Where should I apply to transfer?

[aalamruad]

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[Holmwood]

It doesn't matter which university you go to. Go with the cheapest option.

 

[aalamruad]

It doesn't matter which university you go to. Go with the cheapest option.

It matters a little bit.

 

[aalamruad]

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[justadream]

It doesn't matter which university you go to. Go with the cheapest option.

Besides obviously considering finances, things like "relative ease of attaining high GPA" (which gets into peer group strength, grading schemes, etc.) or "extracurricular opportunities" (e.g., research) are extremely important for premeds.

 

[Holmwood]

Besides obviously considering finances, things like "relative ease of attaining high GPA" (which gets into peer group strength, grading schemes, etc.) or "extracurricular opportunities" (e.g., research) are extremely important for premeds.

Certainly, you are correct in that a school choice can affect the quality of your med school application. That has more to do with factors that you've mentioned, and less to do with the prestige of the university (you may have also noticed the OP's top heavy choices).

Just some more things for the OP to consider:
1) Your stats matter more than the prestige of the school. A 3.2 Northwestern alumni is going to be less competitive than a 3.7 at some hodunk university. Of course, not all prestigious schools grade harshly (ie. harvard grade inflation), and not all public unis give alot of grading leeway.
2) You can do excellent research at many public unis, not just prestigious ones. You can even do research at unis you do not attend as undergrad. You can even do summer research internships across the nation.
3) Many public unis do have linkages to a medical school. They reserve certain amount of seats for alumnis. Some schools even do automatic interview invites...
4) Residency considerations, though irrelevant as an undergrad, can still affect your med school chances. Since OP is cali resident, it may be best to suggest non-cali options given the competitiveness of cali med schools.

 

[aalamruad]

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[Holmwood]

So you're assuming that my decision to apply to great schools is based solely on their prestige...? You'll notice that a lot of the "prestigious" schools I'm applying to, specifically Stanford and Harvard, are known for grade inflation, in which case I'd be more likely to have a high GPA and have a better chance at getting into a great med school. I'm well aware of the importance of GPA relative to prestige, and prestige played little to no part of my decision to apply to those 6 schools; they're all incredible schools for a ton of reasons that are very appealing to me.

All of the schools on my list also offer financial aid that meets 100% of demonstrated financial need, and the only thing that would be appealing about some hodunk university would be the cost, so I really can't see any benefits of considering those schools, especially given that I've already been accepted to a state school that should be relatively cheap.

I appreciate your other points though - do you have any suggestions for schools that match some of the criteria you mentioned?

Well if you wanted schools with the greatest grade inflation, here you go: http://www.businessinsider.com/13-schools-where-its-really-hard-to-fail-2013-5#.

Other than that, no further suggestions without more information. You never specified what opportunities you were looking for, and you can't expect us to be fortune tellers.

 

[aalamruad]

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[noodlelover2233]

Shouldn't this belong on CollegeConfidential instead of here? I'll address your post anyways. I went to a college known for "grade inflation," and I regretted it. I mistakenly thought that I should go just because it'd be "easy," and I'd benefit from supposedly more opportunities. Both were not true. I was unhappy and struggled here, despite thinking that I was all that (national awards, perfect test scores, plethora of activities) in high school. Assuming that you get in (and to be realistic, your chances of transferring to Stanford or Harvard are negligible), you'd be competing for grades, awards, and positions against motivated students who were the valedictorians/tennis team captains/nationally acclaimed saxophonists in high school, all while juggling four leadership positions. Burning out at those schools is not uncommon. I've known students who have had to take extra semesters. I was lucky to do well enough to get a few acceptances without taking a gap year, but I would have undoubtedly done better had I gone to a different school.