I’m a UC Davis freshmen currently in my second quarter. Since enrolling in UC Davis, I’ve made up my mind about transferring to UC Berkeley after two years, but now that I’ve given it more thought, I may not so sure anymore. I have good grades, having two As and two A+ for the four classes I took in fall quarter 2014. I’m an Econ major.
I have my eyes set on getting into graduate school, and I’m targetting 4 universities, Stanford, Berkeley, Oxford and Cambridge. Recently, I found out that UC Berkeley has some serious grade deflation issues. It is already quite apparent here in Davis. Will I be able to get into these four graduate schools by the mere fact that I’m from UC Berkeley with an average GPA? or will I get a better shot if I had a 3.9 from Davis?
When you apply for an elite grad school, you are competing with the brightest, most motivated minds in the world. You need to prove yourself as a truly exceptional student.Average grades at UCB won’t get you into the schools you list. A 3.9 from Davis will make you a stronger candidate than a 3.3 from UCB.
I’d suggest you make the most of the Davis - It is a fantastic school.
As a person with an extensive background in Econ as well as elite schools, I’ll have to say that you’re over thinking things. Honestly, don’t think about grad school right now. Sounds crazy, but I think your approach is a little bit flawed. It’s good you’re thinking about attending grad school and that you have that as a dream, but so much can change between now and several years later. Heck, you’re only in your second quarter of college. Your A’s right now are in basic intro classes, but might drop to B’s once you take your upper divs.
My advice is to attend the university that makes you the happiest. I say this because you will honestly do better and become a student where you feel you love the material (or classes) more. If you want to get into a grad school such as Stanford, they don’t really care if you receive a 3.7 or a 3.9. They want to admit the student they know will succeed and is truly interested in their subject matter. There’s isn’t much to differentiate students between GPA’s anymore (due to things such as grade deflation/inflation). They just expect everyone to score well. They are more interested in you as a person. What will make Stanford proud to call you an alumnus? That’s what they are looking for in admitting students.
If you think you will truly learn and master economics in Davis, then stick with it. Don’t just stay there because you THINK you will get better grades. What’s stopping you from going to a “lower tier” UC such as UCR, then? If you like the courses offered, the quality of the professors, and your overall environment in Davis, then stay there. One of my good friends chose UCD over UCB because he loved the atmosphere there and that motivated him to do better. I’ve also had friends choose UCB purely for ranking and some of them were miserable there.
On the flip side, if you think you will do better in Berkeley at the criteria I mentioned earlier - then go there. Some people thrive in Berkeley and can surround themselves with great people. It’s a change of pace from Davis and a lot of people welcome that (or yearn for it). Maybe you are looking for a challenge and Berkeley will strike a fire in you that will follow you to grad school. It could also make you go through academic struggles and your precious GPA will tremble over the years if you don’t rise to the challenge - but seriously who knows?
If you go to a school you truly enjoy, then everything else later in life will fall into place.