I’m a sophomore at the University of Las Vegas with a 3.76 GPA in Psychology with a minor in Biology and Neuroscience
I don’t know how much this will help me, but I work two jobs and I’m in research lab (each has a weekly time commitment of 20 hours). I am thinking of Vanderbilt, Tulane, at UC schools. What are my chances?
It sounds like you are doing very well where you are. Also, Psychology is a major that tends to require a graduate degree (at least a master’s), and you could finish your bachelor’s degree where you are and then go elsewhere for graduate school.
Two jobs and a research lab is a HUGE commitment in addition to being a full time student. I am impressed that you can maintain a 3.76 under the circumstances. Working in the research lab is likely to be a useful experience when looking for opportunities in the future. Going to an academically more challenging university would be tough unless you can cut back a lot on these other activities.
As such, why do you want to transfer?
I agree with @DadTwoGirls in that you are doing very well at your current school. Finish your degree there and consider the other schools for graduate studies. If you are not a California resident, the UC’s will cost you $65K/year to attend and offer little in financial aid as an OOS student.
Thank you for replying, it really means a lot! I don’t know if I should be concerned about financial aid, because my parents make around 25k a year and I think can expect to receive a pretty generous package (if I was admitted). At least that’s what happened to my older brother when he transferred to Cornell (his package was 63k/70k). As to why I want to transfer, my current school just doesn’t offer the same job opportunities as other universities, and I feel like it would be a lot easier to be admitted to better graduate programs if I went to a more prestigious school.
Unless you are a CA resident, you will receive no financial aid at any of the UC’s. Transfers usually get less FA than Freshman so you really need to do some research on which schools will give a good financial package as transfer applicant. If your brother qualified that good of a FA package, there is no reason not to try for Cornell.
Best of luck.
Alright, so UC schools are off the table. My concern with Cornell and other “transfer friendly schools” like Vanderbilt, Rice, Emory etc is that my gpa is a little low. I’m hoping that my work and research experience might help out but I doubt it. Any thoughts on my chances or other schools I should look into?
You will need significant financial aid. That means that you need to focus on generous places even if you think your GPA is on the low end. Maybe you get in (in which case you should get decent aid), or maybe you don’t and you can just stay where you are because it is affordable.
Grad admission doesn’t require a prestigious undergrad program. Your own faculty members can help you sort through your options for grad school. They know people everywhere.
“Grad admission doesn’t require a prestigious undergrad program.”
This is my experience also. I went to a very well known top school for my Master’s degree, and there were students who had done their undergrad at a very wide range of other schools, including a lot of state flagship public universities. I have heard the same from others who went to top grad or medical schools.
I don’t see any harm in applying to a few other schools that meet full need. However, if you end up staying where you are though getting your Bachelor’s degree that shouldn’t hurt your chances at a very good graduate school, particularly if you continue to keep your GPA up and participate in research.