Does transferring affect my chances for medical school?

I am currently a sophomore at UW studying Chemistry, but I recently got into UCLA as a transfer. I’m conflicted about what school I should choose going forward. I don’t know much about transferring and how it can affect my chances for medical school, but I read in a couple of places that transferring between undergraduate schools puts pre-med students at a disadvantage over students who stayed in one school through all four years.

Pros of staying:

  • I know I can thrive at UW, not just academically but socially.
  • The second wave of COVID-19 might push UCLA’s fall quarter online, and adapting to a new system while they’re still adapting to online school is going to be the death of me.
  • I’ve created a good circle of pre-med friends that can help me through MCAT studying, applying, etc.
  • If reports of transfer students not doing well in med school applications, then transferring shouldn’t really be an option.

Cons of staying:

  • It’s more expensive (I am a CA resident), although money isn’t really a concern here. I’m fortunate enough to come from a family who can pay for my undergraduate education.
  • UCLA’s chemistry department is a stronger department than UW, no doubt.
  • I don’t get a chance to start over and redefine my undergraduate experience. Not really worried about that, however.

I realize that my biggest concern for leaving is the fear that I’ll be lost in a new environment again. And especially with the pandemic not ending anytime soon, now might not be the best time to upend my entire life, no matter what school I attend. I love both schools, but I don’t know where to go from here. When I applied, I really wanted to leave, but now I’m at the point where I don’t want to anymore but my parents really want me to.

Does anyone have information about transferring impacting medical school admission chances? Does my UW GPA transfer over to UCLA or will I report both marks on my medical school application? Am I making a mistake for not wanting to attend UCLA over UW?

Even if true (which I doubt) that is irrelevant as an undergraduate.

Assuming that you are at UW Madison or University of Washington the only reason to transfer to UCLA is your unfounded perception that UCLA is more prestigious. That is irrelvant to medical schools.

All grades that you take will be considered by medical schools, even failed courses. They will recalculate your GPA according to their rules.

When you go to apply to medical school, you will report all college level coursework you’ve ever taken–even dual enrollment classes in high school–and you are required to send a transcript from every college you ever attended. AMCAS/AACOMAS will then compute your GPA/sGPs using all those grades. GPA as reported by your undergrad of record is irrelevant. (This is true even if you don’t transfer.)


College transfers are only looked at negatively if you transferred from a higher ranked school to much, much lower ranked one.  But even that negative impression can be nullified if you have good reason for the transfer. (Original school too expensive,  need to be closer to home due to family situation, etc.)  This isn't your situation. UCLA, UW are both well respected schools and both send many students to medical school every year. 

Transferring between UW (whether it's Wisconsin or Washington) to UCLA isn't going impact your ability to gain a med school admission. It may impact your timeline if you  are planning to apply to med school after junior year since it will take time to establish yourself at the new school, find a research lab, form relationships with professors who will write your LORs for med school.  

This is a decision only you can make. But a transfer all by itself isn't going negatively impact your  chance at med school.

Here to transfer or not to transfer is irrelevant for medical school application purpose. You should apply to medical school only when you are a competitive candidate (sGPA, cGPA, MCAT score, medical ECs, research etc). As pointed out earlier, your timeline to apply to medical school may move further into future if you transfer. What you may gain at one place may be a loss at another place. Does UCLA UG help to get into a medical school in CA ? As explained earlier, AMCAS has its own way of calculating sGPA and cGPA. You have to report all your grades from any University/Community College attended starting HS.