Transfer "up" junior year or stick it out?

Transfer Students
1

<p>Hey everyone,</p>

<p>I am currently a sophomore at Tulane who is considering transferring for fall 2011 (my junior year). I don't want to get into a long sob story about why I want to transfer back up to the North East, but it's not the right fit. In high school I was extremely active (extracurricularly and socially) and motivated but I have been miserable here and as a result I have lost all of that. I feel as if I was happy and not so miserable all the time I'd have some motivation to actually study. </p>

<p>Here are my main concerns with transferring: I am pre-med and don't want transferring to inhibit my application to medical school. I will have all of my pre-reqs completed by the end of this spring semester (I doubled up both years). I have done some research and have found that transferring is only an issue with LORs/committee letters and it raises a huge red flag if you transfer "down." So, my options are basically limited to schools on par with or better than Tulane. Also: I am concerned about how many of my credits will transfer, as with most transfer students. </p>

<p>Because everyone at CC loves stats, here are mine:
Cum. GPA: 3.717
Major: Neuroscience
Honors prog.
1st semester Freshman Year: B Gen Chem I
A Gen Chem Lab
A- English 101 Honors
A- Calculus
A Intro to Research
A Intro to Psych</p>

<p>2nd Semester Freshman Year:
A- Cell Biology
A Ecology (Yes... I did Gen Bio I and II in the same semester)
A- Ecology Lab
B Gen Chem II
A- Gen Chem Lab
A Sociology
A- Medical Ethics</p>

<p>1st Semester Sophomore Year:
A- Organic Chemistry I
A- Organic Chemistry Lab
A- General Physics with Calculus Honors
A Gen Physics Lab
A Latin
A Behavioral Neuroscience </p>

<p>Will my improvement in grades give me an advantage? I know its not a huge jump (I went from a 3.68 to a 3.85 from freshman to sophomore year) but I worked my tuchus off last semester with a pretty difficult workload IMO</p>

<p>Extracurricular wise is nothing stellar. I am on an intercollegiate sports team which takes up most of my free time. I am in about 5 honor societies (which require no participation so they probably aren't worth mentioning)
I've done about 200 hours of hospital community service. I had two different internships: one in the OR and the other in the ER at two hospitals back at home. I've done about 40 hours community service at a therapeutic horseback riding clinic and this semester am teaching an after school chemistry program for high school students in the area (should be around 30 hours)</p>

<p>If high school stuff matters I have a 4.2/4.0 GPA (5 /100 in my class) and 31 ACT and A LOT of leadership, sports, all that fun stuff. </p>

<p>I keep going back and forth between transferring and sticking it out. I have been trying to like it more but I like it less and less every semester it seems. Any advice on what to do? I was thinking about going abroad to get away from here but it can only be for a semester as I am planning to apply to med school next spring. </p>

<p>I think as of right now I might send out a few transfer apps, see what happens, and then proceed from there. I love NYC, Boston, Philly, DC and would prefer an urban environment but I wouldn't mind a more rural/suburban school in NY,NJ,MA,CT,RI (I am originally from NY).Any ideas on schools that are transfer friendly? I have no idea where to apply and the thought of applying "up" scares me. I know its silly but I am still burned from applying to college the first time around and I want to be realistic. </p>

<p>I really appreciate any advice! Thank you!</p>

2

<p>There are plenty of Tulane-equivalent institutions out there. The biggest issue would be with money, as financial aid for transfers is hard to come by. If you are serious about neuroscience, I’d suggest you base your search on the colleges/universities on those institutions in the NE that have the strongest neuroscience programs. That should make your list short enough to be manageable.</p>

3

<p>Does transferring from a higher ranked university to a lower one hinder a medical school application that much?</p>

4

<p>^^^I’ve always heard the opposite. I’ve talked to several professors at my college that were on admissions committees for other schools once upon a time and they’ve told me time and time again that they don’t care WHERE you went. Your GPA and MCAT scores matter more than where you got your Bachelor’s degree. At least, that’s what I’ve heard.</p>

5

<p>meshannon: I have definitely heard the same, but it is different for transfers. I’ve just got my information from SDN (if you know the climate on there, you can appropriately judge this bit of info haha) that transferring down can be seen as sign that you “can’t handle the curriculum” which obviously is not always true. I’d say a few people transfer because of a tough workload. Financial, geographic, and not having the right fit are probably much more common reasons to transfer, but alas with professional school admissions most adcoms may not give you the time of day to consider that.</p>

6

<p>happymomof1: I really like my major and I find it interesting (which not everyone can say) and would love to go to a school with a program. That’d probably make more of my credits transfer? I don’t see offering a neuro major as a deal breaker though, but it’d be nice. I will try to do the search though. </p>

<p>I heard that financial aid is tough for transfers which makes this situation even more difficult. I’m not on financial aid @ tulane but am on a merit scholarship for half tuition, but that still puts my COA at around 35k+ a year. My parents REALLY want me to transfer than to be depressed, but I don’t want them to take out loans. I want my little brother to have the same options of schools than I did. /sigh</p>

<p>Was anyone in a similar situation? Still unsure whether to send out apps… are my grades competitive enough for top 25 schools or should I shoot for the bottom of tier one?</p>

7

<p>Your current stats at Tulane certainly will qualify you for transferring “up” - that doesn’t mean I know you will get in, but you certainly have what it takes.</p>

<p>I know nothing about how transferring affects med school chances. There is a pre-med forum here on cc and you might get good advice there - lots of knowledgeable people there. I’m wondering why transferring will hinder your LORs - you don’t usually have that many profs for multiple courses, so I don’t know how that would be a disadvantage. Maybe with the pre-Med committee or advisor letters, but I would suggest asking about that on cc’s Med Schoo/pre-med forum.</p>

8

<p>andale: I don’t know why I didn’t think about posting it over there as well – thank you! I will give it a shot over there, but I do appreciate the responses I have gotten thus far</p>

9

<p>I’m not premed, but isn’t there something to be said about being the top of your class/ having a high GPA? If you transferred up, then you may not be a big fish in a small pond any more.</p>