<p>I am an undergraduate deciding whether or not to transfer. When applying to graduate schools, in general, is it better to be a B-student at a very top school or an A-student at a good student (say lower top-20)?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>For undergrad, I would not say Smith is that far below Chicago in quality. How do you know that if you transfer, that you would be able to get an A average?</p>
<p>I don't. I meant being an A-student at Smith vs. a B-student at UChicago. I am at Smith being an A student currently, and I am convinced I'd be more of a B-student at UChicago, because I visited there for a long while and there was a world of difference between the student bodies, believe me. I don't know what you know about UChicago, but UChicago is more on par with Swarthmore or Brown than it is with Smith for undergrad.</p>
<p>I see. I do have friends who attended many of the Seven Sister schools, and from what I have heard, they are both rigorous, yet supportive.</p>
<p>From grad schools... it really depends...
Professional schools (law, biz, med), then an A average is absolutely, infinitely better from a well-respected school than a B average from an elite, premier school. Prtofessional schools tend to be more numbers-driven.</p>
<p>For PhD programs, it may depend on the field... but I still go with a A average from such a well-respected school as Smith... it's not like we're talking about a top school vs. a community college. Smith has an excellent reputation.
I have a handful of friends who attended a sister school, Barnard, and had absolutely no trouble getting into the very best graduate programs eg Berkeley) in fields such as English, History, etc.</p>
<p>Couple questions:
(1) Why do you want to transfer? are you unsatisfied with Smith for more serious reasons, or is it just concerns over relative prestige?
(2) I'm not convinced that an A average at Smith would translate into a B average at Chicago... I think you are underestimating Smith a bit...
you may very well get nearly the same average at Chicago... it really is hard to say... in any case, that really isn't a reason to transfer or not to transfer.
(3) What is your field of study and planned graduate studies... that could make a difference in the advice anyone offers you.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>I want to transfer because I want a somewhat stronger program, in addition to more opportunities for my particular fields of interest. As far as how I know I'd be a B-student at Chicago, all I can say is that the student bodies of Smith and Chicago barely overlap. I'm something like 95%+ at Smith, and would be around 60% at Chicago, at least according to test scores. I sat in on classes for a couple of weeks, and students are much more engaged there with their work and seemed smarter. Certainly, they are more studious. At Smith, I can earn As simply by doing all my work/ At UChicago, most of the students do all their work and the work at least in the sciences (my current interests) is more time-consuming and graded on a much sharper curve. I do not know though. I am thinking of being a junior transfer, to give myself more time to research my options.</p>
<p>Can I have a second (or third) opinion about the original question, anyone? I heard 90% of students at UChicago go to their top-choice grad program -but do people tend to not apply for grad programs where their GPA is a little below anyway?</p>
<p>The general thought -- to my knowledge -- is that professional programs appreciate an A-average from anywhere (more valued the harder the school, naturally, but as h&b said, it's not like Smith is a community college) and graduate school programs don't particularly care so long as you graduate and have excellent experience/drive/talent in the field you're going into the M.A./PhD program for.</p>
<p>It also depends, though, on where you're applying. At Chicago, the admissions team is likely to be very sympathetic to a B-average at their own school, probably much more so than any other. Ditto for whoever has sympathy for the Chicago lifestyle, particularly if a member of the team is from Chicago (but you'd never know that anyway). My feeling is that if you do well on the GRE in your subject (that is, as an English major, getting as high a score as possible, nevermind the math, or vice versa) and show some published work (research, fiction, essays, whatever), you'll be fine either way.</p>
<p>I wouldn't make the decision about whether or not to transfer based on what you think grad schools would prefer. The quality of the two schools is so similar (though very differAlso, I don't just assume that you won't be able to succeed at a more rigorous school; many students transferring to a more difficult program face ent environments) that neither is going to be a drawback on grad applications. </p>
<p>A more important consideration might be: which environment do you think would best prepare you for the kind of grad school you're seeking? If you're looking for strenuous, research-focused grad programs, then Chicago might be better preparation. Smith might be better preparation for another style of grad school.</p>