Transfer Colleges Twice

Transfer Students
1

<p>Would this look bad? Because I'm applying to medical school one day, I don't want anything to make me look bad on my application.</p>

<p>Anyway, I started at a community college, then transferred to a Top 10 Private. I was born and raised in the deep South, however, and the weather here is simply TOO COLD! I can't take it, it's making miserable. There are also a lot of cultural barriers - people making fun of my accent, religion, etc. I'm just miserable.</p>

<p>I'd like to transfer to a college back in the South, but I'm worried it will look odd. I made a 4.0 at my CC, but my first semester at the Northern School I made a 2.7 - mostly due to my misery of being in the cold and depression (sunshine makes people happy ya know). Because the school I'd transfer to in the south is "less competitive" (still good, just not top 10 good), I wonder if it will look like I saw my current school as too hard and moved to somewhere easier, especially with my grade trend justifying that. </p>

<p>Please help!</p>

2

<p>You might want to also post your question on the Pre-Med Topics forum as there are several very helpful current med school students who post there. I know that they have voiced concerns about transferring due to the impact it has on your medical ECs. Moving around makes it more difficult to develop substantial research, clinical, etc. experience which is important in applying to med school.</p>

<p>I'm not sure about how the grade trend and moving to a less competitive school will be viewed by med schools. However, it doesn't seem like it's going to help anything staying at a school you don't like and which is resulting in lower grades.</p>

3

<p>
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I wonder if it will look like I saw my current school as too hard and moved to somewhere easier, especially with my grade trend justifying that.

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IMHO, it would look exactly like that. Med school adcoms are very obstinate; they don't listen to explanations, they just see what's in front of them. </p>

<p>I'd advise you to stick it out for another semester or two. Spring will get better. Lock yourself up in the Olin or Mann Library and start mercilessly raping the curve. Just get it done, no excuses. </p>

<p>As for the cultural barriers... if you are as pertinaciously vocal in person as you were in that Obama thread, then it should come as no surprise why you are socially miserable. I know quite a few Southerners who get by just fine. (E.g. my roommate is a staunchly religious former McCain supporter and I'm an agnostic liberal-leaning libertarian. Neither of us wear our philosophical beliefs on our sleeves and thus we get along awesomely.) </p>

<p>Don't know what to tell you about the cold though.</p>

4

<p>I'm not vocal at all - it's the students that are vocal. They are constantly trying to shove liberal beliefs down my throat, while I'm a centrist who agrees with half of liberalism and half of conservatism. I'll say nothing about my religion, and yet someone always starts a Christianity-bashing conversation and expects me to be a part of it. It's just so not right...a Southern Christian in a Godless frozen tundra.</p>

5

<p>It's an Ivy League school, of course 85%+ of the students will staunchly identify with some kind of liberal ideology. You had to have known that before signing up. But even in light of that, there is and has been for years a strong conservative presence at Cornell (Ann Coulter, Paul Wolfowitz, Stephen Hadley, etc.)</p>

<p>I will say that I've never ever experienced anyone just straight up "start a Christianity-bashing conversation." That would be ridiculous and juvenile. I don't know you in person so I can't accurately tell, but if your past arguments on this forum accurately depict your manner in person, then I'm not really surprised that you would face political hostility.</p>

<p>I'm saying this because I am friends with many faithful Christians on campus who've never expressed what you're saying. But ultimately it's your call, if your unhappiness persists, then there's no reason to stay.</p>

6

<p>Well, that's exactly what happens - people just start talking about how stupid Christians are, with nothing to provoke them. And I'm not a conservative, I more closely identify with the Democratic Party and support democratic candidates (Obama aside). So I don't fit in with the 85% liberals who are just too in your face, nor the 15% conservatives who are just too....insane? I don't know. It's a hard fit for me here, and besides, I do have quite a few friends who aren't that way - it's not the main problem. I hold my own in a political conversation, and I don't mind a little challenge of wits every now and then. It's mainly the cold I have trouble dealing with.</p>

7

<p>Cornell was not a great choice for a CC grad heading to med school. It's hard to get a high GPA there. I don't think med schools give a hoot where you get your high GPA from, but you need to have one. I'd leave in your situation. Soon.</p>

8

<p>It worked for Sarah Palin.</p>

9

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<p>Or...it won't. You know...med school adcoms aren't really the most astute individuals in the world (or maybe they just don't care. Either way, they're either stupid, or they don't care).</p>

<p>My advice also is to transfer to a more GPA friendly school, if getting into med school is your ultimate goal.</p>

10

<p>"Godless frozen tundra" haha. I laughed out loud.
But seriously, if you are miserable, transfer. There's no use in settling for a school that you are unhappy with and not doing well at. Since your gpa is a bit low, I would look into more options than just "the school you are planning to transfer to" - I mean, I have no idea which school you are referring to, but it wouldn't hurt to have some backups, target schools, and reach schools just so you aren't stuck (and miserable) at Cornell. Good luck and I hope you find a better experience.</p>

11

<p>Yeah, well possibly N.C State, UNC Chapel Hill, Clemson, Furman, Emory, University of South Carolina, University of Florida, Miami University - all nice and warm.</p>

<p>I mean dang, these people don't even drink sweet tea...and they all wear socks with sandals...everything looks like a dump. The south is new and clean and nice and warm....</p>

12

<p>I agree with Post #7. I have a relative who is president of a medical school & authored a widely used medical textbook for heart surgeons who told me that med schools just want a high GPA (and MCATs, of course).</p>

13

<p>
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It's mainly the cold I have trouble dealing with.

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<p>
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I mean dang, these people don't even drink sweet tea...and they all wear socks with sandals...everything looks like a dump. The south is new and clean and nice and warm....

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</p>

<p>Sounds like you are experiencing a little bit of a culture shock. Hate to break it to you but it is 25 degrees in Atlanta right now. But it could always be worse -- you could be in Chicago or Minneapolis! </p>

<p>I also hate to break it to you, but not everything about the South is clean and new. For starters, there is a massive build up of vacant property in Florida with empty, untreated pools that are breeding the West Nile Virus. Secondly, the amount of rural poverty is atrocious. See? Now Upstate New York doesn't seem so bad.</p>

<p>I had a friend who was from SoCal and had a similar reaction upon spending a semester in Ithaca. All he would do is complain about how Ithaca wasn't in Southern California. Long story short, he ended up loving it in Ithaca and stayed to work at Cornell after graduating.</p>

<p>You might very well end up not liking it at Cornell, but you should at least give it another semester before you write off the Northeast completely.</p>

<p>
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So I don't fit in with the 85% liberals who are just too in your face, nor the 15% conservatives who are just too....insane? I don't know.

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</p>

<p>In my experience the majority of Cornell students are apathetic. So you must be living among the politically charged ones. That said, it's an election year and the kids were really excited about Obama everywhere. I don't quite know what to tell you.</p>

<p>And the reason why they are teasing you because of your accent is because they are probably trying to be friendly.</p>

<p>Finally, your complaints about anti-Christianity remarks are really bizarre. I never experienced much religious bias at Cornell at all, and there are plenty of very active Christian support groups on campus.</p>

14

<p>Mm..well I'm not actually talking about Florida or the poverty stricken deep south, I'm talking more about the newer areas of the South, which are experiencing huge growth and everything is pretty much new. Everything in Ithaca is really old and run down, etc.</p>

<p>Cayuga, I suppose I'll give it at least Spring Semester. I may end up loving it...eventually.</p>

15

<p>
[quote]
Mm..well I'm not actually talking about Florida or the poverty stricken deep south, I'm talking more about the newer areas of the South, which are experiencing huge growth and everything is pretty much new. Everything in Ithaca is really old and run down, etc.

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<p>You're right. Everything is falling apart. Especially Duffield Hall and the new hotels going up on the Commons.</p>

<p>Somehow I suspect that if you look around a little bit you will come to find that the building materials and construction standards in Ithaca far surpass a lot of South, where cookie-cutter housing and cheap strip malls are everywhere. And just because Ithaca is a laid-back town with less of a focus on how things ostensibly look doesn't mean things are run down.</p>

<p>The student housing stock isn't too great in Charlottesvile, Durham, and Austin either.</p>