Should I transfer?

[Opethfan]

I'm a non trad pre-med student of Mexican descent. I am currently attending a public university with a reputation that is not very good. I can't help but feel that some of this is due to racist views some people have about schools which are predominantly attended by minority groups. I chose to attend this school because it is close to home and the availability of night classes. I work full time so if it weren't for those night classes I would have to postpone school even longer.

Some recent news I received has raised some concerns for me. A classmate of mine told me that the avg MCAT from our school is not so great and that as far as she knows no one has scored above a 28. I've thought about transferring but that would mean graduating at least one year later. I currently shoud graduate in 2009.

How concerned should I be about this? I spoke to my organic chem teacher and he told me that as long as I kick butt on the MCAT no one will care where I did my undergrad. He also told me that in the last year he knows of three students who have been accepted to medical school. Three is not many but on avg only 6-8 apply each year. I would like to stay as long as it doesn't significantly impact my chances of getting accepted somewhere. The teachers and advisors are very encouraging and seem sincere about trying to increase the success of the pre-med program. As I mentioned before I'm a non trad student ( just turned 30) as well as Mexican, so I already have my work cut out for me. My fear is that the school's
reputation might be another obstacle to overcome.

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[jsnuka]

I do not see any real need for you to transfer. If there are other extenauting circumstances that make a transfer more appealing, e.g. family concerns, job promotion, health concerns, etc; then yes by all means transfer.

This does not seem to be the matter in your case. The MCAT and your grades are 2 HUGE factors in the admissions process that YOU have DIRECT control over. Just because someone else from your school did not perform as well as s/he may have liked, that does not mean that YOU will have the same score or be within the same score range. Your performance on the MCAT will be a reflection of your understanding of the scientific concepts which appear on the test and how well you can apply them given the information in the passage.

This ability differs from person to person and by no means is a reflection of the institution you get your degree or complete your studies.

One thing to consider is to take the MCAT when you are REALLY ready to take it. By this I mean, you have completed ALL of the AAMC prescribed prerequisites for the test and you know as much about the test as possible. Buy some review books and/or take a course from a test preparation company. Do what ever it takes to ENSURE that YOU will perform as well on the MCAT as you possibly can.

The "reputation" of your school means nothing in the grand scheme of things. Just do the very best that you can on those things that you have DIRECT control over.

Good luck and keep us abreast of how things are going for you.

 

[njbmd]

I would like to stay as long as it doesn't significantly impact my chances of getting accepted somewhere. The teachers and advisors are very encouraging and seem sincere about trying to increase the success of the pre-med program. As I mentioned before I'm a non trad student ( just turned 30) as well as Mexican, so I already have my work cut out for me. My fear is that the school's
reputation might be another obstacle to overcome.

If you are comfortable at your school, then stay at your school. As my colleage jsnuka, stated so eloquently above, you (and not your school) will be taking the MCAT and applying to medical school. You are not going to be judged by your school but judged by the quality and competitiveness of your application to medical school.

I would encourage you to make sure that you know as much about the medical school application process as possible. Be sure that you meet or exceed all deadlines (be sure to get your AMCAS completed early) and be sure that you are thoroughly prepared for the MCAT.

Strive to make yourself as attractive as possible so that any medical school in the country would see you as an asset to their medical class. Good luck!

 

[QofQuimica]

I'm a non trad pre-med student of Mexican descent. I am currently attending a public university with a reputation that is not very good. I can't help but feel that some of this is due to racist views some people have about schools which are predominantly attended by minority groups. I chose to attend this school because it is close to home and the availability of night classes. I work full time so if it weren't for those night classes I would have to postpone school even longer.

Some recent news I received has raised some concerns for me. A classmate of mine told me that the avg MCAT from our school is not so great and that as far as she knows no one has scored above a 28. I've thought about transferring but that would mean graduating at least one year later. I currently shoud graduate in 2009.

How concerned should I be about this? I spoke to my organic chem teacher and he told me that as long as I kick butt on the MCAT no one will care where I did my undergrad. He also told me that in the last year he knows of three students who have been accepted to medical school. Three is not many but on avg only 6-8 apply each year. I would like to stay as long as it doesn't significantly impact my chances of getting accepted somewhere. The teachers and advisors are very encouraging and seem sincere about trying to increase the success of the pre-med program. As I mentioned before I'm a non trad student ( just turned 30) as well as Mexican, so I already have my work cut out for me. My fear is that the school's
reputation might be another obstacle to overcome.

At one of my interviews last year, an admissions staffer commented to me that women score lower than men on the MCAT, students over age 30 score lower than students who are younger, and Southerners score lower than people in other parts of the country. Well, no one bothered to inform me that I wasn't supposed to do very well for these reasons before I took the MCAT, and after he finished making this revelation, he then told me that my score was the highest he had ever seen.

As the previous posters have said, in the long run, what matters the most is what's inside of you, not what's around you. (I'm talking heart and guts even more than brains here.) If you're getting good grades and you're happy at your school, why would you dedicate a year of your life to trying to impress other people with the name on your college diploma? I'm sure your classmate means well, but it isn't true that you need to have attended a brand name undergrad to get into med school. Best of luck to you.

 

[Opethfan]

Thanks for the advice it is appreciated. At this point I think I am probably going to stay, I just can't see waiting any longer to graduate and reading your replies has put me a little more at ease. I've always been a pretty good student and have done well on standardized tests so I believe I can do well on the MCAT i just have to make sure I prepare properly. I do plan on taking a prep course and I'm already looking over some books I purchased.

The more I think about it a year is too much time to waste unnecessarily as I'm already putting my family through a lot. I am married and have a two year old daughter. I've been working as an electrician for the past ten years and earning a pretty good living. My wife has been very supportive but I know the money thing makes her a little uneasy. It makes me uneasy as well but this is my dream and I know I can do it, so we're going to just make some sacrifices. Thanks again, I'll keep you guys posted on how things are going.

 

[jsnuka]

Thanks for the advice it is appreciated. At this point I think I am probably going to stay, I just can't see waiting any longer to graduate and reading your replies has put me a little more at ease. I've always been a pretty good student and have done well on standardized tests so I believe I can do well on the MCAT i just have to make sure I prepare properly. I do plan on taking a prep course and I'm already looking over some books I purchased.

The more I think about it a year is too much time to waste unnecessarily as I'm already putting my family through a lot. I am married and have a two year old daughter. I've been working as an electrician for the past ten years and earning a pretty good living. My wife has been very supportive but I know the money thing makes her a little uneasy. It makes me uneasy as well but this is my dream and I know I can do it, so we're going to just make some sacrifices. Thanks again, I'll keep you guys posted on how things are going.

You're very welcome. We're here to help.

You have an interesting path to medical school. You might want to consider highlighting your plumbing experience in your personal statement when the time comes to write it. Although, it is never too early to start thinking about writing it.

I will pass on to you some words of wisdom that were shared with me some time ago.

You have to be willing to do the things today that others are not willing to do. In order to have the thigns that others will not have tomorrow. In short, nothing is worth having if you do not have to sacrifice something in order to acquire it.

We look forward to hearing about your progress.

Good luck to you!!!

 

[QofQuimica]

Thanks for the advice it is appreciated. At this point I think I am probably going to stay, I just can't see waiting any longer to graduate and reading your replies has put me a little more at ease. I've always been a pretty good student and have done well on standardized tests so I believe I can do well on the MCAT i just have to make sure I prepare properly. I do plan on taking a prep course and I'm already looking over some books I purchased.

The more I think about it a year is too much time to waste unnecessarily as I'm already putting my family through a lot. I am married and have a two year old daughter. I've been working as an electrician for the past ten years and earning a pretty good living. My wife has been very supportive but I know the money thing makes her a little uneasy. It makes me uneasy as well but this is my dream and I know I can do it, so we're going to just make some sacrifices. Thanks again, I'll keep you guys posted on how things are going.

Sufficient prep is essential for doing well on the MCAT. You don't need a prep course necessarily if you're very self-motivated, but I think it helps a lot of students to have that structure. Make sure that you complete all four pre-reqs (a year each of bio, gen chem, organic, and physics) before you begin your test prep. Two to three months of solid prep would be reasonable, depending on how much science concept review you need. There is a thread of advice and ideas from people who scored 30+ over the past few years in the MCAT forum. You might want to take a look at that when you have some time. You should also make sure that you take multiple practice tests under timed conditions and on a computer. (You will do this as part of your test prep course if you take one.) Go to the AAMC website and download the MCAT student manual before you start studying. There is a list of all the material you are responsible for knowing, as well as practice test items (some free, some for sale). It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the test format and content.

The one thing you might want to start doing now is reading dense prose (nonfiction) on a regular basis in preparation for the VR section. The curve on VR is very difficult, and you need to earn a much higher raw score to get a high scaled VR score versus on the two science sections. There is nothing to study for VR; it's a matter of sheer practice and familiarity with the test style. Particularly if English is not your native language or you are a relatively slow reader, you may want to spend extra time working to prepare yourself for this section. to you.

 

[Opethfan]

I have another question hopefully you guys can help me out. First let me give you a little background info. When I first went to college I was not very focused and as a result did not do very well. I only went for a year and a half then quit to become an electrician. It would have been better if I had not gone at all. If I stick to my current plan I will be applying in 2008 to enter medical school in the fall of 2009. At the time I apply my GPA should be around 3.3. If I could get rid of those first three semesters it would be over 3.9.

I recently spoke to some admissions advisors at the two schools I’m most interested in attending and they both told me that as long as I do well on the MCAT I should be able to get in somewhere and that I would be fairly competitive for admission into their schools. However they both suggested that maybe I should do an extra year of undergrad and graduate a year later to pad my GPA and get an extra year of full time course work under my belt. Up until now I’ve only been taking a part time course load. If I follow their advice my GPA would go up to 3.45 assuming I continue to get straight As which I feel confident I can do. How big a deal is this? I was thinking of incorporating a minor or changing my major to allow for the extra year of classes. Should I ignore their advice and stick to my original plan?

 

[njbmd]

I have another question hopefully you guys can help me out. First let me give you a little background info. When I first went to college I was not very focused and as a result did not do very well. I only went for a year and a half then quit to become an electrician. It would have been better if I had not gone at all. If I stick to my current plan I will be applying in 2008 to enter medical school in the fall of 2009. At the time I apply my GPA should be around 3.3. If I could get rid of those first three semesters it would be over 3.9. I recently spoke to some admissions advisors at the two schools I’m most interested in attending and they both told me that as long as I do well on the MCAT I should be able to get in somewhere and that I would be fairly competitive for admission into their schools. However they both suggested that maybe I should do an extra year of undergrad and graduate a year later to pad my GPA and get an extra year of full time course work under my belt. Up until now I’ve only been taking a part time course load. If I follow their advice my GPA would go up to 3.45 assuming I continue to get straight As which I feel confident I can do. How big a deal is this? I was thinking of incorporating a minor or changing my major to allow for the extra year of classes. Should I ignore their advice and stick to my original plan?

Since you can't get rid of your first academic experience, you CAN spin it into a growth experience. Your advisors are correct in that if you spend extra time in school and get As, you will increase your GPA. A higher GPA makes you more competitive for medical school period. If you want to change your major or add a minor do so but again, be ready to explain this at some point. It isn't a negative but it will likely come up at interview. You can easily state that you developed another interest.

You definitely have to do well on the MCAT. Take this very important exam when you are thoroughly prepared and ready to score your best. Do not plan on taking this test twice but plan and prepare to nail on the first go especially since you will be applying with a lower-than-average GPA even with the extra coursework.

 

[jsnuka]

I echo njbmd's point of doing well on the MCAT. I would also suggest that you heed the advice of those admissions officers. Their thoughts could mirror those of any of the other schools that you may wish to apply to in the future.

I do not think you need to completely change your major though.

Given where you are in the soon to be graduating matrix, why not just pick up another degree in another major?

In this case, you would graduate with 2 bachelor's degrees or if you can swing it, take advanced classes in your major (assuming it is a science) and get your master's in it during that extra year. I don't know how that would work with AMCAS off the top of my head. so you may want to look into that detail on your won.

The best route for improving your undergrad GPA may be to go the 2 baccalaureate degree route.

Good luck!

 

[LimitlessCat]

As a student who transferred for the same reason you are mentioning right now...I would say if you transfer make it worth it.
I was at a school with a supportive premed office and all of that but only about 10 people were applying to allopathic med schools out of about 40 who initially started out premed.
The reputation of your school DOES matter. Anyone that tells you differently is not facing the cold hard truth. If you perform averagely on the MCATs, the admissions office will look to the reputation or their beliefs (true or not) about your school to judge whether they think you are a qualified applicant.

If you do transfer, MAKE sure they have a strong premed office and that their acceptance rate to med school is over 70%. Also, don't burn any bridges from your old school and collect as many letters of recommendations as you can. The admissions process is hard enough, your school should help you get into medical school and not hurt your chances. Where you go to school should not matter ideally, but realistically it does.

My two cents.