Transferring Undergrad Schools?

[skipsbarryimage]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I need help deciding if I should transfer undergraduate schools or not.

At my current school I feel like there are few opportunities for me to make myself more attractive to Vet. School admissions. Especially as I do not have a car. The Pre-Veterinary Club is unorganized and makes itself look like a fool regularly. I do not enjoy the atmosphere at all. This campus is far from social and shopping areas. But 2 hours from home.

I would like to transfer to a school which has animals on campus, and in the surrounding area there are many opportunities for interactions with a variety of veterinarians and various animals and businesses that deal with animals. I enjoyed the atmosphere of that campus better when I toured it. I feel this school would give me more opportunities to be active in the community in which I wish to be employed some day. This campus is also closer to the area I grew up in and is closer to shopping and social areas. But 4 hours from home.

Both schools have about the same academic standards, neither good nor bad.

I also considered transferring to a more challenging university, however, the atmosphere is not appealing to me.

Does it look bad to transfer? Would you do it if you were in my shoes?

Thank you 🙂 I'm feeling indecisive today.

 

[LetItSnow]

Nobody cares if you transfer, so don't let that stop you.

But sometimes the best opportunities are the ones right in front of you. How would I look if you took a leadership role in that pre-vet club and totally turned it around, for instance?

 

[TooLove]

I need help deciding if I should transfer undergraduate schools or not.

At my current school I feel like there are few opportunities for me to make myself more attractive to Vet. School admissions. Especially as I do not have a car. The Pre-Veterinary Club is unorganized and makes itself look like a fool regularly. I do not enjoy the atmosphere at all. This campus is far from social and shopping areas. But 2 hours from home.

I would like to transfer to a school which has animals on campus, and in the surrounding area there are many opportunities for interactions with a variety of veterinarians and various animals and businesses that deal with animals. I enjoyed the atmosphere of that campus better when I toured it. I feel this school would give me more opportunities to be active in the community in which I wish to be employed some day. This campus is also closer to the area I grew up in and is closer to shopping and social areas. But 4 hours from home.

Both schools have about the same academic standards, neither good nor bad.

I also considered transferring to a more challenging university, however, the atmosphere is not appealing to me.

Does it look bad to transfer? Would you do it if you were in my shoes?

Thank you 🙂 I'm feeling indecisive today.

Based on what you've said above, it sounds like you're very unhappy where you are currently and the school that you're considering transferring to is superior in every way except its proximity to home. However, you also said that you want to be employed in that area some day. It's not going to be any closer to home in the future than it is now, and if you're planning on making it your new home at some point then I would say transfer. That's just me though.

In terms of academic rigor of a program, challenging is always better but in the end it's really your grades that make you a good candidate, not where you went to school. It's not advisable, but I've seen people complete pre reqs at community colleges and get in.

I wouldn't say that it looks bad to transfer at all, but you should be prepared to explain your motivation for doing so. If someone transfers because the party scene is better, they got in some hot water at their previous uni, or the opposite sex was more attractive/abundant at X College, it's going to look bad. If you transfer to challenge yourself and make yourself a better DVM candidate, then that's admirable.

This is just my opinion. If you're feeling indecisive at all, then you should think it through more. The decision has to be yours, not some stranger's on the other side of the internet.

 

[skipsbarryimage]

Nobody cares if you transfer, so don't let that stop you.

But sometimes the best opportunities are the ones right in front of you. How would I look if you took a leadership role in that pre-vet club and totally turned it around, for instance?

I am currently co-secretary in the pre-vet club, but am finding it difficult to "turn it around" as I seem to be excluded from most executive decisions. I feel like a member with a title.

I am going to keep the position until I transfer - if I transfer.

Based on what you've said above, it sounds like you're very unhappy where you are currently and the school that you're considering transferring to is superior in every way except its proximity to home. However, you also said that you want to be employed in that area some day. It's not going to be any closer to home in the future than it is now, and if you're planning on making it your new home at some point then I would say transfer. That's just me though.

In terms of academic rigor of a program, challenging is always better but in the end it's really your grades that make you a good candidate, not where you went to school. It's not advisable, but I've seen people complete pre reqs at community colleges and get in.

I wouldn't say that it looks bad to transfer at all, but you should be prepared to explain your motivation for doing so. If someone transfers because the party scene is better, they got in some hot water at their previous uni, or the opposite sex was more attractive/abundant at X College, it's going to look bad. If you transfer to challenge yourself and make yourself a better DVM candidate, then that's admirable.

This is just my opinion. If you're feeling indecisive at all, then you should think it through more. The decision has to be yours, not some stranger's on the other side of the internet.

Just to clarify, I meant community as in the profession, not the location, I plan on making Kentucky my home (hopefully) 🙂

Thank you both for the reply 🙂

 

[Cyndia]

I actually transferred after my first year of college, and I was happy with my decision. It was tough to make at the time, and I almost didn't go through with it, but in the end I went for purely academic reasons as I originally attended Virginia Tech, and then transferred to Cornell on a guaranteed transfer offer they'd given me when I'd first applied. It was definitely a far more challenging curriculum, and while my grades would have certainly been a bit better if I'd stayed at Virginia Tech, for me it was the right choice to transfer, and I've never regretted it. There are definitely a lot of things to take into consideration however..

The distance from home thing is big if you are close with your family. For me it wasn't an issue, since I went from being 4 hours away from home to 7 hours, and with both of those distances I was only really going home on school breaks, but I've never been the type to want to go home every weekend. If you tend to go home a lot, and the extra two hours would make a massive difference, that might be something you want to carefully consider. Though if you plan to ultimately settle in Kentucky, it might not be bad to get used to being a bit further from home!

While I agree with LIS in that if you stay at your current college, you have a chance to make yourself shine by working extra hard and taking advantage of the few opportunities available, I still think it's better if you go someplace where you have a lot of opportunities. Particularly if there are animals and more vet/animal experiences nearby. Obviously, you can take advantage of your summers and try to get as much experience in then, but I personally preferred to keep up some animal experience hours during the year as well (it kept me sane during my really stressful weeks). I was lucky enough to attend two institutions that had veterinary schools on campus, and as a result had a ton of opportunities for animal/research/vet experiences, and I'm extremely grateful for that.

Also if you feel more comfortable and happy in the new college, that really an important factor you should think about. I would have been miserable if I'd been on an unsocial campus (though both of my campuses were far from very social/shopping areas, the schools were large enough that there was plenty going on just on campus). I have always worked better when I'm happy, and as long as you're prepared to deal with the distractions that may come with being closer to shopping/social areas, I would say go for the place that makes you feel more at home.

Anyways, that's just my two cents. I'm obviously biased, but I really was glad with the fact I ended up deciding to transfer and I think it exposed me to a lot more than I could have expected. But TooLove is right - ultimately the decision is yours so think it through carefully, and it might help to talk it over with your family or any other close friends whose opinions matter to you. Hope I helped, and good luck with making your decision!

 

[GeekOut4Animals]

I transferred universities after 2.5 years at my first, transferred to a more agriculture based university and spent the next year and a half there. I never ever regretted my decision, but it really wasnt that hard of one for me. My situation sounds EXACTLY like yous: pre-vet club was a joke but the school was in a town I liked and the academics were really highly regarded, but vet was my dream and I needed to change from a biology degree to an animal science degree. The decision was quite easy in that respect. I loved the new town I went to more than the last (which at the time I didn't think was possible), and I even met my best friend of all time there and am now an auntie to her son! 🙂 Also the distance from home was not an issue for me because I have always been independent but that is my personality and you need to decide if that is something you can handle. I went from 4.5hours away to 6.5hours from home.

Before finishing my degree (2 more semesters left) I applied to vet school at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia in March 2012 just to get some experience and feedback on my personal statement before applying to US schools; however, I got accepted and I have now since moved from Wisconsin, USA to Perth, Western Australia and I know it was due to the experiences I gained at my new school.

In the end the decision is yours... good luck! 🙂

 

[puppyloomp]

I'm in a pretty similar situation and have been wondering about this too. I want to transfer schools both because there's very, very few opportunities to get vet experience here plus in general I do not like my school at all because of the people as well as academic reasons, but I'd be transferring from a really "good" school known for its academic rigor to other schools that aren't as prestigious but are still pretty good and are not horrible (I know news rankings don't mean anything but all the ones I'm thinking of transferring to are in the top 60).

I know vet schools don't really account for the rigor of your undergrad institution so does it not matter at all if I transfer from a "harder" school to a less difficult/prestigious one? I have pretty good reasons for transferring that I don't think I'd have trouble articulating but I'm still concerned.

 

[DVM882029]

I'm taking pre reqs at a community college right now and planning on transferring those to a state university before applying, FWIW,

 

[GeekOut4Animals]

Puppyloomp - No I do not think it will matter. My first institution was very highly regarded for it's rigor and a lot of my biology degree classmates got into Dental and Medical school so that boosted the schools credibility along with having a super high ranking/demanding Nursing school program. However, the pre-vet opportunities were beyond minimal and the pre-vet club was a joke and so I transferred to still a very good school, but not nearly as well known. My first school did have physically harder classes and course loads, but in the end I was accepted to Vet School based on the knowledge I learnt from my second institution which was more agriculturally based. The admin team wants to see you do well no matter where you go, and if you go to a new school because it had better opportunities and you fully utilise those opportunities then you will be a qualified candidate. Just because you went to a school with harder classes doesn't mean you are any more prepared for vet school. It is really coming down to how many experience hours you can get and how well you are able to show the admin team what you have learned from those experiences. Almost everyone applying to vet school is a great student, but vet school is way more than just academics 🙂

I really hope that made sense...I am a rambler!! haha

 

[Psorophoraferox]

Couple of other things to think about:

Make sure you look into if your classes will transfer with you to the new school. If you're pursuing a degree, it can set you back a lot if the new school doesn't accept the old school's credits. In one of my transfers, only two or three classes out of the 35 credits I had were accepted by the new school.

Will the new school's tuition be more, less, or the same? Vet school will (likely) give you enough debt, so do what you can to limit the amount you accumulate in undergrad.

 

[skipsbarryimage]

Couple of other things to think about:

Make sure you look into if your classes will transfer with you to the new school. If you're pursuing a degree, it can set you back a lot if the new school doesn't accept the old school's credits. In one of my transfers, only two or three classes out of the 35 credits I had were accepted by the new school.

Will the new school's tuition be more, less, or the same? Vet school will (likely) give you enough debt, so do what you can to limit the amount you accumulate in undergrad.

I'm now thinking about transferring to a two year for spring and summer, and then transferring to the other four year.

The two year is 2000 versus my current 7500 a semester and the new four year will be 8000. Roughly.

I plan on talking with the new four year to make sure my classes will transfer and count towards my degrees there.