I applied this year as a transfer applicant to the University of Rochester, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Connecticut College. I am a political science major currently in my second year at a SUNY school (Brockport). I want to transfer for many reasons: I’m looking for more courses of interest such as judicial politics, democratic theory, statistics, American history, etc. I also desire greater research opportunities and to be surrounded by peers who actually care about academics and learning. Other than that, I quite literally couldn’t care less about the social scene, weather, food, etc.
I know that UofR is my top choice (prestigious, close to home, flexible curriculum, good research availability) but am nearly positive it will end up costing me the most. I come from a middle class family and do qualify for financial aid - if that proves helpful to know.
Any insights into these schools as well as what you personally think is financially worth it would be greatly appreciated. I realize that what is and isn’t “worth it” depends on many factors, but just generally speaking, I am curious to know what others think. I do want to attend grad school to pursue a PhD in political science and have an interest in aiming for top universities when I apply to programs next fall.
My D started at URoch as a freshman with a decent FA package. They drastically reduced that FA 6 weeks before she was to return for her sophomore year. For us it was definitely NOT worth the additional $20k they were asking us to pay, so she transferred out. Not sure if you’re eligible for merit - as a transfer you’re probably not looking at much - but I don’t think any school is worth $80k. I assume you live in NY so would be OOS for UW? Why not another SUNY? If I had to choose one of your options, I guess I’d do UW for the cost, but it’s still a lot of money, especially since you want to get your PhD.
UofR does offer merit scholarships to transfers, but I would imagine they are not worth as much as those given to first year students (though that’s just a guess). Transferring to another SUNY would kind of defeat the purpose of transferring. Although there are stronger SUNY schools such as Binghamton, the courses aren’t enough of an interest to make it worth it. I’ve heard that Conn College offers great grant packages to students which is one of the reasons I applied there. Finally, it is a general rule of thumb that you don’t pay for a PhD - thankfully, programs are fully funded. Thanks for your reply! FA affairs at UofR don’t have the best reputation is what I’ve been discovering.
PhD funding - of course - precoffee brain fog I guess, lol. Yeah on the Roch FA. The turnover is nuts too. We had four different FA advisors in the year she was there. Best of luck to you!