I am currently a freshmen in the college at Georgetown University. For the first few months, I really liked the school, although there were some moments I had wondered what another school would be like. Duke and Georgetown were my top two schools last year, although Duke had a slight edge. I am now heavily considering transferring to Duke because I feel that Georgetown does not suit my academic goals in the same manner I believe Duke would. I will state my main reason for wanting to transfer, and would greatly appreciate any advice.
I am highly interested in biotech/pharma and economics/finance. I want to approach biotechnology from a business perspective post-graduation. If I decide to stay at Georgetown, I was planning on transferring to business, majoring in finance with double minor in biology and Chinese, or double majoring in biology and economics. However, I am concerned that staying in the college would place me at a disadvantage if I decide to enter IB after graduation (since there’s business here). Moreover, I do not want a linear knowledge of only finance or business. A synthesis of biology, specifically biotechnology, and business/econ/finance is vital to who I am and want to be. (I found a newfound interest in Econ this year.) Georgetown is an amazing school, but I do not think that Georgetown is providing the most suitable academics for my personal goals. The biology program here is fine, but I feel heavily restricted by the current level of teaching and the focus on learning via professors instead of via self-discovery and research. Duke has one of the best biology programs in the nation (and world), and encourages its students to learn through research. In terms of biology, Georgetown seems to be significantly behind Duke. Moreover, double majoring in economics with a finance concentration and biology with a genomics concentration at Duke could not be better suited towards my personal goals.
My freshmen-junior year grades were likely the biggest hindrance in my application last year. I have omitted other reasons for my desire to transfer for the sake of brevity, but would gladly post them should somebody ask. Again, I am considering transferring because I believe that Duke, through the two majors listed and the research opportunities, is far better for my interests. (If I was a government major, I’d undoubtedly be at the right school.) In addition, Georgetown’s core curriculum feels slightly restricting to my interests, while Duke’s offers more flexibility and seems to better encourage analysis and critical thinking. I’d greatly appreciate advice anyone may have (especially students at Duke). Is it worth transferring based on my academic standing? Is my main argument valid? Would I be uncompetitive in transferring to Duke? Thank you so much in advance.