Transferring

[Jazz Gal]

Hi everyone. I'm new to this board and I dig the casual but informative style on it.

My question is about transferring med schools: I'm in a U.S. med school and I'd like to transfer to another one. How easy/hard is this? I'm told that most schools accept only a handful of transfers, and sometimes, none at all.

What should I do to maximise my chances of transferring successfully? (I'm a first-year student.)

I appreciate your input.

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[Darth Vader]

Generally, transferring from one med school to another is reserved for those with exceptional reasons (spouse attending or employed by another school, family reasons, etc.), and not for students just hoping to get a "better" degree. A lot of schools won't even consider your transfer application unless you can prove that you do have a spouse that is a current student or employee of their university too. However, if you do find a school that will consider your transfer for whatever reason, most accept students between 2nd and 3rd year, and I think that you also have to have a letter from your dean too. Getting good grades will probably help your chances of being able to transfer too.

 

[hsV1]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Jazz Gal:
•Hi everyone. I'm new to this board and I dig the casual but informative style on it.

My question is about transferring med schools: I'm in a U.S. med school and I'd like to transfer to another one. How easy/hard is this? I'm told that most schools accept only a handful of transfers, and sometimes, none at all.

What should I do to maximise my chances of transferring successfully? (I'm a first-year student.)

I appreciate your input.•••••I agree with Jazz Gal, it would be nice to get some discussion on this topic. From what I already know it is very difficult to transfer, what I would like here though is what are the pros and cons? How will this effect your carrer and residency?
Jazz Gal, from what I know, you need to have a good reason to transfer. I'm also sure that being a good student and getting good grades (if your school has them), research, and being an active participant in groups a your medical school can't hurt.

 

[lilycat]

I don't know if there are really any "pros" to transferring besides your increased happiness, which may make you perform better in school, on rotations, etc. Assuming you had a very good reason, there probably won't be any significant "cons," although I could concievably see some residency programs viewing it as a potential issue/flag on your application -- sort of like, "well, if you felt like you *had* to transfer medical schools, how do we know the same situation won't come up while you're in residency."

It is very difficult to transfer, so if you can make things work at your current school, you're probably better off to do so.

 

[Lisa Simpson]

Jazz Gal -
I sent you a PM.
LS

 

[oldman]

I did research with a guy who was doing his ENT residency at Johns Hopkins. He had transfered from Vanderbilt Medical School to Stanford. The reason was that his wife got into a residency program at Stanford.

 

[Smurfette]

My roommate just was accepted as a transfer student (she's a med1 transferring to OHSU for her Med2 year).

When she went to discuss it with the dean, he told her that about half of the med students who apply for a transfer get it. Most people think it's so difficult, and it is such a pain, that the majority of people who try it have really good reasons---and are thus more likely to get accepted.

However, what med school you are transferring from makes a difference--so she was told.

hope this helps a little...
smurfette

 

[Guitarzan the Jungle Man]

Transferring is damn near impossible. My old roomate tried to transfer from OSU to Maryland becasue his WIFE got accepted to the military medical school in Bethesda. He was a good student/not AOA but solid. They said no. OSU didn't want to release him and UM didn't want to accept. This was after many months of meetings and forms at both schools.

Just my little story...

 

[merlin]

I just wanted to bring this topic out from the archives and see if anyone can share some more thoughts on this subject. Anyone out there know people in their class that have transferred and under what circumstances?

 

[mikegoal]

someone in my class transfered after first year because her husband lived near that school

 

[medten]

I just recently transfered to a new school as MSIII. The most important thing you need to do is contact the school you are considering. Then, think about the reason for your transfer, and the reason should never be "because I want to go to a better school".
I was seperated from my husband for the first two years of medschool, so my reason was to be with my family again. The transfer process was a lot like the medschool application, with the personal essay and all. In addition, they requested the trascripts (yeah, undergrad and medschool). I was told that the Dean's letter is more of a way for medschools informing each other of possible transfers so that no one is left in the dark.
Besides all that, I do think your grades in medschool and step 1 score are important. I was offered a conditional transfer until they got my step 1 score.
I also heard that most schools only accept transfer MSIII mainly because of the differences in the cirriculums.
Hope this helps.