Transfer worth it?

[uvoil]

I'm at a t25 undergrad right now, out of state. Reason I came was for a t5 undergrad business program I got into. However, the out of state tuition is extremely expensive for my parents, of which they are paying all. Since I was thinking business, the investment seemed to be worth it. However, this first semester, I am strongly disliking the idea of me pursuing business here and am interested in doing a pre-med track as I originally thought a while back.

I could stay at the school I am now, but I don't feel like the difficulty of doing well in pre-med here along with the expensive tuition is worth it for undergrad.

My in-state public school, if I attend, is very cheap, respected, and getting a strong GPA would not be as difficult as where I am now. I currently have a strong GPA and many AP credits from high school. If I transferred in next semester, I feel like I could do better there where everything is more manageable. I'm not too worried about the social life as I have friends going to the in-state school and I'm planning on joining some organizations already. For me, the only concern would be that I don't do as well as expected in pre-med, and the transfer ends up being the wrong choice; also, I'd be somewhat limited to sticking with pre-med for sure.

Thoughts?

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[Optimist Prime]

My thought is you have to decide what you want to do. Unless you go to an ivy league or something no schools really care where you graduate from so you have to decide what's best for you and pursue it.

 

[chemdoctor]

I think you may as well transfer. For business I guess your current school would be good. But paying that much tuition for undergrad, especially when you're most likely going to be in debt for medical school as well anyway, doesn't make much sense. If your instate school, is really really crappy then don't do it. But you said that your instate school is pretty good right? Then I think you may as well transfer.

 

[DokterMom]

Do consider factors other than the ranking of various undergraduate degree programs though. Is State U much larger? That can be a problem for some students. Does it have sufficient research opportunities? Will you be an anonymous face in a 1,000-student Chem 101 pre-med weed out class? That is taught by a graduate student TA with a near-indecipherably-thick accent? Will you be derailed by Greek life? Football culture? Going home on weekends? Partying with friends from high school? Will your professors be available to help if you need it? Will they know your name and face when you ask for LORs?

All things to consider...

 

[YeaJeets2]

I would strongly recommend shadowing, speaking with physicians and advisers, and doing plenty of research into the medical field before making the decision to transfer. As a finance major from a t10 undergrad business school, I cannot stress enough how much of a difference it makes getting started in the business world from a top school. I would absolutely rule out business before you give up that opportunity to transfer and commit to pre-med. Becoming a physician is a huge commitment, so it would really stink to transfer and then change your mind.