<p>Hi all, I am currently in the process of deciding whether I should transfer or not to a school such as Georgetown or Berkeley (if I get in to them) but am caught in a bit of a bind. I am currently a sophomore at a small liberal arts school in Southern CA. The problem is that the school that I go to now has really grown on me and I am actually doing really well here with a high GPA. I could also ask several professors for letters of rec and would not feel nervous about what they would say. The reason why I am considering transferring is that there simply aren't enough resources for my majors (Poli Sci and Religious Studies) in regards to a diversity in the topics that are covered by classes and a number of other things. Now, I know that I want to go to grad school (Most likely for poli sci) at a top university, but I just do not know what is a better option: transferring to a bigger university that is probably a lot more recognizable or stay at the one I am at now and just do really well with what I have. I didn't know what forum I should put this in but any advice I could get would be incredibly helpful! Thank you ahead of time!</p>
<p>If you like your current school, don’t transfer. You like the place you are in and you are doing well. Many students from small liberal arts colleges get into excellent graduate programs. What you need to do is to take advantage of the resources that exist at your school and get involved in a research project with a faculty member. This is the big advantage of an LAC, you can really work closely with faculty and get excellent letters of recommendation. Any missing parts of your coursework can be made up in graduate school but my guess is that if you do a significant research project, you will have all the skills necessary to succeed in a graduate program in your field.</p>
<p>You don’t need to go to a recognizable university to go to a great graduate program. What you do, and how well you do, is much more important than where you went. So if you are doing really well with a high GPA and you have close relationships with professors, then staying where you are is probably the best idea!</p>
<p>Undergrad is about building breadth, not depth - depth is for graduate school. So you don’t need a huge diversity of classes on different topics. Take the base/foundation that will help prepare you for graduate school - your professors will be able to help advise you as to what that is.</p>