<p>I am a premed rising sophomore at a top 20 university with 3.8+ GPA. I don't quite enjoy the social scene at my school because of heavy Greek dominance and lack of variety, so I applied for transfer and have just been admitted to Columbia (CC), UPenn (CAS), and Duke (Trinity). Although my current school has a strong premed program and an on-site med school, the new schools are more well-known and prestigious and have excellent (stronger?) premed program too. Duke will cost $5k more per year, while my costs will stay almost the same at the other two. Please help as I feel hesitating either to stay or start from scratch at a new school. Most of my credits will transfer but I am sure there will be quite some extra work to excel in a new environment. What do you think? It will be great if previous transfer students can share their experiences.</p>
<p>Congrats on Duke! I got in as well, and I’m a former premed. I think the institution that you do premed at doesn’t matter too much, as long as you get good grades and have good ECs, especially at a good state school. Duke is also pretty heavily Greek</p>
<p>I think that Duke and Penn have more of a reputation for being pre med powerhouses. Duke is also significantly harder to get into as a transfer so congratulations on making the cut. From what I’ve seen, the Greek scene at Duke is not overwhelming by any means. I’ve also been told that it is easy to get access to research opportunities at Duke which makes sense because Duke has fewer students than schools like Columbia and Penn. I personally would rule out Columbia (but that’s just me) because I wouldn’t want to be burdened by the core. As far as costs are concerned, it is important to make note of the fact that the cost of living in Durham will be significantly lower than the cost of living in NY or Philadelphia. Good luck with your decision. Choose the school you feel most comfortable at.</p>
<p>I cannot address the other excellent universities, but Duke’s faculty and advisors do a stellar job in medical school preparation, as indicated by both the very high percentage of graduating pre meds who accepted and by the schools at which they matriculate.</p>
<p>Thank you for your input! I appreciate it! Final Decision: Columbia University!
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