<p>So, currently I attend Notre Dame as a freshman. However, I am sure this is not the right fit for me. This is taking into consideration the atmosphere, the people, and the culture. From the beginning of the semester, I have been considering transferring. I've tried getting myself out there by meeting different people, joining clubs, and keeping an open mind. However, I am just not happy here. I also do not like the distance from New Jersey, where I live. I am definitely giving it a shot for a full year here to be able to tell myself that I really tried. </p>
<p>I am hoping to send in applications to schools like The College Of New Jersey and New York University. I got accepted to TCNJ previously. I am studying biology right now and contemplating med school. I was wondering if it would be a bad decision to transfer from a school like Notre Dame to a school like TCNJ and would it look bad to graduate schools or med schools? Also, Notre Dame gives me a lot of money right now which was one of the top reasons I chose this school. Are transfer students with a need for financial aid in a really bad position? </p>
<p>Any advice would be helpful!</p>
<p>Regarding how graduate/professional schools view transfers, I think that they would view it as something positive if you do better at the “less prestigious” school while maintaining rigor of courses. I think that they understand that college has factors outside of academics.</p>
<p>I can’t really comment on financial aid, but continue to keep an open mind! Maybe you just haven found the right group to surround yourself with.</p>
<p>Side note: I am a college freshman myself, so I don’t want to present myself as someone who “knows”</p>
<p>If you go to the PreMed Topics forum, you’ll see that the question of how UG school ranking affects Med school applications comes up a lot. In all of the threads I’ve seen there, the take home message is that prestige of the school only helps for the first maybe 6-12 top schools, and it only hurts for low tier schools. ND and TCNJ are both solid schools, and what will matter more than the rank of the school will be how you do there (gpa, LORs, ECs, etc.) Most people do better where they’re happy. Do check the PreMed forum and ask your question there too.</p>
<p>There are definitely fewer merit aid opportunities, and most are for lesser amounts, for transfers than for entering fr. For need based FA, it varies by school. But one thing I can tell you about NYU is that it is well known to give lousy FA to everyone. For TCNJ, check their website for merit scholarships for continuing students and to see their policy on need based FA for transfers. One problem is with timing, since transfers are generally accepted later than fr, if need based FA is limited, transfers may get poorer packages.</p>
<p>you should try columbia/barnard (if you are a girl). Cornell is not that far from jersey either.</p>
<p>No way! I’m a freshman at ND from New Jersey and I’m trying to transfer too, just not to the same type of schools</p>
<p>After enrolling in college, I found out that for pre-med (which I am also), going to an EASIER college (with more grade inflation) and getting a higher GPA is better than going to a more prestigious college but getting a lower GPA. Grade point (and MCAT, obviously), is the key for getting into med school.</p>
<p>If you think you can do better at another (albeit less “prestigious”) college, and be happier there, go for it. Also keep in mind that many colleges do not offer as much (or any) FA for transfer students, so do your research.</p>