Hi everyone,
I was fortunate enough to be offered admission to both Vanderbilt A&S and Cornell CAS as a sophomore transfer. However, I’m torn right now between the two and I’d like some insight from people who have attended/have experience with either school. I’m planning on taking the pre-dental track and competing for the Health Professions Scholarship Program military scholarship (Army/Air Force) for dental school. Honestly, I’m looking to have fun after attending a service academy for a year, though I do realize that being on a pre-med track means I’m going to have to limit that fun. In terms of financial aid, both packages I have are similar so that isn’t much of an issue. Any help/advice would be much appreciated!
Predental is not premed. Dental school is not med school.
What are your grades at your current school? What is your current school?
Why are you leaving your current school? Are you taking out loans for either school?
Do you realize that it will be more difficult for you to get a high gpa at both schools?
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Decision: Accepted
Gender: Male
State: Massachusetts
Current College: United States Military Academy
Credits: 34
Major: Chemistry
HS GPA: 3.53
ACT/SAT: 2230 (770M, 710CR)
College GPA: 3.43 first semester, projected 3.8 second semester
EC: Ski Patrol, Chemistry tutor, extensive high school research experience
LOR and Essays: Good essays, only one LOR, was probably good as well
The first application decision for Vanderbilt transfer this year was April 18, my decision came in the 1st wave.
Note: I was waitlisted by UNC Chapel Hill, anything’s possible!
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Why are you leaving West Point?
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HS GPA: 3.53
College GPA: 3.43 first semester, projected 3.8 second semester
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What did you get for this semester?
Can’t imagine why you, a predental student, would want to attend a more competitive univ, when your grades aren’t stellar.
I have nothing to add about transfer schools, but if you think you are going to have “limited fun” on the pre med or pre dental track, maybe it isn’t for you. ALL successful premed track students I have have known have had plenty of fun. If you can’t balance life with pre med studies, then it’s probably not for you.
You don’t say. B-) I supplied OP with the info because students applying to medical and dental school have the same health professions adviser and take more or less the the same perquisite classes. There’s no reason to believe that the colleges listed as top med school feeder schools aren’t as successful wrt dental school applicants. It’s also possible that the med school admission stats include dental school. E.g, Vassar.
All, thank you very much for the replies. @mom2collegekids , I am leaving West Point due to the fact that it is not possible to apply directly to dental school out of the academy. My GPA currently is around a 3.67 with a 3.9 this past spring semester. There is obviously no excuse for the poor first semester grades, however, adjusting to West Point in terms of its training and academic schedule was a bit difficult in the beginning. I understand the challenge at both universities and realize that it’s going to be significantly harder academically. I am honestly just trying to attend a college that will give me options come graduation in terms of employment, not necessarily strictly tied to military service. Neither school would require me to take out a significant amount in loans. Apologies for the snafu in referring to pre-dental as pre-med, still somewhat new to the terminology! I do realize that there is a difference between the two but I likely made the error due to the similarities in coursework. Thank you again for the help, I appreciate the feedback and advice!
@CottonTales Thank you for the input. By “fun” I meant the partying/slacking off. I understand that a healthy balance is possible, and obviously I am shooting for that balance.
@CrewDad I appreciate the link and the info. Thank you!
@mom2collegekids Sorry for the double tap, but another reason that I have for transferring is the desire to attend a civilian university. “Attending a more competitive university” is one thing, and again, I realize that they both are significantly more difficult academically. But, attending a service academy requires full commitment, something that I felt I didn’t have because I was having second thoughts. I felt more comfortable with choosing to transfer than to stay at a place where I didn’t feel full committed–a place that requires full and unwavering commitment.