Transferring to a "worse" undergrad college

[letsgetit]

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I am currently a sophomore at Emory University. I have performed OK here so far (3.55 GPA, 3.3 science GPA).

Recently, I have felt that my mental health has been decreasing as the stress of being a pre-med student at a competitive pre-med college such as Emory. Currently I am debating whether to take a leave of absence for one semester to re-group, or to transfer back home to the University of Minnesota, and re-take the required science classes to do better.

Can anyone let me know how transferring to a worse undergrad insitution looks to med schools? How does taking a leave of absence look? Will I have to be explaining either extensively in my interviews/personal statement? Any comments are appreciated, thanks.

 

[CowboyNiceguy]

I don't think it's a big deal if you transfer. But I also don't think taking a semester off will help much (though obviously I don't know exactly what you're going through). I took a semester off for reasons unrelated to yours, and if anything it has made this semester harder. If you do take a semester off, you should probably use that time to improve your application in other ways, e.g. volunteering and clinical experience.

 

[JustAPhD]

UMinnesota is no Emory, but it's definitely not a bad school in itself.

Put your mental health first, that's an issue that takes precedent over the prestige of your undergrad.

 

[urMDandDDS]

If you don't apply to a top tier medical school, it won't make a difference where you completed your college degree. I left NYU undergraduate with a 2.5 GPA, went to a local city college and got a 3.3 GPA there and was accepted back into NYU Dental school this year with a 2.69 GPA. I don't know if there is any carry over from dental admissions to medical admissions, but you have this as a reference point.

 

[christmasindr]

Do you think transferring back home will help your mental health? That is something you should explore with a counselor/therapist. I think your mental health is more important than anything else, and I am not sure switching colleges will help you.

 

[letsgetit]

Thank you all for your concerns about my mental week-being. I have been seeing a therapist and have had two sessions so far, it has helped immensely. I believe that either taking a leave of absence or transferring back home to be surrounded by more friends and family will indeed improve my mental health, as I have struggled to make close friends at Emory. My question was more directed at which option would be less of a "red flag" to med school ADCOMS.

 

[christmasindr]

Thank you all for your concerns about my mental week-being. I have been seeing a therapist and have had two sessions so far, it has helped immensely. I believe that either taking a leave of absence or transferring back home to be surrounded by more friends and family will indeed improve my mental health, as I have struggled to make close friends at Emory. My question was more directed at which option would be less of a "red flag" to med school ADCOMS.

Hard to say. Can you tell us more the reasons you are having trouble building a support system in Emory? If you want to take a leave of absence, how would you like to spend your time?

 

[CowboyNiceguy]

Thank you all for your concerns about my mental week-being. I have been seeing a therapist and have had two sessions so far, it has helped immensely. I believe that either taking a leave of absence or transferring back home to be surrounded by more friends and family will indeed improve my mental health, as I have struggled to make close friends at Emory. My question was more directed at which option would be less of a "red flag" to med school ADCOMS.

Not an expert on this, but I suspect the transfer would have hardly any impact while the absence would require explanation, which may be a weakness in your application. It might make them wonder "If (s)he couldn't handle these issues in undergrad, can (s)he in med school?"