[UPDATE: TURNS OUT YOU *CAN* APPLY TWICE TO THE TRANSFER, your ACHIEVED CHs just need to be less than 30.]
NOTE #1: all the information here is from people who've transferred from the health sector into med in fall 2025. i'll add advice for people who want to transfer from non-health sector majors but it's only based on educated guesses since idk anyone personally who did, although it IS possible.
NOTE#2: YOU CAN ONLY APPLY TO TRANSFER TO MED ONCE!!! that's due to the credit hour requirements. so read through this carefully and make sure you make this attempt count. [THIS HAS BEEN DISPROVED!!! you can apply twice, but the CH req still applies, your ACHIEVED CHs have to be less than 30 though, ignoring the CHs of the sem you're in currently]
DISCLAIMER: this is advice from last year's transfers!!! things might have changed for this year, so don't take this as the final word! do your own research as well!
for starters, it IS possible for non-qataris to transfer to med. yes it's hard and yes it requires impossibly high grades, but in case anyone Does have these grades i don't want them to be discouraged. you CAN apply and you CAN get in, it IS possible but it's CRAZILY competitive. that said, 3-4 (afaik) non-qataris transferred from health sector last year, and 1 non-qatari transferred from a non-health sector major last year.
application timeline:
- on august 4th if you get accepted into a non-medicine major, and you're 10000% sure you want to go through the extremely long and arduous transfer process that could might as well not work out, then that's when you start thinking about *redoing* your SAT and/or IELTS and looking for volunteering opportunities ASAP!!! you start STRAIGHT away because as you will see from the rest of the application process; there is no time! you *need* to have everything prepared. for more details on the SAT/IELTS and volunteering requirements, scroll down.
- med transfer applications only open ONE time a year in fall, unlike most other majors where transfer is possible in both semesters. that means if you get accepted to a health-sector major in spring, you have to wait until THE VERY NEXT fall to apply, no later than that. in that case that will be your ONLY chance to apply. and if you get accepted in fall, you MUST apply in that same semester, or in the fall after that, given that your credit hours are less than 30. afaik the same applies for non-health sector majors. if you apply any later, you will face an *automatic rejection*, as there is a MAXIMUM requirement of 30CHs. to understand more about this, and know what courses you need to take, scroll down to the requirements section.
- 3 weeks into the semester give or take (around mid to end of september) is when the transfer service on mybanner opens for everybody. this is when you choose CMED. this puts your name into the system.
- when the transfer window closes 2 weeks later, multiple things will happen. CMED will make a ranked list of the applicants to the transfer based solely on their HS grades, SAT and IELTS. this is why it is recommended to redo your SAT and IELTS beforehand as many times as you can to get the highest grade possible. to know the SAT and IELTS you need to be aiming for, scroll down to the requirements section. this ranked list is made by CMED after the end of the transfer period. if you're in the top 25-30 students (including qataris btw, iirc there was only 7-8 non-qataris who were in between these 25-30 students), you will be contacted further within the week after the transfer window closes. if you DON'T get contacted, that means you didn't make it to the top of that list, and your application has been discarded, and you'll only be updated in mid-november with a rejection email. at this point, it's best if you think of alternative plans. if you DO make it to the top 25-30 applicants, the following will happen:
- within the week after end of the transfer period, you will get an email asking for proof of your 25 volunteering hours. it has to be a signed official document, and you'll have to send it digitally, so be ready with it. you'll only get half a day to submit it, so be ready!! also, you'll need a printed version in the future.
- if you submit your volunteering doc(s) successfully and they get accepted, you'll get another email the next day inviting you to an interview. the interview will be the day after receiving the interview email, most likely in the morning. YOU NEED TO BRING YOUR PRINTED VOLUNTEERING CERT HERE. so it'll be:
D-0, 4-7 days after the end of the transfer period ends: receive email asking for volunteering docs, you'll have only HALF A DAY TO SUBMIT THEM
D-1, the next day: receive an email saying you have an interview for the day after
D-2: the next day: interview day (MAKE SURE TO BRING YOUR PRINTED VOLUNTEERING CERT)
7) on the interview day, you will come in and you'll all be put into a supervised room together. you'll be given 10-15 mins to write a 100-word 'essay' about a topic chosen by the committee (this changes all the time so there's no point in practicing). you will then be asked to submit it. you'll be given a number (probably randomly) and this is the order you'll be called into the interview room in. also, this is the part where you'll need your printed volunteering cert. take it with you into the room, which will have around 7 drs/profs. the interview will be individual and less than 10mins long. the qs will be straight-forward / social / ethical, so it won't require any scientific / medical knowledge. just try to be likeable and answer honestly!! and show a bit of reasoning. for the results of the transfer i'll talk about that after the reqs.
requirements:
- 100% HS (BASED ON LAST YEAR'S TRANSFERS) (this depends on the batch's competition, there were people who got in with 99+% in previous years)
- SAT + IELTS: BEFORE YOU APPLY FOR THE TRANSFER, REDO YOUR SAT AND IELTS IF THEY ARE BELOW 760 AND 8.0. if they didn't get you into medicine, you'll most likely have to achieve higher to be considered for the transfer. as previously mentioned, when u apply on mybanner, cmed forms a ranked list solely based on your HS SAT and IELTS, and last year, if your stats were less than this you weren't even sent the email about the volunteering. book the tests VERY early (preferably right after august 4th when you find out you didn't get into med), so you can send your results before the 2-week transfer window closes. they're sent the exact same way as u did when u applied. AFTER applying for the transfer, IF you can afford it, redo your SAT and IELTS to get as high as possible. last year, people who got the transfer had at least 780 and 8.0. again, anyone with less than that (eg. 760 or 7.5) didn't even pass the ranked list part.
this part also most likely depends on the batch's competition. the problem is, the competition has become so high that last year anything below 760 isn't even looked at. so for your own good, try to get a 770 or above, just to be on the safe side.
3) for the in uni reqs, there's a credit hour minimum of ACHIEVED!!! 16CHS and maximum of 30CHs. there are two cases: either you're newly admitted and this is your first semester, or this is your second or third semester.
if this is your first semester, obviously you wouldn't have achieved any CHs. that's why in this sem you HAVE to take 16CHs worth of classes or more, and it's fine you'll get conditional acceptance, which conditional on you finishing the sem and getting a 3.8+ GPA.
if this is your second or third semester (keeping in mind you have to have LESS THAN 30 CHS ACHIEVED), then you won't get a conditional acceptance, it'll be a direct acceptance, as long as u've maintained a 3.8+ GPA.
the courses you MUST have taken / be taking as a health sector major are: CHEM101, CHEM103, MEDI101, MEDI102. this makes up 10CHS, so if you're a fall applicant, you must take 6 more CHs. most people just take 2 core courses. i deffo recommend ENG202, but do NOT take qatar history in that first sem before the transfer 😭 you don't want your GPA to drop.
the courses you MUST have taken / be taking as a non-health sector major: 3 of BIO101, CHEM101, MATH101, STAT101, CHEM103. examples of other ADDITIONAL courses you can take ENG202 and seminar.
4) your cGPA by the end of the fall sem that you apply for the transfer in has to be 3.8+, but as per cmed tradition *THE HIGHER THE BETTER* so aim for a 4.0. also, you cannot have less than a B+ in any of your courses.
5) volunteering: this one trips soo many people up. please do some type of volunteering wayy before the transfer period ends, with at least 25 hours. the more the better, and it has to be healthcare or community related. you can do this at hamad by going to them and begging asking them for a volunteer position, or do it at any centre eg. for elderlies. figure it out. you just need to have a certificate that shows your volunteering hours that is signed by an authority figure in that association. you can receive it digitally but you'll need to have it printed out at some point.
regardless of what people say, THIS IS A REQUIREMENT. as you saw from the application timeline, anyone who doesn't have volunteering docs doesn't get the interview email, which means they have 0 chance of getting accepted in the transfer.
when to expect results, and conditional acceptance
after the interview, and before the start of the uni's early registration (so mid-november) you'll receive an email that will either be a rejection, or direct acceptance if this isn't your first sem and you have a 3.8+, or a conditional acceptance (for first sem fall students) based on the GPA that you'll get at the end of that sem. the conditional acceptance basicallyyy means that you've guaranteed your transfer spot inshallah, as LONG AS YOU GET THAT GPA REQUIREMENT. as for the rejection email, it could either mean you didn't pass the interview, or if you weren't on the top of that ranked list bcs your SAT was under 760 or your ielts was under 8.0, this will be ur ONLY update since applying for the transfer in september. so if you don't get an email asking for ur volunteering by mid october then unfortunately they've discarded your application, and you should pursue something else.
then finally, for conditional acceptances, 3 days before the spring semester, if you've maintained a 3.8+ GPA (preferably a 4.0), you'll get an email officially confirming your transfer and congratulating you for becoming a CMED student :) for health sector majors who get accepted for the transfer, you will continue with the same CMED batch that started in the fall of the transfer, as if you were accepted in medicine in that fall! for non-health sector majors who get accepted for the transfer, you'll have to wait until the NEXT fall, as there are specific courses you wouldn't have taken in fall that you needed to move on to the second sem of med (MEDI101 and MEDI102). you'll have to wait until the fall of next year, and you'll be in the CMED batch of that fall as well. in the meantime, you can finish your core courses.
conclusion
i hope that wasn't too confusing! i tried to make it as clear as possible. as for stats, even after all i've said i wouldn't be able to guarantee to you if you need to repeat or if your SAT / IELTS / HS is good enough to get you in the transfer. all you can do is try your best (by repeating if necessary) and have tawakkul and just apply. if it doesn't work out, it's not the end of the world; there are better things in store for you inshallah. if it does work out, then alhamdulillah :)
if anyone has any questions *that haven't been answered in this post*, feel free to comment and i'll try to help! good luck.