Transfer with one year left?

Would it be wise to transfer schools with one year left? I am currently a junior at a small university with 77 credits and a GPA of 3.3. I would only have three more semesters until I would be able to graduate.

I only stayed at my current school because it was close to home (so I could commute) and fairly cheap when it came to tuition. However, I really am not happy. I truly feel like I did not get the “college experience”. I tried to make the best of it and join the women’s lacrosse team but would honestly rather be doing something else. I did not make many friends as expected and I am a fairly social person. I know the party scene of college is necessarily not important but sometimes I feel like I am missing out.

I live in the Pittsburgh area and have considered transferring to Pitt or Temple, but would it really be worth it? In the future I plan on applying to medical school which is obviously going to be quite a bit of money. So my question is, should I tough out this last year or go somewhere where I would be happy?

Also taking into consideration that COVID-19 has resulted into many schools going online for the fall semester of 2020.

“GPA of 3.3”
“I plan on applying to medical school”

You need to do whatever you can to pull up your GPA.

Most universities expect you to complete at least two years there in order to give you a bachelor’s degree. If you are only three semesters from graduating, this implies that it would take you longer to graduate if you were to transfer schools.

Do you have much experience volunteering or otherwise working in a hospital or other medical environment?

I doubt that transferring would help your references or your GPA. I also doubt that being the new kid at a new school is going to help you get opportunities to volunteer in a medical environment.

How many semesters have you completed already? Given that it is summer and you say that you have three semesters left, it seems like either you are a semester ahead (perhaps AP credits?), or a semester behind, or you started mid year. I do not think that I quite understand your situation.

To me your best chance of getting accepted to medical school is probably to stay where you are, and try very hard to improve your GPA.

At least to me “the college experience” seems to be exaggerated.

My daughter transferred - and one of the stipulations of the transfer at her new college was that the last 60 hours (or something similar) were taken at that college.

I agree with DadTwoGirls - you need to really check what your new college says - about transferring this late in the game. It might extend your time.

This is not a great time to think of transferring. Frankly, your goal post is getting closer and you should consider just focusing on getting the degree.

Med school is a different issue. Currently, your GPA isn’t going to put you in the best position for applying. Work as hard as you can, nail the grades in your final three semester, and maybe you will be in a better position for med school. I would utilities the academics advising and career center. Might be time for a new plan.

Your current GPA will make it a challenge to get into Med school. If this is your ultimate goal, you might find that getting a Masters in a related field will improve your chances given that you can pull off a strong GPA in your graduate courses. That means at least another year (probably 2) so you are better off finishing strong where you are and assessing your options after having taken the MCATs.