Transferring from SLU or UC?

Transfer Students
1

<p>Hey all,</p>

<p>Right now I am a high school senior choosing between going to UC Berkeley, UCLA or Saint Louis University (SLU has a guaranteed med program though, which is a huge plus.)</p>

<p>I'm leaning towards SLU because the guaranteed spot in med school is really valuable. However, I know that there is a possibility that if I don't enjoy my undergrad experience, I would attempt to transfer.</p>

<p>With that said, do you think it would be a big disadvantage applying from SLU (a private, catholic 4-year university) vs. a UC (a private 4 year-university) to some private colleges (ivies, rice, northwestern etc.)</p>

<p>(I have a 3.9+ GPA and a 33 ACT (around 2200-2250 SAT) if that matters.)</p>

<p>Also, do you think I have a shot at certain privates (Brown, Columbia, Penn and Stanford are probably at the top), or am I just wasting my time?</p>

<p>P.S.: I realize that many people are trying to get into UC Berkeley and UCLA and also trying to transfer to privates. In no way am I trying to brag or put anyone down. I wish you all the best as transfer applicants, and I hope that you can provide some information to help me as well.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

2

<p>My question is: Are you in the guaranteed med program, or is it something that you have to get into later?</p>

3

<p>It is a guaranteed med program. However, they expect you to maintain a 3.5 GPA. If you maintain a 3.5 GPA for your undergraduate (3-4 years), you're pretty much in.</p>

4

<p>My only issue with this is the high attrition rate for pre-meds. Very few 18-year-olds really truly know what they want to do. I'm not saying that you're not equipped with the necessarily faculties for medicine. I'm saying that you may find out two years from now that you have an incredible passion for something else and may go for that.</p>

<p>In that case, however, you most likely could transfer out. Just remember that a lot of the prereqs for med school aren't exactly known as GPA boosters...</p>