Stay at University of Oregon vs. Transfer to ?

Applying to College
1

<p>I am at the University of Oregon (my home state) right now and feel anxious to move out into a more "happening" place in the world. The students here are very friendly and culturally expressive, but I desire a student body with more ambition, diversity and global engagement. </p>

<p>I would like to transfer to a more selective school (I got accepted to UC Davis; ultimately my goal is UC Berkeley). I had a strong application going into college (31 ACT; 3.8 High School GPA), but I took two gap years after high school to volunteer and returned to get a 3.4 freshman GPA. </p>

<p>My question has two parts:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>I am interested in media communication / social psychology / cognitive science. What schools develop the strongest skills in each of these? Are there any schools that blend them into some sort of interdisciplinary study?</p></li>
<li><p>What would be most effective on a transfer application to compensate for poor grades? I have until admission season next November to take action.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Thanks so much for the info!</p>

2

<p>fruuple,</p>

<p>You should visit the Transfer Forum, and read through the thread titled “Transfer Admissions 101” that is at the top of that forum. If you read through some of the other threads there as well, you will get some useful ideas. You also may want to repost this question in that forum.</p>

<p>The immediate question is whether or not it is worth it to you to transfer to Davis. If you are unsuccessful in transferring within the UC system, will you be happy staying at Davis through graduation? Or does it make more sense to stay where you are bearing in mind that you could be at U of O until you graduate? Also, have you run the whole business about paying out of state tuition and fees in California by your parents (or whoever else it is who is helping you pay for college)?</p>