Should I transfer to get into my grad school of choice?

Applying to College
1

<p>Hello!</p>

<p>I currently am a junior at the University of ND with a major in speech-language pathology and a minor in psychology. I have a 3.8 GPA with Latin honors and have worked as a research assistant. I also am the Principal Investigator for a research study that was approved by UND, and is awaiting confirmation from the Twin Cities hospital system that I would recruit participants from. I really would like to attend UW-Madison to get my M.S./PhD, but worry that my undergrad school will hinder my chances. I visited Madison's campus, and after talking with one of the faculty was offered a paid position on her research team of 9 people this summer. I am applying for Fall 2014. Some time back, I applied to the U of MN Twin Cities, and was accepted to their Speech Pathology undergrad program, as well as their honors program. The U of M would look much better on a grad school application for speech pathology, but transferring would add an extra year (2 years from now instead of 1). Would anyone recommend transferring? I could possibly build my GPA from a 3.8 to a 4.0 or higher (if weighted) in that time, and have more time to study for my GRE. However, I would likely lose any chance of conducting the study (as an undergrad anyway), though I'd have not shadowing opportunities. Any advice is very welcome!! Thank you so much! -Sarah</p>

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<p>This is a good question to ask on the grad school board and I’m sure this post will be moved there. </p>

<p>It sounds like you are doing well in your program. You have a high gpa. You have research. And that summer position seems invaluable. You have good experiences for your CV. My 2 cents is, why transfer?</p>

<p>My daughter is at Madison in grad school and loves living there, btw.</p>