<p>Hi ya'll. I am currently a sophomore working on my undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering. I am looking to transfer to another more top-ranked university such as Stanford, UIUC, UT Austin, UC Berkeley, CalTech, Princeton, Georgia Tech, Texas A&M, and a few others. </p>
<p>But the reason why I am transferring is because I initially applied to these schools and didn't get in after high school. It was my dream to go to either one of these schools since I was young and I feel that transferring to a place of my preference would satisfy my curiosity about how it is like to study in a great university that has a prestigious chemical engineering program. When I didn't get in I made it a game plan to stay where I am at for two years and then transfer. I've been working really hard in all of my classes (getting mostly A's) to be considered "competitive" in the transfer admission process.</p>
<p>Would this be a wise decision to make? Or should I just stay here (ughhhh...) and wait to go to one of these universities for grad school?</p>
<p>Hi. Very well done on doing so well academically. Engineering anywhere is a challenge so good going! Technically, it is possible to transfer should there be sufficient places in the school you want to attend. I can’t tell if it’s right for you but I’ll play devil’s advocate. I’m being deliberately argumentative. Please don’t take it too personally.</p>
<p>Transferring
You’ll need letters of recommendation from your professors at your current school. Would it be awkward if you didn’t get into your dream school and had to spend another 2 years with them. </p>
<p>Think about what makes a university ‘great’. Is it the ‘brand’, the buildings, the professors, the name recognition, the exclusivity? Why do you consider your current college to be less than ‘great’? What evidence in rankings or professional journals do you have that your department isn’t as good as those named above? Would you be able to maintain your excellent gpa in these more competitive colleges? </p>
<p>What about your life outside of the college? Do they offer the clubs and activities you’re already involved in? Would your accommodation be of equal quality or better? Student support? Can you afford to move to these locations?</p>
<p>Staying where you are
What does your current college offer that you’ve not taken advantage of? Any links to major firms? Any research slots for undergrads? Do you have good relations with your professors who might have good contacts themselves to construct such an opportunity? Are you in any subject related clubs that take part in national competitions? How settled are you in terms of friendships? How does the cost compare with the ‘great’ universities? Has your college produced any famous alumni recently? What awards have your professors won recently? </p>
<p>Big fish, little pond vs little fish, big pond. Hope your choice is a little bit more straightforward now.</p>
<p>On letters of recommendation: only a few schools require them. Many do not.</p>
<p>Thanks for the information highland_poppy and boneh3ad. Based on your experience if you’ve transferred schools, is it difficult to maintain a good GPA? If I transferred, I would have to start my GPA all over again while taking junior level classes (gasp). I think I could do it but just to be safe, I would like a good GPA on my resume for internships and work for a good company after graduation. Could you also put a transfer GPA on the resume and would companies accept that?</p>
<p>Are you at a four year school with an ABET accredited chemical engineering degree program? Or are you at a community college, or a four year school without a chemical engineering degree program?</p>
<p>Have you checked the net price calculators on each school to see if they are affordable?</p>
<p>If you can afford them, some other schools like Minnesota, Delaware, and Purdue have well known chemical engineering degree programs, but are not as selective as most of your list.</p>
<p>But if you are currently at a school with an ABET accredited chemical engineering degree program, relax. Transferring is not mandatory if you want to become a chemical engineer, since you can complete your bachelor’s degree at your current school.</p>
<p>I am at an ABET-accredited ChemE program at a four-year university. However I am looking to transfer because I didn’t get in to the university of my choice. It’s more of a way of saying that I didn’t give up on going to my dream university. I had a friend that did the same thing too but it was after her first year.</p>
<p>"Based on your experience if you’ve transferred schools, is it difficult to maintain a good GPA? "</p>
<p>It requires more effort for three reasons
-3rd year classes are, on average, harder than 1st and 2nd year classes
-new environment means you’re trying to figure out a new system, new friends, where to study/sleep/eat, etc.
-in theory if the school has a better talent pool and both your current school and destination generally grade on a curve, then it will be harder to earn the same grade (as a point of empirical evidence, I have not found differences in the competition between any large state institutions, so far).</p>
<p>“Could you also put a transfer GPA on the resume and would companies accept that?”</p>
<p>-If you’re applying for jobs in the fall before you have first semester grades in, then you have to list your old school and it’s gpa so the employer has something they can verify
-there’s another thread about listing both schools, but i’ll reiterate; most companies want a quick, relevant assessment that’s easily verifiable. For better or worse, this means once you start earning grades at the new school, you should just list that school and it’s gpa. Another way to think about it, your core engineering classes really begin your junior year anyway, so it would be disingenuous to count freshmen history as part of your analytic ability.</p>