Hi, I am wondering if any Uchicago transfer students (or anyone with relevant information) could help me out. I am currently attending UW Madison and looking to transfer to Uchicago. I really need to know how many credits would transfer.
The classes I will have taken will be Gen Chem, Ochem, Bio, some Psych classes, and English 100 (4.0 gpa). According to Uchicago’s website, as well as an admission counselor, they cannot give me much information at all until I get accepted and attend. Essentially, they say humanities courses will transfer if Uchicago has a similar course, and some science courses will transfer depending on progress in the major, etc.
So, if anyone can help that would be great! Maybe someone who has transferred could list the classes they took, previous school, and which credits transferred?
I can’t give you the practical experience you are looking for. There aren’t many people who can – Chicago has only admitted a handful of transfers the past few years, and as far as I am aware none of them are regular posters here. I think you would get whole or partial credit for your intro lab science courses, which are bound to be pretty similar everywhere, and for some of your psych courses. I doubt you would get any credit for English 100, since there is no equivalent course at Chicago, and you will have to go through the Core and take a Humanities class for at least a couple of quarters anyway.
Which brings me to my question, if you don’t mind my asking: Why would a second-year pre-med at first-rate university like Wisconsin want to transfer to Chicago? At the very least, you will lose a year (i.e., pay for an extra year) in order to take the Core. If you are in-state at Wisconsin, Chicago will probably be meaningfully more expensive, even if you get comparatively excellent financial aid. And even (especially) if you get full credit for the introductory courses you have taken, you will be running the risk of stumbling at the next level because of an imperfect fit between what your introductory course taught and what’s included in an intermediate course at Chicago. Generally, there’s nothing wrong with a little stumble now and then; it can even be good for your education. But it won’t be good for your medical school applications.
Thank you for your input. I guess my post was somewhat of a shot in the dark, but I didn’t know any other way to gauge credits.
As for my reasons, there are multiple. One big driving force is the health of my relationship with a significant other (a current Uchicago student). Additionally, I feel I didn’t work to my fullest potential in high school, and now with my improved college work ethic I feel like I could succeed at a more rigorous institution like UChicago. Finally, I feel that I would benefit from the numerous research/academic opportunities (Yes, I am aware that UW also excels in research).
Financially, I would run no differences because of UChicago’s generous aid to low-income families.
Also side note on med school, would my application really be affected negatively if I maintain/improve my academic performance but at a more reputable school? Wouldn’t this help me?
What I meant was that it could happen that a course you took at Wisconsin, even if Chicago gave you credit for it, didn’t precisely replicate the equivalent Chicago course. In that case, if you took the next-level course at Chicago, it could presume that you had already studied X, but you hadn’t, and because of that your grade might suffer. I said that’s not a tragedy in and of itself; among other things, you could learn from the experience and develop grit. But it might be a problem if you plan on applying to medical school (which I inferred from your curriculum to date).
Obviously, it wouldn’t hurt you if you maintained or improved your performance after transferring. It’s just a little easier to maintain or improve your performance if you don’t transfer.
Good luck! Chicago takes so few transfer students, it’s not anything you can count on, and if they don’t take you it isn’t a negative comment at all on your accomplishments to date. It may simply be a judgment that Chicago isn’t necessarily a lot better place to be than Wisconsin for a third-year pre-med. (Because, honestly, it’s not. Among other things, if you transfer to Chicago it will likely magically transform you from a third-year pre-med to a second-year pre-med, even if you get credit for most of your courses to date.) You should have a good plan for your life, your relationship, and your curriculum if you have to stay in Madison.
But – lucky you! – Wisconsin does offer abundant research opportunities, and it can be as rigorous as you want it to be. If you get the best education Wisconsin can offer, you will be one heck of an impressive student.
They are extremely picky about transfer credits. I would count on most of them as elective credits and hope that a few would cover core classes. If you take 4 classes each quarter with a single major and get decent elective credits you might be able to graduate on time.