<p>I know it's kinda backwards, seeing as the common trend is small LAC to a larger school, however I'm kinda struggling here.</p>
<p>I'm a current sophomore at Drexel University. Biology major, went through my whole freshman year as a biomedical engineering major, decided I wanted to actively pursue medical school- I had been going back and forth on it for a while. I also struggled heavily with the engineering portion of the curriculum, and had no interest in it what-so-ever. I did fine in all my math courses, however, I got a D in Physics 101, and took a W for 102 (clearly, I didn't have the necessary foundation in calc based physics to move on, and should have never attempted to. However, that would have set back my graduation entirely which is when I made the call to change my major, especially since biomed with the grades I was getting, wasn't going to get me much of anywhere)</p>
<p>That being said, I had my financial aid significantly reduced considering my mom cashed in her pension early to pay for my tuition last year which got counted as "income"- fine and I understand the reasoning, but because of that one-time fund, my work study got completely cut as a whole, and all of my grants were significantly reduced. So, I'm paying roughly 25k a year for a biology degree that I could easily get elsewhere. </p>
<p>Because of this, I'm considering transferring to a small liberal arts college close to my home (about an hour and a half away from Drexel) However, I don't know if this would necessarily be the smartest thing to do. And I don't know how many, if any, of my credits would transfer. I also don't know how much of a scholarship I would get due to my GPA which is slightly above a 3.0 right now (3.1) It will go up after this term, and I do have the following term to bring it up as well before I go on co-op.</p>
<p>The small LAC is about 35k a year vs Drexel's 60k, which is nice. The student-to-faculty ratio is 11:1, and the class sizes are on average 17 students. It isn't a very well known LAC but a lot of family friends who have gone there have graduated and have gotten good jobs almost immediately upon graduation. </p>
<p>I feel like my chances of getting a better GPA for medical school would be a lot higher here, because of the small class sizes. Personally, I thrive in small class sizes which is something I don't really have here at Drexel. I would also be commuting the first year at least, so I'd be saving that money, too. There is also the opportunity to graduate with honors, as students apply for the honors program their junior year, vs Drexel's freshman-sophomore only application process. There are also ample opportunities to research with professors/health care professionals in the local area due to the small size of the school.</p>
<p>I am in greek life at Drexel, but my particular sorority does have a chapter at the school I'm looking to transfer to. </p>
<p>The only thing that's really holding me back from being gung-ho about the transfer is the co-op. I have the potential to do research and work on excellent projects at top hospitals in the Philadelphia area, which, could potentially help my medical school applications stand out from others, if those experiences are something that I can even put on my medical school applications?</p>
<p>To sum up:
Pros of transferring:
-Smaller class sizes, more individualized attention, more faculty connections for letters of rec, etc.
-Less expensive, therefore I will accrue less debt before medical school
-More chances to get help for any issues I would come across
-Potential to double major (Psych, potentially?)
-"fresh start"? (If I transfer, would I be liable to put both of my GPAs on my medical school application, or just the GPA from the school I graduate from?)</p>
<p>Cons:
-Missing out on Co-op
-Credits may not transfer properly, especially my engineering courses
-Could be behind depending on what my credits are like
-Leaving friends/sisters, moving back home and losing my sense of independence</p>
<p>Any advice would be great. I'm just concerned about getting into med school if I continue with the path that I'm on now as a bio major at such an expensive school. I have back-up plans if I don't get into medical school, and I know my GPA is low as of right now and I know it'll be hard to fix it but I'm working on it.</p>
<p>Thanks a bunch.</p>