Transfer to Tufts or not?

Transfer Students
1

Hey guys, I am an admitted transfer applicant to Tufts University. I currently attend the University of Miami where I have a GPA of 3.9. I need some help deciding whether or not to transfer, and would appreciate some advice!

When I applied, I was quite unhappy at the University of Miami but during last semester things got a lot better and I am happy/have a circle of friends and thus when I got accepted to Tufts, I started questioning whether or not it’s worth it at this point to transfer (I would be entering as a second semester sophomore due to taking a gap semester beginning of undergrad).

At the moment, I am pursuing an International Relations major while also doing pre-med with the intention of broadening my horizons post-undergrad. By that I mean I either could decide to attend Graduate School for International Relations or go onto Medical School. I am the President of a fairly big student org on campus and have internships in my home city related to both fields I’m interested in pursuing. Furthermore, I am also in the Honors Foote Fellow program at the University of Miami which wipes out all my general education requirements and gives me a lot of flexibility.

With regards to Medical School, I’m aware that the strength of the program or undergrad isn’t really taken into consideration and it’s kind of just a numbers game. However, with graduate school, I’m aware the process is slightly different. Rec Letters, Research, GPA, GRE all go into the application process. Furthermore, I applied to Tufts primarily for the IR program which boasts several opportunities, like the Insititute of Global Leadership, access to Fletcher, and a much more broad/comprehensive course of study. Comparatively at the University of Miami, the major is fairly thin with regards to coursework.

There are, however, several problems that exist that might prevent me from making a successful transfer. The first is, I did not really make much of an effort to complete the core requirements at UM (because again, I’m a foote fellow) so I’m really far behind in several areas such as Language. For the IR major at Tufts, I need 8 semesters of language and I only have 5 semesters of college remaining. Furthermore, the sheer distribution requirements, major requirements, and pre-med requirements make it very likely that I’ll need to spend an extra semester or year at Tufts to graduate. At the moment, I have a good circle of friends in Miami, the weather is nice, and I do think UM is overall a decent school. I’m also getting cold-feet because I know that I’ll have to start all over at Tufts socially, and it does seem somewhat less diverse than UM in terms of the student body. I just don’t want to spend my first few semesters at Tufts “finding my place” again and missing my life at UM…

That said, Tufts is no doubt the more comprehensive school. Would the advantages conferred by Tufts University be enough to help me gain admission to more competitive Graduate programs in International Relations? Or should I just continue to take advantage of the resources available to me at UM and apply to Fletcher post-ugrad??

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You have a 3.9 premed.

Lots of friends.

And you’re the president of large student organization.

You want to go to med school and you know it’s about grades mcats ecs and recs/committee support.

Also the U is a very selective school.

Nothing against Tufts but why risk undoing all of these wonderful accomplishments.

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@privatebanker I suppose my question is would UMiami still be a good choice if I decided to forgo Medicine at the end of my four years and decided to pursue a Masters degree at a top International Relations program such as Tufts’ Fletcher School

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I have no way to predict that. But just for a quick bit of research I went to the Fletcher school list of professors and reviewed two pages -20 names or so, ending around H. I reviewed their cv for undergrad.

Figured a good way to see who has a good program or who tufts like to teach I look to see who they prefer to do the actual teaching.

Undergrad affiliations in no specific order

Cal 3
Yale 2
Michigan
U Winterwerser
Cal Davis 2
U Minnesota
St Thomas U in Minnesota
St. Paul’s
University of Sydney
Sorbonne
Stanford
Uc Santa Barbara
UMass Lowell
URI 2
Tufts 1
American U
American U. Beruit
Swathmore
Penn
Harvard
MIT
Oxford

All are 1 unless noted. Many are actually law school grads which was interesting.

No gtown. One tufts.

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Going to Tufts for undergrad will give you no advantage in terms of getting into their grad program. In fact, it could be a slight disadvantage, as it’s normal that the grad programs at a uni get a disproportionate number of apps from their undergrad programs, and yet the grad programs want to have a diverse set of undergrad schools admitted. In addition, your GPA and etc. at UM is outstanding; and transferring could jeopardize that. UM is a good school, and you’re setting yourself up well there to get admitted into med school or into elite level programs in IR. IMO, you should stay where you are.

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@RoaringMice @privatebanker so you guys don’t think that the strength of the International Relations undergrad program as well as rec letters the likely more esteemed/experienced faculty can add any benefit to my application to Fletcher or top IR grad programs in general? What is the purpose of attending so called “selective” universities (like Tufts) if the same ends can be achieved from undergraduate programs like the University of Miami? Additionally, the IR program is a lot more comprehensive at Tufts and has a track that’ll allow me to study South Asian politics in some depth which I just can’t do in Miami (this is important to me). Granted any graduate training will likely fill in the gaps, but I suppose my worry is that Miami’s relatively weak IR program (compared to Tufts) will not set me up well for work experience/internships/rec letters the same way Tufts can. If you guys can shed some light on this I’d be grateful.

For me yes, it is ideal to stay in Miami and not have to shift over to Tufts, but I just don’t want to miss an amazing opportunity I suppose. Like I feel so privileged to be admitted to Tufts (and two of their biggest undergraduate strengths are IR and pre-med) that it’d feel weird for me to turn it down.

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Cost significantly different?

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@ucbalumnus cost is similar other than the fact that I could need an extra semester at Tufts to fill all the requirements

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OP: You are trying to accomplish too much by focusing on both pre-med & IR in undergraduate school. This is clearly evidenced by your lack of foreign language study which is essential for IR majors.

Stay at Miami where you are excelling academically, socially & with at least one EC.

If you are serious about getting a masters degree in International Relations or in International Business, then study abroad & study of at least one foreign language is essential during your undergraduate years. But, do this at Miami where you are excelling in all areas.

Life is, in large part, about decisions and about recognizing & appreciating when you have made a correct decision–which you have done by attending Miami. Graduating with a GPA above 3.80 will help you in life both professionally & academically. Stay put.

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