology" and "business" without a real grasp of what it means. This plays into your school decision from a financial standpoint. So, what if you suddenly become moved by foreign languages, ecology, teaching, or whatever else but you know you're going to be saddled with a large debt? It is going to affect your decision and what you pursue. It shouldn't, but it will. I went to state schools. Fairly prestigious as far as large state schools go, but still a state school. I've had just as many opportunities and doors opened for me through my connections as my friends from the top 20s. Actually, I got offered several jobs OVER them because I was from that school. Just something to think about..debt does matter regardless of what people like to tell you.

 

[mspeedwagon]

I agree with you for the most part, hence why I said it would make sense to take a few thousand dollars worth of debt and NOT tens of thousand dollars worth of debt.

Without knowing the state school in question, I have no way to compare Northwestern to the state school. There are certain places where local employers really like to recruit out of their state school, so if you want to stay local it makes sense.

Also, let me point out that the poster here said he/she got jobs through "connections." Though important, not as much so for the Top 20. Every top firm came to recruit from my undergrad and back in 2005 the base starting salary was 65k (I had no knowledge what it is now). This meant it was easy to get a job anywhere in the US.

I think what it comes down to is this: go to the school you'll be happiest at, and do well at, without incurring too much debt (in the grand scheme of things a few thousand dollars won't matter; however, tens of thousand will).

Again, as far as medical school goes there is absolutely no advantage to going to a top school vs your state school.

It is always tempting to go to the flashy school, but you have to remember that as an incoming college freshman you really have no clue what you will end up doing. I know I know, you have dreamed of being a doctor since you were a little kid and all that, but once you enter college you have an entire world of things you never knew existed thrown into your face. Very few people enter college wanting to major in computational linguistics, biochemistry, german lit, american studies or whatever else one can think of. They start off in the big things like "biology" and "business" without a real grasp of what it means. This plays into your school decision from a financial standpoint. So, what if you suddenly become moved by foreign languages, ecology, teaching, or whatever else but you know you're going to be saddled with a large debt? It is going to affect your decision and what you pursue. It shouldn't, but it will. I went to state schools. Fairly prestigious as far as large state schools go, but still a state school. I've had just as many opportunities and doors opened for me through my connections as my friends from the top 20s. Actually, I got offered several jobs OVER them because I was from that school. Just something to think about..debt does matter regardless of what people like to tell you.

 

[FutureCTDoc]

On the debt issue financial aid is less generous to transfers usually. If you truly love a school, communicate that their package is too small to allow you to attend, event though they're your first choice.

 

[bambi]

Again, as far as medical school goes there is absolutely no advantage to going to a top school vs your state school.

How can you make that kind of statement as a pre-med?

 

[FutureCTDoc]

How can you make that kind of statement as a pre-med?

In the US the quality of training is substantially equivalent between XYZ State and Harvard. The biggest difference other than name is cost, my state university runs 20,000 less per annum as opposed to an equivalent private university. Also some state schools like UCSF, UCLA, Michigan and Iowa are among the best medical schools in the country.

 

[bambi]

In the US the quality of training is substantially equivalent between XYZ State and Harvard. The biggest difference other than name is cost, my state university runs 20,000 less per annum as opposed to an equivalent private university. Also some state schools like UCSF, UCLA, Michigan and Iowa are among the best medical schools in the country.

Whether or not education is actually of the same quality or not is not what people think about, it's the name, from reading these boards it seems pretty clear that name does help in some situations at least. Also, from the sounds of things education quality in the US varies a lot more than it does in some other countries, England for example. Anyway,my main point was that someone who isn't even a med student yet shouldn't make that kind of statement unless it is followed by "in my opinion".

 

[FutureCTDoc]

Whether or not education is actually of the same quality or not is not what people think about, it's the name, from reading these boards it seems pretty clear that name does help in some situations at least. Also, from the sounds of things education quality in the US varies a lot more than it does in some other countries, England for example. Anyway,my main point was that someone who isn't even a med student yet shouldn't make that kind of statement unless it is followed by "in my opinion".

Actually there really isn't a difference in the US between various medical schools. Statistics and students tend to be bigger differentiators between institutions as opposed to varying quality of the schools, despite what you may have heard in England and on SDN. Also we're on a very different system compared to the UK, the MD and DO are postgraduate degrees as opposed to bachelors.

 

[mspeedwagon]

I was basing this is in part off my gfs experience. She's a second year medical student and went to a no-name undergrad school and had no issues getting into med school (multiple M.D. acceptances).

Also, I'm furthering basing this on conversations I've had with adcoms. I went to an Ivy personally and every adcom that I've contacted in CA has told me that they don't differentiate between top college and other colleges (I was hoping my undergrad would hold some weight as I really want to attend a UC). So I can confirm in CA it won't matter per the adcoms at multiple UCs in NoCal. I doubt it'll matter anywhere else imho.

Forgot to mention, I also work very closely with the medical school admission director at my university since I conduct interviews for BS/MD candidates. She said that they do not really give much weight to college attended (again, I was hoping for a little easier acceptance back to my alma).

Whether or not education is actually of the same quality or not is not what people think about, it's the name, from reading these boards it seems pretty clear that name does help in some situations at least. Also, from the sounds of things education quality in the US varies a lot more than it does in some other countries, England for example. Anyway,my main point was that someone who isn't even a med student yet shouldn't make that kind of statement unless it is followed by "in my opinion".

 

[bambi]

Also we're on a very different system compared to the UK, the MD and DO are postgraduate degrees as opposed to bachelors.

I know, but how is that relevant?