Does it matter to graduate school how many schools attended?

[PHY2000]

i have been to two schools the first a community college and now in a university and i may transfer to a third one, for family reasons, will this matter to graduate school? that I've attended three universities instead of one?

 

[Drakkith]

Yes, it can matter. Check with the university you're considering transferring to and see what their requirements for graduation are. Some schools, perhaps most, require that a certain number of credits be taken solely at their institution in order to qualify for a degree. In other words, they limit the number of transfer credits that can be applied to one of their programs.

 

[Dr. Courtney]

i have been to two schools the first a community college and now in a university and i may transfer to a third one, for family reasons, will this matter to graduate school? that I've attended three universities instead of one?

Assuming you meet the graduation requirements for a BS in Physics of the third school, several things will likely matter more:

1. The reputation of the two universities in physics.
2. The quality of your undergraduate research, resulting publications, and letters of recommendation, along with the reputation of your mentors.
3. Your overall GPA and GPA in physics courses.
4. Your PGRE scores.

I'd also be concerned if the transfer from Uni 1 to Uni 2 was a significant step downward in the reputation of the schools, especially if your grades at Uni 1 were not very good, and your grades at Uni 2 suddenly improved. That might be interpreted as shopping for an easier school.

In isolation, attending 2 universities in route to a BS in Physics is not a big deal. But it can be interpreted in different ways in light of other factors, and it depends on how strong your applications are otherwise and whether the grad schools you are applying to are a "reach." If you are applying to grad schools of the same tier as your undergrad schools, don't worry about it. If you are jumping up a tier or two in your grad school applications it may be an issue unless the four things enumerated above are very competitive.