Happy Undergrad: Should I Apply to Transfer?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
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I’ll preface this with the note that I realize that transfer acceptance rates are exceedingly low; however, I’m trying to figure out whether I would want to even apply/transfer if I could, as I’m a rather happy undergrad currently.

About me: I’m a 4.0 sophomore at a Top 20 school in the US who just completed an internship at a relatively well known company (think Google, Facebook). I’ve been enjoying college, though it has not been as challenging as I would have hoped. I’ve tried exploring opportunities outside of class (including research and work) and while fruitful, has been less productive than it could be at a place such as Palo Alto (where I imagine I could start a startup/work at a Silicon Valley type company).

I’m mainly debating whether I should just graduate early (next year) and go into industry and work (I have no problems securing interviews/offers at this point, and going to Stanford for the brand name, at least initially doesn’t seem necessary). Or, transfer to Stanford (if I get accepted), though I would imagine I would graduate in two years, I would be able to challenge myself further in coursework and outside opportunities, along with meeting some new people.

I’m leaning toward the former since I enjoy where I am, and believe that opportunities and challenges once I work full time should be greater than as an undergrad. However, I realize that I would enjoy Stanford as well (since I was in the area this summer and have many friends there) and don’t necessarily feel the need to rush college.

Thanks for reading and I appreciate any input.

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“I’m leaning toward the former since I enjoy where I am”

I agree. It sounds like you are doing very well where you are.

One thing that might be worth considering is to do what I did years ago: Complete your undergrad, work for a couple of years, then consider going back to Stanford for a Master’s degree. If you continue to maintain your 4.0 then this will help a lot when it comes to graduate school admissions, if you decide at some point to do that.

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Thanks for the input @DadTwoGirls! That’s what I’m thinking as well. What motivated you to do the masters btw? I’ve been thinking about whether I want to do one. For CS, it seems that people usually do masters to get into specialized fields, or just for further learning, but it doesn’t seem to confer much career benefits. And also, did you do a part time masters (while working) or just took some time off from working to complete your masters before returning to industry.

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I think you should " go into the industry." It sounds like real world work experience is what you need.

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Thanks @Empireapple ! That’s what I’m thinking as well

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If you do end up working for a big tech company, they usually will pay part of your master’s degree (if you do the evening program.) But you’ll be learning for learning’s sake – as you figured out, tech companies don’t really care if you have a master’s degree or not.