Switching programs in third year?

[RadLife:]

Hello everyone! 

I am in need of some advice and thought this would be good place to get some so here it goes. 

I am currently in my third year and was wondering if it is a right decision to switch my program to another one. 

My program is a specialization based program with 3 placements. One was last summer, and now I have two placements as my two semesters for my fourth year. I have my last semester this summer (5 courses) and that will be it. Therefore, I was wondering if it was a good idea to switch my program to another one which is more general and w/o placements. Yes, I would need to do pre-reqs to catch up and graduate, however I was thinking of coming back for a 5th year anyways later on after my placements. The main reason why is if I do switch my program, then I would have next year with 10 courses to bring up my GPA and a summer which I can use to study for the MCAT. The last free summer I had was after first year, after which I always had courses or placements during that time. Also, I am currently in a nursing program therefore it is more difficult to do well in my classes. 

Therefore, my question is: Is it worth to leave this program so that I can get another year of courses rather than placements to improve my GPA and become more competitive as an applicant? 

 

My GPA this year has been a 3.9 therefore I really think that with an easier program* and more courses I can definitely improve my GPA which is currently at 3.72

Thanks for your help. 

 

[Anon-e-mous]

1 hour ago, RadLife: said:

Hello everyone! 

I am in need of some advice and thought this would be good place to get some so here it goes. 

I am currently in my third year and was wondering if it is a right decision to switch my program to another one. 

My program is a specialization based program with 3 placements. One was last summer, and now I have two placements as my two semesters for my fourth year. I have my last semester this summer (5 courses) and that will be it. Therefore, I was wondering if it was a good idea to switch my program to another one which is more general and w/o placements. Yes, I would need to do pre-reqs to catch up and graduate, however I was thinking of coming back for a 5th year anyways later on after my placements. The main reason why is if I do switch my program, then I would have next year with 10 courses to bring up my GPA and a summer which I can use to study for the MCAT. The last free summer I had was after first year, after which I always had courses or placements during that time. Also, I am currently in a nursing program therefore it is more difficult to do well in my classes. 

Therefore, my question is: Is it worth to leave this program so that I can get another year of courses rather than placements to improve my GPA and become more competitive as an applicant? 

 

My GPA this year has been a 3.9 therefore I really think that with an easier program* and more courses I can definitely improve my GPA which is currently at 3.72

Thanks for your help. 

 

 

Sounds like you are in a tough position. Your situation is unique because you're in 3rd year nursing which makes transferring programs definitely more difficult.

Since you are almost done your degree, I'd recommend sticking it out and trying to get the best grades possible. That way you have a great healthcare job in the meantime of furthering your medical school application. Should you take multiple cycles to get in, at least you have a good option for employment and you could always go the NP route if things didn't work out. You could also do another degree or a special year after you graduate to boost your GPA if that's your goal.

If you switched programs now you'd probably have to do another 3 years to meet your new degree requirements. Most of your nursing credits would be used as electives in another bachelor and not fulfill your new degree requirements. You can look up your desired program, and count how many courses you would need to take still to graduate as an estimate of how many years that would add. 

My opinion of staying in nursing might be biased though. I'm also finishing 3rd year but in a BA degree that doesn't lend itself well to jobs. I've seen a lot of my classmates graduate and then pursue an accelerated nursing degree to work in healthcare, have a good job and the option of pursuing NP school. So, there's always the risk that if you switch programs you could end up with a degree that makes it harder to get a job, should you have to take multiple cycles of applying to get in.

It would be interesting to get the opinion of someone on here who has also taken nursing. They would have a better understanding of your situation and 'GPA vs. job security' than I do.

Ultimately, you know yourself best and what you want to accomplish. Chose what will make you happy in the long run. Goodluck!