Ok this this is kind of a rant, sorry! I just need some other peoples’ opinions.
So I am currently in a 6-year BS/MD program. I decided to join this program last spring (against my parent’s advice) because I am 100% dedicated to medicine and I enjoyed the idea of saving two years and though this would be less stressful as I am guaranteed med school.
However, over the past year, I have changed my stance.
First of all I still 100% am interested in a career in medicine but I would also like the opportunity to study other things like double major in business or something. I don’t think 2 years of straight premed courses is sufficient to becoming a doctor, I think the well-roundedness is important to thinking skills and such
Another thing is, I came to this program because I knew it would be easy. However, over the past year I have felt like this is not what I want. I don’t mind having to do research and a lot of extracurriculars and working hard to try to get into a good med school (the med school I am currently guaranteed to is not great). I kinda miss being challenged. Here I just feel like I have no reason to work because everything is guaranteed whether I do well or not. Regardless I am still doing well and have As in courses like Ochem and bio and physics.
By no means am I like dead set on Yale med or anything, I just want more and better. From myself. From my environment.
Another thing is the students. I realize this isn’t worth the extra years and stress and work, but I would like to be in a different social/intellectual environment. The students here all realize that regardless of what they do they are guaranteed med school and thus people are super chill and uninterested/unengaged. No one studies a lot or tries to have medical experiences or research. Like volunteering or shadowing shouldn’t seem like a chore if you’re really interested in medicine. It’s so cool to gain experiences like that and see new medical cases. And yes I realize that there are people like this at every university. However, at other university there would also be people who are dedicated and interested and engaged.
Idk, I’m terrible at writing and idk how to explain this, but I just really want more and I don’t mind putting in the work.
If I were to transfer I would be attending a Top 15 school (already accepted to northwestern) that would offer me several great opportunities and resources.
Obviously, I am biased bc I want to transfer. So the thing I need help with deciding if this is logically sound in my specific case and based on who I am/what I want (which I tried portraying in this post). I would be giving up two years and I would be giving up a medical school seat. My parents support me with the transfer, but some people (friends) have told me it is a dumb idea and I see their point too!
Thank you in advance for your thoughts!! Also sorry if the grammar is terrible lollll Im super stressed.
and I’m guesing you already know what you want to do and are just looking for justification of it. That’s why I am reluctant to give my uneducated advice. Just see where you get in and make the choice you know is right
also how long is med school, 3 years? so by transfer you would only be sacrificing one year if I’m not mistaken? @VaishS
PS I’m into Econ so I’m ignorant of this stuff
@HopefullyIGetIn
Currently my undergrad is 2 years and med school is 4 years
If I transferred out my undergrad would be 4 years (3 more years-I would join as a sophomore) and med school would be 4 years. So I would overall loose 2 years
@VaishS that’s a signifigant amount of time, but, honestly, do what you want. YOLO. its a general maxim of life that you will be more successful if you enjoy what your doing. So do whatever has the higher fulfillment/cost ratio.
@VaishS I mean I can relate to you in a way. After graduating HS I decided to give up a chance to go to a low tier uni and live on campus. Instead I commuted to a school near me. I decided to work hard and try to transfer. People have told me I’m stupid, that I should of lived on campus, that transferring is dumb since it will be more expensive and where you go to school doesn’t matter, etc.
But Im doing what I think is best for myself. And as long as your not being irrational, which you are not, just do what you want. Your the one whos going to have to live with your decisions, not them.
@VaishS, first of all, ALL medical schools in the nation are great in terms of training physicians. If you are truly ambitious and persistently work hard (of course, smart enough), the 6-yrs BS/MD does not fit you in my opinions. Your goal is not solely a physician, you need a 4-yrs college life in the most beautiful time period of your life, competitive peers to “stimulate” your potentials, and unbeatable environments to drive you no limitations at all. As you might know, someone declined the most prestigious BS/MD program to take adventures for their greatest potentials. The safety pathway to be a physician in a modest BS/MD program might not fit well someone who genuinely want to be challenged with great passions. NW is a great college with generous FA (at lease last yr) . Have you heard anything back from Penn? GL
@J2H239 thank you for your opinion! And no, the only school I have heard from so far is Northwestern. I would heard from Penn and Brown like early/mid March. Right now my concern is not with where to transfer but the idea of transferring
if you aren’t happy then you aren’t happy. don’t sacrifice your happiness because it would be more practical to stay where you are or anything like that. But do think long and hard about what you truly want, try to imagine yourself in both scenarios and do some soul searching. Only you can know if you’re ready to move into a new direction in your life- you seem to want to transfer but something is holding you back. What is it?
