Hello everyone,
I am in need of some desperate advice. Let me tell you a little bit about my history. I transferred from a small 2 year community college in Illinois to Hunter College in NY with over 60 credits and 3.9 something GPA. I had heard how much Hunter is renowned for their science department and supposedly exceptional professors, and when I visited the school, it seemed like a good match for me. I had originally planned to major in biology, but upon entering Hunter and their butchering of all my credits, many things changed for me…For the past 2 years I have been here at Hunter College, I have been absolutely miserable. From their clueless administration, their unmotivated math professors, tenure spanish professors with no incentive to teach, the insane large class sizes (over 1000) with no one-on-one with the professor, fighting tooth and nail for available science courses and having to wait the following year to get in to get in because their only offered in the fall, the unpractical scheduling of their courses (many afternoon and night classes) and many of which overlap each other , and so much more…by now you get the point, so lets just keep it simple and say I am absolutely miserable here. Ive been in school for many years now and after Hunter butchering my credits, I decided to major in psych instead of bio so that I can get out of Hunter ASAP (I will be finishing my psych degree this year) so that I can be on my way to applying to dental schools back in Illinois. However, there is one problem, and quite a large problem…I still need to finish up some of my premed courses such as biology, organic chem, and physics. I really cannot bear any more classes at Hunter once I finish my psych degree, and I really want out. I HAVE to get out. It just isn’t the right school for me. However, I fear how this transfer would look to admission officers from Dental schools, that I transferred from a “renowned” science school to insert name here school. Does anyone have any advice on what schools in the NYC area I could transfer to specifically just to finish pre med, or even schools in the Chicago area (I am considering moving back home) ??? I really want to transfer, yet at the same time, I fear how it looks to admissions of dental schools, that I transferred from a “science” school to another school only to take SCIENCE courses. However, I just cannot deal with hunter anymore. My GPA right now is 3.5, and I’m not looking to get into anything prestigious like cornell, NYU, etc. But does anyone know of a way I could transfer to another school to finish my pre med without it looking utterly atrocious to admissions of dental schools? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advanced.
Sorry to hear about your bad experience at Hunter College. Couple of questions:
…“Hunter butchering my credits”… what do you mean by this? How many credits did you finally transferred to Hunter from your CC?
Were you able to establish Residency in New York State/City of New York?
How much are you paying to attend Hunter now (Cost per credit? Room & Board?, etc.).
What would it cost Tuition-wise to complete the needed Courses in Illinois (assuming you live at home and go to a Commuter School)?
How many Pre-Med Courses do you need to Complete before apply to Dental School?
Do you have any Targeted Dental Schools in the New York/New Jersey Area?
I would stick it out at Hunter if you only need to do one or two semesters (less than 18 credits?). Why risk going to another institution that you are unfamiliar with, which can turn out better, but could be worst than Hunter College?
How close are you to graduating?
It might make sense for you to just graduate in whatever you can finish in, and then take the remaining pre-dent classes in non-degree or “post-bac” status somewhere. Heck, you could move back to Chicago, get a part-time job, and take all of those classes at in night school at a community college.
No one is going to say “Gee, why weren’t you a pre-dent when you were at Hunter?” Don’t worry about that at all. For all the admissions committees know, you might have decided on the dental school route after graduating from college.
Wow, such quick responses, I appreciate it. By “butchering”, I mean, they accepted my credits but they don’t count for the CLASS credits. Does that make sense? For example: I took bio at my community college and the bio credits transferred, but the CLASS itself is not equivalent they said, so I need to retake it in order for hunter to recognized it as “bio”; right now its just listed as an elective I took. They did the same with chemistry; I too chem previously at the community college, and even though I did well, they still said it wasn’t equivalent and I had to retake it. And I am currently trying to get in state ny residency (its pending). However, I know if i go back home to chicago for school, I will once again have to pay for out of state tuition. However, being that I’m going to be in student debt regardless, Im not all that too concerned about the money aspect (Ill be paying it off years from now…). Right now, I really just want to be happy, and I cannot emphasize enough just how unhappy I am at Hunter. Unfortunately happymomof1, I cannot take the classes at a community college because dental schools require they be taken at a 4 year university (ridiculous, given that I had a much better education at my community college than at hunter). I really don’t know what to do; I am trying to weigh my options but it feels so complicated, and theres so many aspects involved. I was really looking for any kind of advice, if someone has been in a similar situation. Since I am taking courses that are consistent with the pre-med track (ones that are not required to get my psych major) I fear that it might look very suspicious to admissions why I all of a sudden up and left to finish my pre-med classes elsewhere. It may get them thinking: did they quit because its too hard? Another aspect I have to consider is that, I want to for SURE go to dental school in chicago. I don’t want to attend dental school here in ny and be away from my family for that long, but the schools in IL won’t even consider you unless you are an IL resident!! That means IF I finish up school in ny, I have to live in IL for a year just waiting to become a resident so i can apply. Theres so many aspects to consider… :-< . As Psata82 says, I risk transferring and perhaps being even more miserable, or sticking it out and then going to illinois to wait a year… I just don’t know. I’m sorry this is a long ass ramble. I still need to take Bio 1 and 2, physics 1 and 2, and biochem and anatomy…But i swear being at Hunter any longer will just break me 
Any advice on how to weigh my options…any ideas at all, throw them at me please
How soon can you graduate from Hunter with a degree in anything?
If you can graduate this May, do that and move back to Chicago immediately. Then get a job, and while you are re-establishing IL residency, look around at the 4-year colleges and universities close by, and find out which ones will let you enroll for just the classes that you need to take. Ask specifically whether or not they offer a “post-bac pre-med” program. Some do. Those kinds of programs have dedicated advisors to help students get into medical and dental school.
If you need at least one more year at Hunter, then maybe it would be worth it to you to transfer to a college or university in IL. Check your CC’s website to find out which colleges and universities there have formal articulation agreements with your CC. Those places would be the ones that are most likely to admit you and accept most of your credits.
If you only need one more semester after this one then it is a harder call. Bite the bullet and stay and get done quickly, or kick Hunter to the curb and move on. Things could go either way.
Your answer to anyone who asks why you transferred out of Hunter is very simple: “I had a great experience there, but the longer I was in NY, the more I came to realize that I wanted to be back in the Midwest.” No one will hold it against you that you transferred out because of bad fit.
Sorry for your terrible experience at Hunter. I’ve heard of certain colleges saying credit can only be given in electives for AP classes but I’ve never heard of that for CC classes. That’s the whole reason you GO to community college, sheesh.
Don’t worry about anyone thinking “Oh this kid transferred from Hunter…why???” That won’t be a big deal. You still have a lot of classes to take at Hunter for your pre-med prerequisites. Is it possible to just stay at Hunter and drag it out? I know you really don’t want to, but honestly, it’s not going to be worth it to go through the whole process of transferring and going to a completely different school all over again.
The same thing could happen, you don’t know. You thought everything would be fine here but now you hate it. You’re here now with your credits (hoard them in your suitcase!!!) Take the courses at Hunter and get the heck out of there when you’re done!
It appears that you will be heading back to IL, so why attempt to gain NY Residency, which would require you giving up your IL Residency and ultimately, paying Out of State Tuition (a big cost penalty) when back home in IL.
Maybe I missed it, but AGAIN, how many pre-requisite credits/courses do you have to complete before going on to Dental School? Do you live in Manhattan or one of the Outer Boroughs? There are other CUNY Schools (Brooklyn College, CCNY, etc.) that offer excellent Pre-Med/Dent Courses in the event you do gain New York Residency. CUNY Schools are relatively inexpensive when compare to the Alternatives.
Psata82, I need to complete 6 more pre-req courses before going to dental school. Unfortunately, I already have NY residency; it was the first thing I did the day I moved here so that I wouldn’t have to pay out of state tuition at Hunter for long; however, for the documents I submitted, it is still “pending” by Hunter. The admin is screwed up there, and it takes a long time for everything. Anyway. I live in Brooklyn. What would be your recommendations for NY school transfers in the event I do decide to stay in NY Psata82?
Do you need to take those six pre-reqs at Hunter, or can you graduate from Hunter and then take them in non-degree or post-bac status somewhere else?
Is the reason why you want to transfer this late in the game so that you can keep receiving federal financial aid?
SUNY Downstate Medical in Brooklyn is fairly inexpensive School. I’m not sure if they offers pre-requisite courses for Medical/Dental School, since it is pretty much gear towards their professional schools (Medicine, Nursing, etc.). Brooklyn College might be a good fit or if you want to live on Campus, SUNY Stony Brook. Heard good things about College of Staten Island - CUNY (not sure how you would get there from Brooklyn). Of course there is NYU as a Transient for the 6 coures (technically you could complete in one Semester, but might be too much of a heavy load). CCNY is a good option, but located at the Upper end of Manhattan (137th Street and Convent Ave).
Do you know if it might be in your best interest Financial-Aid-wise to delay getting your Undergraduate degree in Psychology by a Semester or two? Does CUNY/SUNY have excess credit cost penalties? How many credit have you accumulated so far (Transferred-in + Hunter generated)?
FYI (Have a list of Schools that might be of interest…go through the entire list)
http://sls.downstate.edu/admissions/transfer_equiv/nursing_undergrad.html
Happymomof1: No, I do not have to take the six courses at Hunter; thats exactly what I DO NOT want to do. I am getting my psych degree in one more semester and then I plan to go elsewhere to take the 6 courses. The reason why I want to transfer is because my overall experience at the school; I am highly dissatisfied. I am not receiving any financial aid whatsoever, to answer your question. I pay out of pocket.
Psata82: I do not understand what you mean by delaying my undergraduate degree; I am getting my undergraduate degree in one more semester. Also, I do not receive any financial aid, I pay out of pocket. Also, forgive me as I am not very familiar with the CUNY/SUNY system, but I also do not know what you mean by “Credit cost penalties”. Thank you for the list of schools, I appreciate it. I’m going to look through the list and do some additional research on the schools before I make any decisions; If I still do not find one I believe would be a good fit for me to attend, I am just going to suck it up and move back to chicago to finish up my 6 pre-med courses.
thanks for all the feedback everyone. I have lots of things to research and decide.
General question however; assuming that I decide to attend a different college after I get my psych degree at Hunter, does anyone know what I would be applying as? For instance, I would be considered post bac, but does that mean I can be accepted into a school and JUST take those 6 courses and be done with it?- or, do schools (depending on which one is accepted into) require you take additional courses (apart from the 6 I need to take) in order to be part of a post-bac program? I know it may seem like an obvious question, but I am very unfamiliar with what happens after I get my degree from hunter but still have pre-dental courses to take.
Here’s a sample of a Post-Bac program, which describes the what’s and why’s.
I agree with the upthread posted, that a Post-Bac represents your best opportunity
to graduate from Hunter and still go on to a dental or other professional med program:
Thisismenow -
Thanks for clarifying your situation. After you graduate, you won’t really be a “transfer” student. Instead, you will be someone who has a college degree who has returned to college in order to take the pre-dent courses.
Depending on where you would do that, there are several different categories that you could be assigned to, or you might be able to choose from. Each college and university sets its own policy about that. You will have to check with each of them to find out what options you’d have there.
- You might be able to enroll as a “non-degree student” or “visiting student” or some other name like that on a course-by-course basis. You would pay for the class, take the class, and get a transcript for the class. The advantage of this is that usually the application is simple and doesn’t require letters of rec. etc. The downside of this status is that usually it means the worst priority for registering for classes.
- You might have the option to apply as a “second bachelor degree” or “transfer” student. This would mean that you would have access to the pre-dent advisor, and you would have junior or senior status depending on how they count your credits which would give you priority for registration. The downside would be that you’d have to go through a more formal application process.
- A formal post-bac program. The advantages are guaranteed space in the classes you want, and good advising. Again the downside would be the formal application process.
Since you have another semester at Hunter, you have time to investigate options. Bio 1 &2 and Physics 1&2 shouldn’t have any requirements. Biochem and Anatomy might require general biology as a pre-req, but concurrent enrollment in Bio 1 or 2, and your previous Bio class at the CC should cover that pre-req at most places. Again, you really do have to ask.
Good luck with everything!
Here is a link to more post bac programs:
Thank you happymomof1! That was very informative. All this time I was under the impression I would be “Transferring” to another school after I got my degree from Hunter. I have already been to hell and back at Hunter with not being able to register for courses and having to wait an entire year to take them, so I really think taking the extra step and going through a more formal process to apply would be my best option if I want to have priority registration. My main goal is to get in and get out; I am not looking to take any more “Extra” courses than the very 6 that I need.
so it looks like I may have done more harm than good… I have been researching schools in chicago for post bac and here is an excerpt from one of the websites:
“This program is tailored specifically for students who already have a bachelor’s degree, but have not completed the science courses necessary for admission to medical or health professional schools. Having completed (or attempted) more than one of the traditional pre-requisite science courses for health professional school (i.e., inorganic chemistry, biology, physics, organic chemistry) may have a negative impact on a candidate’s application.”
I have already completed chemistry and biology.
Even MORE discouraging, according to the criteria for another school, their website claims I am only a candidate for “non-degree” since their post bac program requires that biology be taken five years prior to applying (by the time i finish my degree at hunter, id have taken bio more than 5 years ago) wtf. Then I’m back where I started, fighting tooth and nail for registration for classes like I am at hunter.
Don’t worry about having some of the pre-reqs out of the way. Each post-bac program is different, so keep looking. If you already have general chem and general bio you may be able to choose a more advanced course instead.
- Every post baccalaureate program is different; some of them don't care if you've already taken a few prerequisites. Keep looking. Columbia has one, too, but it's of course expensive.
- You don't have to do a formal post-baccalaureate program. You can take classes as a non-degree student to satisfy your course prerequisites. You could move back to Chicago and take classes at a nearby four-year college while you work to finish up the pre-dental classes.