What to do? Transferring 3rd time?

[Smdeox]

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Hey guys,

Long time lurker obviously haha! Just a couple quick questions and if this is the wrong place I apologize, just direct me to where this belongs.

Right so, I have my sights set on DO school, in about 2 years. I am 20 years old currently, but I have 4 W's and 2 transfers on my transcript already... with a 3rd pending. Here is my situation and I hope you guys can help me out!
I'm a Business Economics Major, using my minor to take med school requirements.
-Year 1- Large State School, Top 20
3.65 GPA, lots of challenging courses... no W's.

-Year 2-Transferred, got a Full ride at a private college to play tennis... jumped on it. Made nationals and was forced to withdraw from 2 classes as I missed the last 3 weeks of classes due to conference tournament, then nationals..... 3 other students were in the same boat as me. Some professors were ok with us missing if we made it up, some weren't. WP from Chem 2, and a bio course. I have since retaken and got an A in one, B in the other. I had High B/Low A in both at the time. 3.4 GPA.... so 3.5ish combined

-Year 3- Back at state school, was so mad I had to retake the courses I had good grades in.... just decided to leave. Anyways flash forward to this semester, I was accepted into an Apple internship that only takes 25 college students.... yes I took it. Apple requires a certain number of hours per week and once again forced me to take a W on my T/Th classes since I work both of those days. Neither were science courses... it was Calc 3 and a business course.

That being said, I signed a year contract and Apple heavily heavily heavily advised me to switch my classes to an online only setup. So I am looking at the decision of transferring to an online school (It would be a top ranked one, nothing like ITT tech lol.... more like UF or ASU) This would require me to get the rest of my science courses done at a local university.... so I would graduate from university #3, and get my science courses from another. Is this acceptable? I can always stay at my current school, I love it... it's just I have crazy opportunities right now.

I am 90% sure I want to go into DO school after college... regardless of how this internship turns out. I've done quite a bit of shadowing, and research, and DO fits me more than MD.
My transcripts look like 3.6~ from state school, 3.4~ from private school... it should end up around a 3.5, with tough courses. Science gpa looks to stabalize around a 3.3-3.4.
I have 4 WP's, all which can be explained. I do have an F on the transcript aswell, I was suppose to withdraw from all my T/TH classes but that would put me under the minimum hours for full time, and so I withdrawed from 2 classes, talked to the university and they gave me an exception where the F doesn't factor into my GPA, but it is on my transcript... which means it will go into MD school applications, making it around a 3.3GPA for that.

Sorry for the utter text wall, I commend you if you can read it! I'm just wondering if this transfer would be ok for me? I don't want to jeopardize my future and my dream of being a doctor... but I'm trying to take advantages of the opportunities available in the present, in case something does happen and I'm not able to attend med school I don't want to be a lame duck.

 

[futuredoc331]

I have no advice, but will assure you that you are not the only one in this situation. I'm sure that many non-trads have similar experiences. I, for one, have upwards of 7 different transcripts. I've started and stopped school a handful of times, switched majors several times, joined two branches of the military, and had several different jobs on top of all that. My application is probably going to make an ADCOMs head spin, but I plan on explaining it all in my PS.

At least from my perspective you have solid reasons for the decisions you have made. Being a high level tennis player and having the opportunity to intern with Apple aren't things to sneeze at. In the big picture of life, those experiences are much more important than going straight through undergrad and into med school.

With all that being said, if you are 90% sure that you want to become a doctor it might be time to start eliminating other distractions. There comes a point where you have to make a final decision and decide to stick with it. Only you can answer whether that time is now or not though.

 

[Jagon]

It's seems like you have good reasons for your W's and transfers. As long as all that is spelled out somewhere in your app I don't see schools having a problem with it, but I'm not an ADCOM. Goro and gyngyn can give more pertinent advice.

 

[RunninGirl3]

I think one thing that will be important is for you to show that you are committed to somethings from start to finish. If I was on an admissions committee, one of the first thoughts that would cross my mind is if you'd be willing/able to stick it out for 4 years in 1 program and then an additional 3-5 years in 1 residency. Hopefully in your application, you can weave some type of theme of stability/commitment, while also taking advantage of unique opportunities. I had 2 transfers on my application (small public university, to large state university, to service academy), and transcripts from 5 schools. It didn't seem to be an issue.

I completely understand wanting to take advantage of the cool Apple opportunity, but if you are 90% sure you want to go to DO school, your time may be better spent getting some clinical shadowing experience.

 

[evooo8]

Write about it well in your personal statement if you can and I think you have a good shot! Congrats on the Apple Internship btw!

 

[NontradCA]

Don't write excuses in your PS, as it's not that big of a deal. Do talk about your internship, keep pushing forward and do well in your courses and MCAT. I wouldn't worry about the courses being at multiple universities.

 

[WastedTime]

Try putting together a string of credits with no withdrawals and you should be fine

 

[phenobb]

What use is this internship in your path to medical school? Stop wasting time. Rationalizations and excuses have little merit when the market for med school spots is so competitive.

 

[hse]

local hospital icu volunteering >>>>>>> apple/samsung/google/facebook/uber "internship"

 

[Jagon]

Do not listen to the 2 posters above me. OP, do what ever you enjoy before you start med school. Getting into med school is not the be all and end all in life.

 

[phenobb]

Do not listen to the 2 posters above me. OP, do what ever you enjoy before you start med school. Getting into med school is not the be all and end all in life.

If you want to be a doctor, it most certainly is. Sounds like OP needs to decide what he/she is going to do.

 

[Vespasian]

Do not listen to the 2 posters above me. OP, do what ever you enjoy before you start med school. Getting into med school is not the be all and end all in life.

I agree with pursuing what you enjoy. However, OP's dream is to go to medical school. Why would you voluntarily allow something trivial to interfere with achieving your dream?

 

[Monkitty]

I agree with pursuing what you enjoy. However, OP's dream is to go to medical school. Why would you voluntarily allow something trivial to interfere with achieving your dream?

How many people get to do an internship at Apple? Also, you may think it's "trivial" but it obviously isn't to the OP.

We get one shot at life, do what makes you happy. If he wants medical school, he'll get it (assuming he's qualified, which it seems like he is)

 

[chizledfrmstone]

You have had wonderful opportunities. It sort of sounds like you put your studies on the back burner for them.

If I was a student interviewer I would wonder what new shiny opportunity would catch your attention when you're supposed to be studying for a neuroanatomy final.

Take a bunch of coursework and show that you can get good grades without getting distracted.

Just my .02 cents

 

[Vespasian]

How many people get to do an internship at Apple? Also, you may think it's "trivial" but it obviously isn't to the OP.

We get one shot at life, do what makes you happy. If he wants medical school, he'll get it (assuming he's qualified, which it seems like he is)

How many people got into medical school because they interned at Apple/Google/Microsoft? Compare that to the number of applicants who didn't get into medical school because of excessive W's, a low cGPA, and a perceived lack of commitment. So yeah, that Apple internship is trivial (of little importance/value) to medical school.

OP's dream is to become a physician. He should do what he enjoys (which he's done), but doing an unrelated (albeit competitive) internship that demands you prioritize it over your dream is inadvisable.

If I were OP I would be listening to the advice of people who have cleared the first hurdle toward a shared dream; eliminate distractions and focus on getting in to medical school.

 

[Monkitty]

I guess coming from a liberal arts school, and being a non-traditional, I'm more for enjoying the journey. The way that I see it, if medicine is truly what you want, you will end up there; you will do what you need to to get there.

These life experiences will shape you for the rest of your life, so grab them. Medical school is not going away.

However, if you want to pursue these extras, you might need to be prepared to take a year or two to "reset" yourself before applying to medical school. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't pursue other opportunities.

 

[chizledfrmstone]

I guess coming from a liberal arts school, and being a non-traditional, I'm more for enjoying the journey. The way that I see it, if medicine is truly what you want, you will end up there; you will do what you need to to get there.

These life experiences will shape you for the rest of your life, so grab them. Medical school is not going away.

However, if you want to pursue these extras, you might need to be prepared to take a year or two to "reset" yourself before applying to medical school. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't pursue other opportunities.

I'm a non-trad medical student so I understand where you're coming from.

I took some time off after college to work and volunteer. I also took some classes outside biology to improve my critical thinking. These experiences definitely shaped the person I am today.

The problem isn't the fact that OP is taking up these wonderful opportunities. It's the fact that he had to withdraw from classes to go pursue a sport or an internship. If he had done those amazing things ON TOP of his classwork then it would look fantastic.

In medical school the biggest priority is to make sure you pass your classes. It's a pretty big commitment. ADCOMS probably feel more comfortable with an applicant who stayed on course than someone with a background of dropping classes to go do the next amazing thing.

I'm curious as to what @Goro has to say about this issues. Who knows, maybe I'm wrong and blowing it out of proportion.

 

[ZedsDed]

tl;dr. Just looking at your stats, I think your completely fine for DO school. Just don't get any more W's.

 

[Vespasian]

I'd like to clarify that I'm not telling OP to drop all of his interests and hobbies and eliminate fun from his life. I'm simply suggesting that he prioritize his goal/dream over an unrelated internship that is demanding he make it his top priority.

 

[RunninGirl3]

What would be really sweet is if he could somehow incorporate the Apple internship into a clinical/medical setting. Maybe learn whatever you learn in the internship, and then take that knowledge to improve patient care in the hospital/clinic.

The internship does sound cool, but OP just needs to realize that it may delay his matriculation into medical school.

 

[phenobb]

What would be really sweet is if he could somehow incorporate the Apple internship into a clinical/medical setting. Maybe learn whatever you learn in the internship, and then take that knowledge to improve patient care in the hospital/clinic.

The internship does sound cool, but OP just needs to realize that it may delay his matriculation into medical school.

By the time OP has any influence in a clinical/medical setting it will be at least 10 years from now. Whatever he learns (how to make copies, and get coffee probably) in the Apple internship won't be of any use.

 

[Smdeox]

I want to thank everyone for their replies!

I see both sides, and I'm definitely going to buckle down... no distractions after this. I've tried to live life and take advantage of everything good that comes my way, but I see how it can look with the W's and such. Thanks so much for the perspective... seriously!

The internship isn't getting coffee though lol.... I manage a home based support team of 23 AppleCare workers. I supervise people quite a bit older than me, follow up on loose ends, things of that nature. I wouldn't have taken it if I didn't think I could learn from it.
So yes, I've done quite a bit of volunteering already and honestly, nothing has given me a better perspective of how people work and how to communicate effectively than the ringer of training I went through before starting this, and now the duties that entail it.

I guess I just wanted to have fallback options... parents pushed me in that direction just because of uncertainty a lot of doctors are facing. (Not job wise, just lots of BS and insurance problems doctors deal with that appears to get worse every year)
But my dream is to go into Med, so I'm going to go after it hard.... finish out this year and do a great job, and just go into Medical School a bit later.


On a complete random note, regarding grade forgiveness..... I took an upper level econ course completely not required by my major, or anything else and got a D in it... basically the only bad grade on my entire transcript. My school offers grade forgiveness without retaking the course, although it still shows on your transcript as the D, but it doesn't factor into GPA and has an note that says "Forgiven" beside it. I know DO schools do grade replacement, but could I just take the forgiveness and not even retake the class? Would it not factor into my DO GPA that way, or do I have to retake the class to get it replaced? It would shoot my gpa up a solid .1.... then I'm looking at a 3.6 or so.

 

[ZedsDed]

I want to thank everyone for their replies!

I see both sides, and I'm definitely going to buckle down... no distractions after this. I've tried to live life and take advantage of everything good that comes my way, but I see how it can look with the W's and such. Thanks so much for the perspective... seriously!

The internship isn't getting coffee though lol.... I manage a home based support team of 23 AppleCare workers. I supervise people quite a bit older than me, follow up on loose ends, things of that nature. I wouldn't have taken it if I didn't think I could learn from it.
So yes, I've done quite a bit of volunteering already and honestly, nothing has given me a better perspective of how people work and how to communicate effectively than the ringer of training I went through before starting this, and now the duties that entail it.

I guess I just wanted to have fallback options... parents pushed me in that direction just because of uncertainty a lot of doctors are facing. (Not job wise, just lots of BS and insurance problems doctors deal with that appears to get worse every year)
But my dream is to go into Med, so I'm going to go after it hard.... finish out this year and do a great job, and just go into Medical School a bit later.


On a complete random note, regarding grade forgiveness..... I took an upper level econ course completely not required by my major, or anything else and got a D in it... basically the only bad grade on my entire transcript. My school offers grade forgiveness without retaking the course, although it still shows on your transcript as the D, but it doesn't factor into GPA and has an note that says "Forgiven" beside it. I know DO schools do grade replacement, but could I just take the forgiveness and not even retake the class? Would it not factor into my DO GPA that way, or do I have to retake the class to get it replaced? It would shoot my gpa up a solid .1.... then I'm looking at a 3.6 or so.

Your school can do whatever it wants with your GPA, and medical schools will completely disregard it. AMCAAS will look at your transcript and calculate your GPA their own way. Sorry OP, but I'm afraid anything short of permanently removing grades from your transcript will be ineffective.

 

[Smdeox]

Your school can do whatever it wants with your GPA, and medical schools will completely disregard it. AMCAAS will look at your transcript and calculate your GPA their own way. Sorry OP, but I'm afraid anything short of permanently removing grades from your transcript will be ineffective.

Right, right!

I should rephrase my question, didn't do a great job asking it haha!
Let me try again.... I know DO schools allow for grade replacement, where you can take a course again and the higher score is the score that factors into your GPA. My question is, if the grade doesn't get factored in the first place, as it was forgiven.... would I still have to retake the class for the grade replacement to kick in? Basically if I go ahead and go through with this and the class gets "forgiven", would I still have to retake the course for the grade replacement to kick in, or would it not factor into Osteo at all? Dumb question probably, but the 30+ other threads I read about this, their school always required a retake. (From what I saw, and mine doesn't require you to retake the course)

Not a huge deal, just curious as I found out about this policy yesterday.

 

[ZedsDed]

Right, right!

I should rephrase my question, didn't do a great job asking it haha!
Let me try again.... I know DO schools allow for grade replacement, where you can take a course again and the higher score is the score that factors into your GPA. My question is, if the grade doesn't get factored in the first place, as it was forgiven.... would I still have to retake the class for the grade replacement to kick in? Basically if I go ahead and go through with this and the class gets "forgiven", would I still have to retake the course for the grade replacement to kick in, or would it not factor into Osteo at all? Dumb question probably, but the 30+ other threads I read about this, their school always required a retake. (From what I saw, and mine doesn't require you to retake the course)

Not a huge deal, just curious as I found out about this policy yesterday.

I'm having a hard time following you. Let me be clear, if a grade shows on your transcript in any way, you need to retake the class.

Cheers