Transferring Dilemma

Transfer Students
,
1

Hi, I’m currently in a bit of a dilemma. I’m a first-year student at Oregon State for Economics. I’m going to graduate next Spring 2021 if I stay and complete my degree. If I grind I can even squeeze in my honors thesis, probably something consulting related.

The thing is… I have been thinking about going to grad school and potential job placement after college. OSU isn’t really known for economics, and my friends are all brainy STEM majors.

I applied to USC and got accepted to their Econ program (#30~ nationally) and hoped to double major in accounting (top 10 programs). It seems great and all. I’m a very social person and do a lot of athletics and artsy stuff. USC seems perfect. LA is a giant cultural and financial hub with more opportunities on a street than the whole of Corvegas.

Here is the thing. At OSU I graduate in one year on 15k tuition max. USC will take AT LEAST THREE years at over 65k a year (~200k). Assuming even modest returns over a 30 year period, the differential tuition will be worth ~ $1,000,000 when I’m 50.

I also heard from my best friend that USC is super Clichy. He will be leaving USC and I only know a couple other people at USC. Socially, USC is bound to lose steam due to COVID-19.

But if I stay at Oregon State, I doubt my resume (no internships, thanks COVID-19) will be beefy enough to bank a good job or give me a shot at a top grad school (or qualify for merit at other schools). It also means I have to stack the GMAT or GRE on top of ~19 credits and a thesis :\ :neutral:

I was super social on campus and plan to continue. Notably, I do not drink, smoke, or get stoned at all. By some miracle of God, I still make friends and I really value diverse experiences in people and good conversations.

MY REQUEST: I appreciate any advice and things that I haven’t considered. Should I stay or should I go? Why or why not?

TLDR. Quick and cheap in-state school or long and expansive but prestigious private school.

2

If your GPA is high, apply to elite 1-year master’s programs (Cornell AEM, Duke/UVa MIM, etc.)

You’ll still get in without much in the way of internships, most likely.

Then work to get an internship next summer.

3

Is there any special reason why you are trying to race through OSU? Think about slowing down a bit. If you add in another semester there you will have time for more upper-division courses in your major or related fields, your thesis won’t be rushed, and you would have all next summer for an internship.

4

I agree with @happymomof1. You should at least very seriously consider taking an additional year at Oregon State and finding an internship next summer. You might also want to talk to professors regarding whether there are any research opportunities or even TA opportunities that you can participate in during the school year.

I do know one student who got ahead due to APs and summer credits, and is doing so well in a coop program and honors thesis research that they are intentionally delaying graduation until they have been at university for eight semesters rather than graduate after seven semesters. The extra time in their research is going to be worth the time and cost and effort. They are like you at a very good university that is relatively affordable. You might want to take four classes at a time rather than five in order to give yourself time to get more out of OSU.

If I read your post right it sounds like even if you delay graduation you will still be graduating in three years. Add in a one year master’s as @PurpleTitan suggests and you will still be graduating in four years, but with both a bachelor’s and master’s, and at a lower total cost than USC.

5

Thanks, guys. Will definitely look more into the one-year master programs.

6

Racing thru college doesn’t seem like a great idea. Without internships you are not going to be as strong a candidate as those with them. Even in normal times it is unusual to get a good internship after frosh year. Since you mention the GMAT it looks like you are thinking of a MBA. Top programs rarely accept right ought of undergrad, they like their students to have a few years work experience. Which, again, is going to be hard for you to get at the type of jobs MBA programs like to see in applicants.