<p>My S1 goes to a LAC that he cannot stand anymore. He is about to begin his jr. year there in the fall. It is a long story, but suffice to say, he never was totally thrilled there but was happy with the academics (which as a pre-med student is pretty important), made some friends, got involved, and as an eternal optimist, kept wanting to give it a chance. However, at this point he is miserable. He is a biochem major with a 3.68 average, Dean's list, Ambassador/Tour guide, Orienation leader, CORE member (very prestigious),and belongs to numerous clubs both academic and athetic. He is an amazing kid who has given this college everthing he's got, but he is done with this place. Is there anyway to transfer over the summer for a spot in the fall, or perhaps for a spot beginning second semester jr. year?</p>
<p>Does he have an idea as to where he would like to go? I know that most schools require you to do a certain number of hours at the school in order to graduate and that may make the transfer timeline tough if he moves second semester. Maybe taking an LOA while he figures out where he would like to transfer is an option. If he does something like a medical mission or something health-related it wouldn’t hurt med school admission and he could apply to schools (and possibly rethink where how he feels about his current school).</p>
<p>Keep in mind that unless he knows a lot of people at the place he transfers to, moving this late in the game may cause its own set of worries. By jr year, many people have moved off campus and have their own group of friends. He would not likely get leadership positions in his new clubs, etc and won’t know his instructors well enough for thoughtful recommendations for med school. On top of that he will be studying for the MCAT at the new school, which will add another stressor. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t force him to stay, but I would make sure he thought about the consequences of how it will affect med school admission.</p>
<p>If your son is a pre-med and planning on applying to medical school, he needs to know that a transfer at this point will prevent him from applying to med school at least until after graduation. He will need to plan a slide year into his schedule. (The med school application process takes a full year to complete. If he applies immediately after graduation, he wouldn’t start until graduation +1 year later.)</p>
<p>As a transfer student, he will need time to establish himself at his new school with his new profs in order to garner the critical letters of recommendation (or committee letter) that med schools require. </p>
<p>If he’s Ok with postponing his med school application, then he should go ahead an pursue a transfer.</p>
<p>Does he not want to go back in a couple months? He could take a year off if he’s that miserable which would give him time to research colleges again. If he has a specific target list right now, he could maybe give them all a call and find out if he can get admitted quickly enough to start in August assuming you don’t need financial aid,</p>
<p>Is there anyway to transfer over the summer for a spot in the fall, or perhaps for a spot beginning second semester jr. year? </p>
<p>I dont think so. Not to any good LAC or U. They consider transfer applications only once a year in the Spring for admittance in the Fall. He should get his LORs NOW from his profs, as they are required by any colleges he wants to apply to. USC is one of the few top colleges that take a lot of transfer students and his stats would probably get him in, possibly with a scholarship. Maybe he should consider taking a leave of absence and enrolling in CC a classes while waiting to hear from other colleges?</p>
<p>Check out the NACAC spaces available page to see if any schools are still accepting transfers for the fall.</p>
<p>[Space</a> Availability Survey Results 2012](<a href=“http://www.nacacnet.org/research/research-data/SpaceSurvey/Pages/SpaceSurveyResults.aspx]Space”>http://www.nacacnet.org/research/research-data/SpaceSurvey/Pages/SpaceSurveyResults.aspx)</p>
<p>I agree with menloparkmom - consider taking a year off. Lots of kids do it, and a pre-med student can put the time to good use by getting involved with something medically related. In the fall, start the process of transfer applications. I’m not sure that taking classes at a community college would help a junior since he’s most likely an entirely upper-division student by now. </p>
<p>Personally, I think it’s good to be happy in college. Your son’s done everything he can to feel better about the place - and he doesn’t. Time for Plan B, so good luck!</p>
<p>Get a list together now of the colleges to which he would like to transfer. Have him call each of them and speak with an admission’s counselor. This is the best way for him to get the information directly from the source.</p>
<p>If he hates his college, don’t make him go back. Let him have the chance to experience college in a new environment.</p>
<p>Would he be interested in taking a gap year? If so, he may want to consider something related to biochem/medicine. He can also start studying for MCATs. Make it a useful time and he’ll be happy he made the move.</p>
<p>^^^Not really useful to start studying for the MCAT unless he’s already completed all the coursework that’s included on the MCAT. Even then, not a terrific idea unless he will be taking the MCAT within the next 3-4 months. Students who start prepping too early tend to suffer burn-out and prep-fatigue. </p>
<p>But a gap year could work; it might even be an excellent idea, particularly if he could find a job that puts him into clinical experience situations. That would be a real plus for med admission.</p>
<p>But be aware a gap year followed a by a transfer will substantially change his med school application timeline. </p>
<p>One additional consideration is that there will be a new MCAT in 2015 that will include new test material (a whole new section on human behavior). It appears that students applying for med school admission for Fall 2016 or later will have to take the new MCAT.** </p>
<p>[NOTE: for Fall 2016 admission, the student will apply in 2015.) </p>
<p>2015 = gap year + 2 years at new school.</p>
<p>**AMCAS will issue a formal policy decision sometime this summer.</p>
<p>How about spending a semester or a year abroad?</p>
<p>He could get away from his college for a year without transferring out of it.</p>
<p>This university in Germany, for example, teaches classes in English, and I think their science offerings are strong:</p>
<p>ses.jacobs-university.de</p>
<p>End of sophomore/beginning of junior year is a time when many students seem to be fed up with their school. Instead of transferring, might he enjoy a semester studying abroad? There are also domestic exchange programs if keeping up with premed coursework is a concern.</p>
<p>What exactly can’t he stand? Is it the same old thing. Is it too dull, too wild, too small, to liberal, too conservative?</p>
<p>Uuum. I don’t think he would have to delay a year to apply to medical school in most scenarios. You get your references for med school in the spring of junior year and most of the time that is from your profs from that year. Those first two years of premed courses are to weed out, and the classes are often large and not taught by the profs who will get to know you well. Those are the general courses. At least that has been my experience at a top premed factory. I think that is something that should be run past any school that the OP’s son is considering. A lot of schools that have many premeds have a committee system in place for recs, and one should ask how transfers fare at such a school. I just returned from my college reunion, and there were a number of doctor who were junior year transfers. </p>
<p>To the OP: does your son have some schools and programs in mind? Yes, there are schools still taking transfers and even some who have transfer deadlines that will consider a transfer student past those dates. The concern is more whether he has an idea of what he wants; not just that he wants out from where he is. If the latter is true, then a gap year might be in order. College can be burn a person out.</p>
<p>isbean - A friend’s daughter had just this experience - two decent years at a school that was okay, but when she came home at the end of the second year she decided she didn’t want to go back. She knew exactly where she wanted to go, and called and asked about transferring. They said the deadline had passed, etc. She asked for an appointment anyways to talk about it for future reference, which they granted - luckily it was fairly local. Suffice to say when they met her, saw her grades, realized she would not ask for financial aid, etc., they changed their minds and admitted her for fall of junior year; she just graduated this spring. I can’t speak to the impact on a medical school path; she was a history major.</p>
<p>Thank you for the list. There is actually is a college on there that has a medical school he is currently interning at. It may not be best situation, but it could be a nice “out” if he really doesn’t want to go back.</p>
<p>One thing he needs to check is whether the transfer school accepts students with more than 2 years of college. Some do and will accept all of the units earned, some do but will limit transfer credits to 2 years worth of classes, and some do not accept transfers who have already attended more than 2 yrs of post-HS college. In addition, many schools will want him to be on campus for at least 2 years.</p>
<p>A gap year would help in this respect, as he could apply to any school for the following fall.</p>
<p>Is it possible for him to graduate in three years? A friend’s nephew went to a well-known LAC, but it was small and he decided to graduate in three years. He had some AP credit, which helped.</p>
<p>Wow…all your responses are so thoughtful, and make a lot of sense. I think a gap year may make some sense, he really is not sure where he wants to go to school. At this point, he has taken the courses needed for knowledge on the MCATs, but is well aware of the change in the test as of 2015 and would like to take it before then, thanks WayOutWest! I cannot tell you how badly I feel for him and wish we could go back in time to pick a different school. My son has it all, and could have gone to so many wonderful schools. We just got a bad apple with this place. Hopefully, his aspirations won’t diminish and we can find a way to get him out of this place. Thank you…you guys are great!</p>
<p>Good luck! Keep looking. Luckily, he didn’t let his unhappiness distract him from his school work, and a gap year may work to his advantage. Because he is older and wiser, he will be able to look at schools with different eyes.</p>