Looking to transfer to a new school to study philosophy and business. Any advice?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I will be beginning my college career at UW-Madison next fall as an undecided freshman. Due to recent realizations I realized that majoring in chemical engineering as I had originally planned would not be a good fit for me. I have decided, instead, to pursue a double major or major-minor in philosophy and finance. I chose to go to UW-Madison because of their strong chemical engineering program, and I now feel much less confident that it is the right school for me given that the philosophy program is not particularly strong.</p>

<p>I suppose I should note that I plan to attend law school after my undergrad experience (otherwise I would not feel comfortable entering philosophy). I have been planning to attend law school since freshman year and feel confident that I will be a great candidate. I have already scored 170+ on LSAT practice exams and really hope to be admitted to a top law school, so my GPA is very important.</p>

<p>I am looking to transfer to a school that has a strong program in philosophy after my freshman or sophomore year. If I do well, I am hoping to apply to top schools like the ivies, Stanford, and UChicago. I will also likely apply to some schools on a lower tier that have great philosophy programs like Rice and NYU. I prefer large schools in urban areas.</p>

<p>Are there any other schools I should consider trying to transfer into? I haven't been able to find much information on undergraduate philosophy programs and which ones are the best. I noticed a lot of small, liberal arts colleges have strong programs but I don't think I would enjoy attending such a small school. Keeping in mind that my ultimate goal is to attend the best law school possible, what do you think I should do?</p>

2

<p>I don’t think that UW-Madison’s philosophy program is weak. They have the 23rd best philosophy program in the nation according to philosophy gourmet. I would stick out UW-Madison and test the waters of the program.</p>

3

<p>Before deciding to transfer, I’d suggest taking a few courses in the philosophy department. </p>

4

<p>I agree with @whenhen. You’ve already seen that choosing colleges by major may not be the right idea. See if you like philosophy first. And you can see if you like UW-M at the same time.</p>

5

<p>You should stay in UW-M to complete your UG, it is a great school that not too many transferable schools are better, unless you are a straight A student and at the top of your class. When you change your major in a transfer situation, you will lose credits and may have to spend an extra year at the transferred school.</p>

6

<p>The undergrad program for philosophy isn’t going to affect where you go to law school.</p>