Rough First Semester.... should I transfer or give my school a chance? {GW vs VCU}

Hey guys so its been like a pretty rough semester. I’m currently a freshman at GW university which is a very well-reputed school & am on a “pre-med track”. Basically for all my non pre-reqs I got A’s but for my science courses (intro physics & bio) I got a C- in both and I actually STRUGGLED to get those C’s. Next semester I’m taking chem and I heard the professor is terrible so I’m not looking forward to that.
The thing is though aside from my trash grades, I’m not even having fun at college like I’ve made friends and all but its just not my type of crowd if you know what I mean.

So my question is, should I stick it out at GW and try to make the best of it (at the risk of my frkn GPA) or after freshman year should I transfer to VCU which from what I’ve heard has a decent honors & pre-med program and its decently easy to get good grades there. And also I have a bunch of friends from highschool there.

Thinking about it I feel the VCU is the better decision but I feel like leaving DC where there are so many opportunities and leaving GW which has a pretty good reputation to go to VCU will be a downgrade. I really don’t know what to do.
Any advice you guys have would be appreciated.

I am sorry that you had a rough first semester…the transition to college is rough for many students. Is VCU Virginia Commonwealth University?

I can’t really tell you what to do. How did you study for your intro physics and bio classes? Did you review your notes regularly, attend office hours etc? I would look at your study habits and think about how you could improve them moving forward. Eventually you will be taking organic chemistry…that is no cake walk. You need top grades moving forward.

What do you mean that your friends are not your type of crowd? It’s a big school…I am sure you could find friends to connect with?

Do you have other career interests just in case med school does not pan out? Many students begin as premeds and change their minds for a variety of reasons.

I think it’s important to look at your study habits… Premed will be challenging at most schools. Besides keeping your grades up, you will need to volunteer, etc.

Best wishes…you will eventually make the right decision and do what is best for you.

As to transferring, I don’t have answer for you. Premed is hard everywhere, but if one is happy, they are more likely to do well…

And although I think it might be okay for some med schools (see MSAR), a C- grade in premed reqs is usually viewed as “not passing” for medical school admission purposes. If your C-s were both in premed reqs, you should retake both courses (or equivalent courses if you transfer). You would have to report both the C- and the retake when you apply, and both C-/retake grades would be used in calculating med school GPAs. Also, if you retake and got less than an A, it would be viewed negatively. And no matter if you go or stay, before you move on to chem, you may want to slow down to find out why you are struggling so much. Good luck.

Transferring to VCU would save you a lot of tuition money compared to staying at GWU. If you are seriously interested in getting into med school your gpa and your mcat scores will get you through the first screening of your application. Without those you won’t be able to move forward. Med schools will not care where you graduated from. You may think it is a downgrade but only the top students make it far in premed at VCU or any other school. You will have lots of opportunities there since VCU med school and hospital are right on campus.

First thing you need to do is build your study skills because it seems you are struggling in your premed classes. Med schools look at not just your overall gpa but also your science gpa which at this time is not very good. There is no grade replacement when calculating gpa for med school. Even if you repeat a class both grades will be used to calculate your gpa. Right now if you are earning a C- in your science classes you don’t have a good grasp of the material and then getting a good score on the MCAT would be a challenge for you.

Going forward you need A’s in your premed classes. That means you need to change your study habits and get the help you need to improve otherwise med school will no longer be an option for you. Always have a plan B in case you are not able to pursue med school. Also keep in mind you need recommendation letters or a committee letter when apply to med school. You won’t get that unless you have a gpa above a 3.5. (3.7 for MD school, 3.5 for DO school)

Right now based on your science grades you run the risk of getting weeded out of pursuing future premed courses. It only gets more difficult with chemistry and organic chemistry. I would suggest repeating those two science classes before taking anymore premed classes.

You may think the grading will be easier at VCU (not true) but you still have to understand the material and do well. Right now you are not in that position.