Transferring- Tier 3 to Tier 1?

[jtimmer1]

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I currently attend a tier 3 school in North Carolina (its a satellite campus of the University of North Carolina, from my profile, I bet you can guess which one). I attended this school because when I applied to college, I didn't really know what I wanted to do; UNC-Charlotte is pretty close to home and I didn't really want to move far away yet. This year has been great, I have made good grades, as well as being knee-deep in research, and doeing all the "pre-med" things I guess you could say. However, I applied to transfer to the University of North Carolina and NC State (both of which are pretty highly ranked tier 1 schools).

I guess I just want to know if anyone has transferred schools while being a pre-med and how that has worked out like with commitee letters and such. Also, do you think it really matters what rank your university was when applying to medical school? I know noone will be getting into, for instance, Harvard SOM from a tier 3, but in general does it matter? I am just looking for any input on the whole transferrring process.

Thanks in advance.

 

[fuzzywuz]

I guess I just want to know if anyone has transferred schools while being a pre-med and how that has worked out like with commitee letters and such. Also, do you think it really matters what rank your university was when applying to medical school? I know noone will be getting into, for instance, Harvard SOM from a tier 3, but in general does it matter? I am just looking for any input on the whole transferrring process.

Thanks in advance.

There's plenty of threads about transferring from school A to school B. There are also plenty of threads about whether school rep plays a role in admission. The answers you'll get are the same.Try a searching.

As a transfer myself, it worked out fine. Committee letter won't be an issue unless you transferred late. You need a certain number of credits from the institution under your belt before they will write you a letter.

 

[DrWookie]

Maybe I'm weird but...what are tiers? I've never heard of Tier 1 to 3 in undergraduate schools.

I go to a small liberal arts college (Lewis and Clark College, doubt anyone has heard of it) and last year one person went to Harvard, one person went to UW, one person went to Stanford and then a couple of others I don't remember. I'm applying this year and I have acceptances...though I don't know what "Tier" my school is.

 

[FlowLimited]

It's ridiculous to assume that attending a "lower-ranked" undergrad will automatically preclude you from highly regarded medical schools like Harvard, or ANY medical school for that matter.

As you've said, your undergrad experience thus far has been great, so why mess with a good thing? Transferring will have no appreciable effect on your competitiveness.

Stay where you are.

 

[Bacchus]

Maybe I'm weird but...what are tiers? I've never heard of Tier 1 to 3 in undergraduate schools.

I go to a small liberal arts college (Lewis and Clark College, doubt anyone has heard of it) and last year one person went to Harvard, one person went to UW, one person went to Stanford and then a couple of others I don't remember. I'm applying this year and I have acceptances...though I don't know what "Tier" my school is.

I've heard of it.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

Maybe I'm weird but...what are tiers? I've never heard of Tier 1 to 3 in undergraduate schools.

Yeah I wouldn't know how to divvy them up either...and if I did, I don't think NCstate would make the tier 1 cutoff (sorry to any offended NCstaters out there)

 

[DrWookie]

I've heard of it.

Yay! 🙂

 

[alibai3ah]

Maybe I'm weird but...what are tiers? I've never heard of Tier 1 to 3 in undergraduate schools.

I go to a small liberal arts college (Lewis and Clark College, doubt anyone has heard of it) and last year one person went to Harvard, one person went to UW, one person went to Stanford and then a couple of others I don't remember. I'm applying this year and I have acceptances...though I don't know what "Tier" my school is.

Check the US News Week undergraduate rankings.....I believe the top 50 universities in the US are Tier 1..... (around that)....and I really don't think it matters that much where you do your undergrad.

 

[jtimmer1]

Thanks for the replies; keep them coming.

NC State is ranked ~83 on the tier 1 list via US news rankings.

 

[FlowLimited]

Thanks for the replies; keep them coming.

NC State is ranked ~83 on the tier 1 list via US news rankings.

There's not much else to say. Transferring is pointless.

 

[cliffhuxtableDO]

I went from UNC-Wilmington to NC State and back to UNC-Wilmington. Stay where you are. You're already comfortable and established.

 

[PremedIowa]

So long as you do well on the MCAT, your undergrad does not matter. Although I love Iowa State, it is by no means a "name" school and I did just fine. Stay or go based off where you will be happy, not out of worries about prestige.

 

[bmeshedoc]

i transferred from my huge (really crappy) state university to a private, top 20 school after my sophomore year. while i'm sure that the *much better* name of my current school didn't ITSELF have a huge effect on my application, being surrounded by a culture of motivated students and the opportunities that come with a "good" school HAVE had an enormous effect on who i am as an applicant. transferring made a huge impact on my undergrad experience, but that said, it had nothing to do with the name/prestige.

 

[cliffhuxtableDO]

The students at NC State do not care about learning and are ALL gunners if they are pre-med. It made for a very uncomfortable learning environment and really turned me off.

 

[alibai3ah]

i transferred from my huge (really crappy) state university to a private, top 20 school after my sophomore year. while i'm sure that the *much better* name of my current school didn't ITSELF have a huge effect on my application, being surrounded by a culture of motivated students and the opportunities that come with a "good" school HAVE had an enormous effect on who i am as an applicant. transferring made a huge impact on my undergrad experience, but that said, it had nothing to do with the name/prestige.

Valid point, but I have heard the opposite story as well. Many times people going to top universities fail to "stick out", thus ruining their performance and hindering their chances at medical school.... It is fairly obvious to me that a solid MCAT performance transcends any impact an undergraduate institution might have. Bottom line, stay where you are happy

 

[justdoit31]

It doesn't matter where you go as long as you attend a 4 year school and do well... the advice I was given by physicians when I considered transferring was to go to the school where I could get the highest GPA. I attend a large public school in Georgia with over 20,000 students but no football program so it isn't well know (Kennesaw State- anyone heard of it lol)... I got into an OOS medical school and knowanother student from KSU that did the same last year- neither of us got any love from MCG

 

[Szent]

The students at NC State do not care about learning and are ALL gunners if they are pre-med. It made for a very uncomfortable learning environment and really turned me off.

Frick! I thought I was pretty easy to hang out and study with.

Although his point should be taken as do not expect members of the pre-health club to be your social buddies because they're "special"; other clubs are good though.

 

[RSAgator]

Your school will be what you make of it. If you're doing well where you are right now, you're happy, you've got opportunities for research and/or any other ECs you may want to participate in, then you should stay. The MCAT is the great equalizer, so if you're worried your low tier school might affect your chances of med school acceptance then you need to destroy the MCAT. No one's going to question a good GPA from a tier 3 university if it's accompanied with an equally good MCAT.