Transferring After 2nd Year Pre-med?

[leleg3728]

Hi,

I'm a first year student at U of T life sci, and am considering transferring to UBC sciences after finishing my second year at U of T, and starting my third year in UBC. This is because U of T is U of T... I'm leaning towards going back to Vancouver (my home) and studying there and have a less difficult time getting good GPA, etc.

My idea is to go to UBC as a visiting student (exchange) for my second year, and applying to UBC for third year while I'm there doing my visiting student year.  But, I'm also worried I might end up changing my mind and coming back to U of T after I'm done my visiting student year.  This is getting so so so difficult and complicated, because I don't know if me wanting to go to UBC is just a temporary and impulsive idea, or a legitimate, rational and "permanent" idea.

Would this be difficult to do, in terms of graduating on time and having proper transfer credits?

Also, would this affect my bachelor's degree or my medical school chances at all?  I feel like I've seen something about having to take more than half of my credits in one school to get a degree from there, I think, but I'm not sure if this was an actual thing that's in my head right now.

Has anyone done this before?  Visiting student and/or transferring after second year and starting somewhere new in third year?  How did it work out for you?

I'm so emotionally stressed from having this dilemma right now, and I feel terrible for stressing my parents out because of some irrational decision I made when I decided to come to U of T in the first place without thinking much about the bigger picture... I came here mostly for the reputation... and this was my dream school.  But I am thinking maybe the dream I have is not so realistic (going to med school from U of T), but at the same time, thousands have made it to medical school from U of T undergrad, and there are hundreds in U of T right now, who are planning on going to medical school, and I'm not stupid and I have enough potential to succeed in U of T.  But that also makes me wonder if I'm being realistic about my capabilities here, or I'm being arrogant and idealistic without realizing that I should aim for the path that I belong in (UBC).  

Please help me... This has been going on for a bit, and this made my anxiety so much worse and it started to turn into depression and I can't stop crying over my failures and mistakes...

[Anon-e-mous]

15 minutes ago, leleg3728 said:

Hi,

I'm a first year student at U of T life sci, and am considering transferring to UBC sciences after finishing my second year at U of T, and starting my third year in UBC. This is because U of T is U of T... I'm leaning towards going back to Vancouver (my home) and studying there and have a less difficult time getting good GPA, etc.

My idea is to go to UBC as a visiting student (exchange) for my second year, and applying to UBC for third year while I'm there doing my visiting student year.  But, I'm also worried I might end up changing my mind and coming back to U of T after I'm done my visiting student year.  This is getting so so so difficult and complicated, because I don't know if me wanting to go to UBC is just a temporary and impulsive idea, or a legitimate, rational and "permanent" idea.

Would this be difficult to do, in terms of graduating on time and having proper transfer credits?

Also, would this affect my bachelor's degree or my medical school chances at all?  I feel like I've seen something about having to take more than half of my credits in one school to get a degree from there, I think, but I'm not sure if this was an actual thing that's in my head right now.

Has anyone done this before?  Visiting student and/or transferring after second year and starting somewhere new in third year?  How did it work out for you?

I'm so emotionally stressed from having this dilemma right now, and I feel terrible for stressing my parents out because of some irrational decision I made when I decided to come to U of T in the first place without thinking much about the bigger picture... I came here mostly for the reputation... and this was my dream school.  But I am thinking maybe the dream I have is not so realistic (going to med school from U of T), but at the same time, thousands have made it to medical school from U of T undergrad, and there are hundreds in U of T right now, who are planning on going to medical school, and I'm not stupid and I have enough potential to succeed in U of T.  But that also makes me wonder if I'm being realistic about my capabilities here, or I'm being arrogant and idealistic without realizing that I should aim for the path that I belong in (UBC).  

Please help me... This has been going on for a bit, and this made my anxiety so much worse and it started to turn into depression and I can't stop crying over my failures and mistakes...

Hi,

I have not attended UofT but may be able to shed some light on this topic as I transferred universities after my first year. 

It seems as though your main reason for switching to UBC is that UBC is "easier." Is this the case? Otherwise, do you like UofT and want to stay? If this is your only reason for transferring, I caution switching schools because you might find that UBC and UofT are not that different after all. They are both large institutions, with a high admissions average out of high school, etc.

On the other hand, transferring to UBC might be beneficial in the sense that you could possibly live at home and still be connected with your family and high school friends. Having a good support network through this process helps tremendously.

If you are going to transfer, I don't recommend studying at UBC on an exchange. If you are going to transfer, do it as soon as possible so you won't be forced to take longer to graduate. You don't want to accumulate too many transfer credits that will be used as electives and are not specific to your new degree. I transferred universities and switched majors so I had to catch up on required coursework over the summers and am still slightly behind... I am now finishing my 3rd year. Taking lower year levels makes me ineligible to apply for some schools now like Western, so keep that in mind if the new program you choose will put you behind. There's nothing wrong with taking longer than 4 years to finish a degree though.

You're correct, some schools require 1-2 years of study at that institution to get a degree from there. So if you want to transfer, do it as soon as you can or at latest, after your second year.

It's hard to choose a university and a degree in high school when you haven't experienced it first hand. You're not alone and your choice wasn't irrational. If you really like UofT, you can stick it out. I really believe that classes get easier as university progresses because your study habits improve, the class sizes decrease and much of the "weeding out" that sometimes happens in the first year ends.  

Overall, I am very happy with the decision to transfer universities for various reasons. I was very sure after the first semester that I wanted to leave. But for you, it ultimately comes down to what you want and what will make you the happiest.

If you have any more questions specific to transferring universities, feel free to PM me  

 

[m_jacob_45]

59 minutes ago, leleg3728 said:

Hi,

I'm a first year student at U of T life sci, and am considering transferring to UBC sciences after finishing my second year at U of T, and starting my third year in UBC. This is because U of T is U of T... I'm leaning towards going back to Vancouver (my home) and studying there and have a less difficult time getting good GPA, etc.

My idea is to go to UBC as a visiting student (exchange) for my second year, and applying to UBC for third year while I'm there doing my visiting student year.  But, I'm also worried I might end up changing my mind and coming back to U of T after I'm done my visiting student year.  This is getting so so so difficult and complicated, because I don't know if me wanting to go to UBC is just a temporary and impulsive idea, or a legitimate, rational and "permanent" idea.

Would this be difficult to do, in terms of graduating on time and having proper transfer credits?

Also, would this affect my bachelor's degree or my medical school chances at all?  I feel like I've seen something about having to take more than half of my credits in one school to get a degree from there, I think, but I'm not sure if this was an actual thing that's in my head right now.

Has anyone done this before?  Visiting student and/or transferring after second year and starting somewhere new in third year?  How did it work out for you?

I'm so emotionally stressed from having this dilemma right now, and I feel terrible for stressing my parents out because of some irrational decision I made when I decided to come to U of T in the first place without thinking much about the bigger picture... I came here mostly for the reputation... and this was my dream school.  But I am thinking maybe the dream I have is not so realistic (going to med school from U of T), but at the same time, thousands have made it to medical school from U of T undergrad, and there are hundreds in U of T right now, who are planning on going to medical school, and I'm not stupid and I have enough potential to succeed in U of T.  But that also makes me wonder if I'm being realistic about my capabilities here, or I'm being arrogant and idealistic without realizing that I should aim for the path that I belong in (UBC).  

Please help me... This has been going on for a bit, and this made my anxiety so much worse and it started to turn into depression and I can't stop crying over my failures and mistakes...

Sorry to hear you're having a tough time with this. I think in terms of whether it's realistic to transfer to UBC, I would meet with academic counselling at U of T and ask all your questions to somebody with some knowledge of how this works. I would also set up a phone meeting with academic counselling at UBC and explain your situation to verify that you are told the same thing/given the same information by U of T and UBC. People here likely don't know the intricate details of how a transfer would work in your situation. Also, before transferring (if you choose to do that), make sure UBC is right for you and an actual improvement in terms of suiting you academically by talking to upper year students in the program you're interested in. Also, obviously transferring would be a big decision, so make sure you're doing it for the right reasons. (i.e. are there things you can do to significantly improve your marks at U of T that you have not tried? Is it likely that homesickness is playing a big role in wanting to transfer?...just things to think about). 

[silent_c]

My question is, is UofT that different from UBC academically? I know UofT is an extremely difficult school in terms of getting a higher GPA, but I just cant seem to see UBC being that far off in difficulty. Have you thought of transferring to a school where you are most likely able to get a higher GPA than uoft, like york or even western? 

[frenchpress]

I recommend getting in touch with Science advising at UBC to talk to them about how your courses might transfer. This will help you understand the impact that transferring will have on your graduation time, and which might help in your decision making. See the information here: https://science.ubc.ca/students/degree/transferapplicants

UBC has quite complicated promotion requirements. It’s often a lot more difficult to transfer in later years, in particular, because upper-year courses are often more difficult to transfer for useful credit than lower-level courses. So I agree with the advice that it may be a lot more difficult to transfer if you delay things by coming for a visiting year.

It is relatively common for students to transfer to UBC after completing one or two years at a local college, and that usually works out quite well because of transfer agreements between schools. It can be more difficult from out of province. I transferred to UBC in my second year from out of province, and I ended up with a lot of generic credits that I couldn’t really apply to my degree. It delayed me basically a full year, but I was OK with that, because I was really happy to be in Vancouver.  

I am only familiar with UBC, not UofT, so I can’t really comment on how the difficulty between the universities compares. UBC is certainly not an ‘easy’ school, although I found it very doable to succeed there. Living situations and support systems can make a big difference in how well you can handle stress and challenging courses. So if you think overall you might be happier in Vancouver, then that may be a reason to change things up. You just need to be realistic about the effect it could have on your graduation time, and make sure you’re comfortable with the fact that it could take you longer to finish. 

[frenchpress]

I should add that applying to specific majors can be quite a process in UBC Science.  Even once you’re admitted to Science, you’d still need to apply for a major.

There is a standard, centralized process for all students in Science to pick a major at the end of 1st year, so if you transfer and are admitted to 2nd year this is easy. The process for changing or applying for a major outside of this centralized process and after 2nd year is department dependent. Depending on department timelines and the competitiveness of your required major, this can be easy or it can be challenging — some departments may have specific course requirements, for example, that you may only be able to get once you’re here. So you’d also want to consult with department advisors from the program(s) you’d be hoping to join.

You can PM me if you want more details about how this works. 

[McMarauder]

I transferred from UTSG after 2nd year to McMaster, and really did not find it easier at McMaster.  For that reason, I doubt you'll find it academically easier at UBC.  However, for some of the reasons stated above, I think you'll be happier there, which can translate into getting better marks.  Ultimately, go where you'll be happy.

[bearded frog]

Transferring itself is not an issue when applying to med school, you just submit both transcripts. You just have to make sure that your credits transfer so you can actually do the courses/get the degree you need!