I am currently attending a 4 year university, but it is not the university in my area that has the med school that I hope to attend, do you think that attending and getting my undergrad at the same university would help my chances of being admitted into medical school there?
Almost universally med schools tend to favor their undergraduates because med schools are most familiar and are in greater contact with their own undergraduate faculty.
While many med school will show some preference for “their own”, not all do & I would not bank on this without objective data to support it. Obtaining this should be easy - simply call the med school’s admissions department & ask them how many students per class? How many typically go to internal applicants? And, finally, if there is any advantage of attending your school vs. their Ugrad program in the application process?
If the advantage is real & the costs of transfer not excessive, then go for it. But, be aware that courses rarely transfer seemlessly & you are likely to loose some credits. And, most med schools prefer - not a profound or strong preference - that coursework all be done at one place. Transferring around just to be transferring may make you appear inconsistent or indecisive.
I really don’t think that doing your undergrad in the same university that med school you want to go to will give you a real advantage.
Yes, usually there is a large percentage of students in incoming classes who did their undergrad in the same school, but I think it’s mainly because:
- med schools receive many more applications from students who got their degree form the same institution
- many students choose to stay in the same place b/c they already know it, have a support network + established friends.
If you don’t like the school you go to right now, and you don’t think you’re receiving proper education, then transfer!
But if your only reason to transfer is b/c you believe that it will give you an advantage over other applicants, I wouldn’t bother.
My 2 cents.
Kasia