<p>Does anyone have an idea of how difficult (or simple) it would be for a transfer student to study abroad at U of R? I'm not in college yet, but for a number of personal reasons I'm leaning towards starting off at an LAC and later transferring to a larger uni. I'm planning on majoring in physics (BS) and working my way towards a Ph.D, so I know there shall be no shortage of physics/maths classes in my future; I worry whether or not spending a year or two at a smaller college and then up to a year abroad would significantly limit my opportunities to take these classes (or make it more difficult to complete clusters). I also would like to pursue a good deal of research (I've done so in the past and greatly enjoy it), so only spending 2-3 semesters at the U of R campus would seem like it might limit the possibilities here as well. </p>
<p>Any thoughts on what the best plan might be? 1 year at an LAC? 1.5 years? 2? Study abroad? No study abroad? Suck it up and just go to U of R to begin with? </p>
<p>Also, if anyone knows how transfer students fare in admission to the Take Five program, I'd be greatly interested in hearing. </p>
<p>Grad admissions are very much dependent on your LORs from your upper level professors and the length and quality of your research experiences. (Upper level grades are the next most important item followed by your overall GPA and lastly by your GRE score. A bad GRE can keep you out of grad school, but a good GRE won’t get you admitted.)</p>
<p>If you transfer to UR as junior and immediately go abroad, you won’t have time to develop the contacts you need for your LORs. You’ll also lose at least half a year during which you really need to be developing and pursuing your research interests. I know that it’s often difficult to take your major requirements during study abroad. The science students I know who went abroad typically ended up taking electives rather than major/minor requirements.</p>
<p>I’m not sure whether or not you’ll be able to arrange to do a study abroad junior year if you’re planning to transfer in after you complete your sophomore year since study abroad arrangements are typically made during the spring semester of your sophomore year.</p>
<p>For your plan to work, you’ll need to either transfer after your freshman year or give up study abroad. (I don’t think Rochester accepts transfer students for January admission.)</p>
<p>As for Take Five–it all depends how good your proposal is.</p>
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<p>An if you want my opinion…suck it and start at UR. </p>
<p>My husband is a PhD research physicist. He attended a mid size “name” LAC as an undergrad and regretted it very much even decades later. The number of upper level physics classes were limited and only offered every second year. He had no opportunity to take grad classes during his undergrad years. Meaningful research opprtunities at the school were all but not existent. He ended up taking key upper level coursework at the state flagship during the summers so he would be competitive for grad admissions. </p>
<p>One of D2’s high school friends went to a SLAC for college as a physics major–again he regrets his decision. Some complaints my husband had. Limited upper level classes available. No grad classes offered. And the student had to spend every winter applying to REUs just so he could gain some research experience.</p>
<p>In these sciences it’s really nice to have a grad school. The professors, the students, the work, the facilities. </p>
<p>I have to say I don’t understand the plan. It’s over thought. I don’t understand why it needs to be so complicated. Physics is about getting to the simplicity. I think you should find a school that fits your needs and go there. That is more the standard model.</p>