transferring

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>Hi everyone, </p>

<p>I am writing to ask for some advice; I was accepted at small private college in mn through the Fulbright program with a really good scholarship and also to Duke University with no financial aid; after taking a year off, I decided to attend the small private college (Hamline University). I really liked it at first but somehow it bothers me that the opportunities from pre-medical students are very limited and there is not much support there; however, I have really good professors who I have gotten to known very well and I am sure I would get great recommendations letters. Currently I am working doing research at the university of Minnesota which I was able to get through Hamline U. </p>

<p>I was accepted to transfer to University of MN to the college of biological sciences this fall (I would be a junior then) and I was very happy because they have a lot more opportunities such as getting a medical student mentor, a pre-med minority club, etc. However, I just got my transfer credits report and they are telling me that I have to re-take cell bio, genetics and physics 1. I don’t know what to do now because that would imply me taking 1 more semester to graduate from college. Also I am worried that I won’t have the same relationship with my professors since this is a huge university and the classes are pretty big as far as I know. </p>

<p>Aside from the opportunities offered, I wanted to transfer because somehow I feel that I do not fit in completely at my current college and I am afraid that when applying to medical schools outside of the state, they won’t be as familiar with Hamline university as they would be with the University of MN which is a top 50 school. </p>

<p>Please let me know what you would do in my case. Also, I would like to know about others’ experiences transferring and retaking classes. Would this look bad on my application for medical school? </p>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

2

<p>Okay. Let’s get the business down here.</p>

<ol>
<li>School names?
Well, big name can make a difference. But big name does not guarantee acceptance to a medical school. </li>
</ol>

<p>When you apply to medical school, you have a few things to keep in mind, #1 your GPA, #2 your MCAT score, #3 letters of recommendation, #4 resume (this include your research and internship experience), and #4 your admission essays</p>

<p>All of them are equally important, while some might be a slightly more important than the other.</p>

<p>So graduate from a big name may only give 0.0001% additional bonus.</p>

<ol>
<li>Big college vs small college
Yes. When you attend a larger university with a larger number of enrollment, one will have less opportunity to interact with their professors and teachers. Very often, even if it is a 101 class, you will be sitting in a 300-seat lecture hall. Whereas in small college, even lecture hall can be as small as 100 people in one section of the same course.</li>
</ol>

<p>So which is the best for me? Well, it is personal actually. If you really like working with your professor, and sometime you need help from them (for example, homework problems), I believe smaller community will fit the best. </p>

<p>When you choose over larger university, you are offer with more opportunity, simply because there are more demands. It is a nature of demand vs supply. Funding also plays a role there.</p>

<ol>
<li>Opportunity
It seems like you are complaining that your current school does not have enough support for pre-medical program. This is bad, especially when you really want to expose to pre-medical program as soon as possible. For the sake of medical school admission, participation in medical program matters.
If I have to rank the criteria: (1) MCAT score, (2) particpation and essay are equally the same, (3) recommendation, and (4) GPA. </li>
</ol>

<p>GPA is pretty low because if you want to go to a medical school, a solid 3.5 or above GPA is recommended. Most applicants have 3.8 or above. Notice that there is inflation in GPA in certain colleges. This is why GPA is ranked the lowest influential.</p>

<p>So you can virtually see that opportunity is indeed important.</p>

<ol>
<li>Choose one !!!</li>
</ol>

<p>I can’t choose for you, but I can tell what I think is the best for me. I would rather to go to the bigger university. It can offer me more opportunity. Notice that taking a semester more is pretty much expected for any transfer admission. So you should not be surprise at all.
It may sound stupid and bad because you want to graduate early. Well most medical students do not graduate until they are 26, 27. So age should not even be your concern.</p>

<p>If you can still get A in those classes, I think you are pretty good for pre-med, at least for preparation. If you have to study over and over and barely get a A, I think you have to learn your mistake, and figure out how to study. Study is not just about getting A in class. Rather, you need to remember them well. </p>

<p>It is a good opportunity for you to learn how to establish relationships with people in a larger community. You don’t have to be a teacher puppy - that’s gross and wrong. </p>

<p>I think the larger school will help you a lot in preparing you for the world. </p>

<p>:) just my 0.3055666 cent</p>

3

<p>Thanks so much for the advice… </p>

<p>I am also wondering how much retaking 3 classes could affect my application for medical school since I already got good grades in these classes.</p>

4

<p>Solid relationships with professors, research, lots of pre-med opportunities. </p>

<p>As a pre-med a year ahead of you (I’m applying for med school right now!), I can definitely understand why those are all very important things to you. I go to a big state university that’s not top 50 (top 100 maybe, though I don’t know) with a total enrollment right around 28k. </p>

<p>I have created and maintained very close relationships with some of my professors who will be writing recommendation letters for me. One was my honors organic chemistry professor sophomore year; the other was my physiology professor last year and is now the advisor for a nonprofit organization I started this past winter. If you’re at all an outgoing, enthusiastic student (my bet’s that you are) then it is DEFINITELY possible to distinguish yourself and become a face instead of a number at a big state school. My experience may not be typical, but it shows that it is possible to form great relationships with some effort. So if you decide to transfer, do so knowing that you can find strong relationships as long as you’re willing to work for them a little bit.</p>

<p>If you decide to stay, my advice would be to get creative. Sure, it would be great if Hamline had pre-med mentor programs like MN does and if you had a top-notch advisor who could help you figure everything out. Seems like if you stay, you won’t have either of those. Those don’t have to be extremely limiting, and if you play your cards right, could perhaps even make you a stronger applicant. If you have to work hard to find great doctors to shadow, meaningful ways to volunteer, and other things you care about it would definitely show your initiative and drive to be a part of the medical field. </p>

<p>I wanted to find a meaningful way to volunteer and gain healthcare experience, so here’s what I did. Perhaps you can find something similar, and if you’re interested in collaborating just PM me. </p>

<p>I started volunteering at an agency that serves pregnant teens and teen parents. One afternoon I helped a client’s mom understand some heart problems, and the social worker picked up on my eagerness to help clients with medical problems. She asked me to attend a cardiology appointment with a different client, and it went great. I was there to help her learn about her condition, come up with questions for her doctor, and provide emotional support for her while she was there because she was really intimidated by doctors. It was a great way to volunteer and learn about healthcare, and those experiences eventually motivated me to start a nonprofit organization that is working to improve health literacy in my community. </p>

<p>So if you wanted to do something like that, all you’d have to do is start volunteering at an agency that works with populations who may have trouble understanding healthcare or are intimidated in healthcare settings. Adoption agencies? Nursing homes? Free clinics? those would be good places to start. Who knows, if you eventually find a pattern of patients and physicians you visit (say, elderly people visiting a gerontologist, for example), you’ll likely learn a lot about conditions affecting that demographic and may even open some doors for great shadowing experiences. Lots of potential; I’ve absolutely loved it. I’d be thrilled to give you more information about my experiences if you want. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>