Thinking about transferring for the 2nd time, Please give me some advice

Transfer Students
1

Hi,
My name is Joseph and I recently returned to college at 25.
My first university was Fordham in Bronx where I majored in Psychology but took a leave of absence for several years because I had no dream or goal.
Just this year, I returned to school and transferred to Ohio University as a Molecular biology(genetics) major which I love.
I’m currently doing amazing GPA wise with all A’s but I’m thinking about transferring to Ohio State University because it’s much closer to home where I can commute from instead of paying for dorm or off campus rents.

I’m very conflicted because Ohio University affiliated Edison Biotechnology Institute is doing a research on life extension and recently received government grant and that’s the field of study that I’m dying to get into.
I feel like I may have a better chance of getting some work and experience there if I’m a student from Ohio University and I also worry that I might lose the academic momentum I have here once I transfer and start all over again with new gpa.
My final worry is that the fact that I transferred twice within a year might not look good in transcript when I’m applying for grad school in the future.

Honestly, the only pros of transferring to OSU are that it has relatively better reputation and will generally make my life easier as a commuter.
I’ve been stressing about it for over a week and I could really use some new perspective.
Please help me out here!!!

2

This is a big decision. When I make a big decision, I like to have peace about it. If there is still a small doubt, I want the pros outweigh the cons. I want to be able to look back and have few if no regrets on why and how I made the decision, because even then, things don’t always turn out as you hoped.
I would love to tell you to stay put, don’t disrupt a good rhythm, but it sounds like money is a concern. If you can avoid accumulating excessive amounts of debt, I’m for that. Because debt can steal your peace and be disruptive to your life later.
I wish you the best in your decision.

3

It looks like the only reason to transfer would be so you could live with your parents and commute. Am I correct about that?

What is your living situation right now? How are you paying for your housing? Can you find a less expensive housing option? Where to the other non-traditional age students and grad students live? Can you find an apartment to share with one of them?

Yes, if you are taking on extra debt or burning through your savings too fast, you might need to transfer to save that money. But if you can figure out how to make the money work, stay put. The program you are in now has connections that are important to you. Go speak with your advisor about making that possible project happen sooner rather than later, and see what happens.