<p>I am currently a sophomore at the University of Mississippi where I am majoring in Public Policy, Econ, and Int'l Studies (Global Econ and Bus.) I have maintained a 4.0 GPA here thus far, however, I am not exactly happy. I currently have the opportunity to transfer to another, more prestigious university. Specifically, I am considering schools such as Northwestern and WashU for Econ/Bus. However, while these schools are clearly superior to my current university and would undoubtedly provide me with better job options, they are also much more expensive. I am currently going to Ole Miss on a full tuition scholarship; also, I have been given many opportunities here such as the chance to triple major and still study abroad for a year and a half (interning at the Scottish parliament next semester and germ my jr year.) How worth it would it be to transfer to one of the aformentioned schools and pay the 50k+ for my last two years? How much better would the job options truly be if I am already a "big fish in a small pond" at my current school. Ideally I would work at a Bulge Bracket in Chicago, NYC, or Boston. I would also like to maximize my school options for earning an MBA. what do you think? Mediocre school for basically free or two years at a more prestigious school?</p>
<p>Read through this thread and see whether it helps you make a decision: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/905843-top-student-3rd-tier-school-four-years-later.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/905843-top-student-3rd-tier-school-four-years-later.html</a></p>
<p>After your first job, very few employers will care about where you earned your undergraduate degree. Likewise, the top MBA programs are much more interested in your work experience, and your GMAT scores than they are in where you went to college. If you take full advantage of the opportunities that you have at Ole Miss, you will be just fine. And you will save a bunch of money.</p>
<p>If you like the job results for those who went before you at Ole Miss in a similar way - ie “big fish”, similar caliber internships… I don’t think you’d find much advantage.</p>
<p>If you don’t like how those who’ve gone before you have fared, then it’s worth investigating the type of recruiting which happens at your possible transfer schools. Do your favored firms recruit routinely there? </p>
<p>You can go for the prestige for the MBA school if you so desire, after keeping your free ride for undergrad.</p>
<p>I had to look up “Bulge Bracket” firms, and I have a Stanford MBA, lol (a vintage one, though 
). Those type firms do tend to like the “name” schools for recruiting… which might affect my thinking a bit. Do any of them recruit where you are now? Are any alums of your current programs in some of these firms? You might want to do some informational interviews with them to see what they are looking for.</p>
<p>I think you’ll easily recoup the cost of attending a private school in future job earnings. Not to mention, you’ll receive all kinds of non-financial benefits – such as personal confidence and membership in a more powerful social network. </p>
<p>I think the decision should be easy: transferring to an Ivy or other similarly ranked school is preferable to staying at a no-name big state school.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, big companies do not recruit here at all. When I talked to the career center staff they said, “well, local banks recruit here.” It is extremely difficult to network into larger northern cities, especially considering the location of my school. Still, I am a very confident person and believe I would be able to sell myself regardless; I’m just not sure if I could even land an interview. I have one friend who is making entry level 6 figures at PwCoopers. He majored in Econ, Public Policy, and Accounting here. Although he gives me hope and is a strong connection, he was a Rhodes Scholar Finalist thus proving how exceptional he truly is. Sometimes he makes me reconsider leaving as I could hypothetically get to that level coming from my current school (for free,) but then I realize how much harder I must work in order to compensate for my school’s reputation. Three majors, two jobs, and ridiculous amounts of extra curriculars consume my life; I believe that if I went to a more highly regarded school I would not have to do so much to garner the same attention from large companies. My home is Chicago and to be quite blunt, I am not exactly in love with southern culture. I definitely need to go back to a big city when I graduate and I am worried that if I stay at Ole Miss I will have to get a job down here as I know the reputation does little north of <em>maybe</em> Atlanta. Ideally I would be able to talk to some company recruiters about where my resume would stand…if they would only come to my campus…</p>
<p>Please let me thank everyone for their helpful input. Happymom, after reading that story, I am not too surprised by that outcome. I just wonder if my situation is different due to the fact that I am focused on getting a strong job straight out of school? My advisors have already told me that I would be a strong candidate for law school (what I used to want) and grad school, but that is not the path that I would like to take. I am more interested in working before heading to an MBA program rather than jumping straight into a graduate degree. I know that going to a “better” school will present me with a broader gamut of opportunities, I am just not sure if that is worth the 50k spent in those last two years of school. A thought I have had is that those last two years at 50k combined with my first two years being so inexpensive would come out to the equivalent of 4 years at a state school for the sticker price, would anyone else consider this a valid justification haha?</p>
<p>A lot depends on just exactly where that 50k is going to come from. If your parents have it stashed away in a college fund for you, it may be worth your while to spend it now. If you are going to have to come up with it through loans, that is another story entirely. In part because no one is going to lend you that kind of money without a co-signer.</p>
<p>The Alumni office is your friend. Pop by there and ask if they can help you find Ole Miss grads who are working in X industry in Y city. Those alums can give you some good advice about your future.</p>