Should I Consider Transferring From My State School?

[Hash_HofM]

Hello GradCafe,

I'm currently a high school senior who's received some college admission decisions as of late, and I'm looking for some suggestions, courses of action, opinions, and whatever is felt necessary for my current situation. Out of the 6 schools I applied to (Duke, UChicago, Cornell, UMich, CWRU, and MSU), I've been accepted to MSU ( + Honors College), waitlisted at CWRU, haven't heard back from UMich yet, and rejected everywhere else. My family didn't have a lot of money to spend on applications, and I made the poor choice to apply to a number of reaches rather than a healthy amount of matches considering my stats (3.6 uwGPA, 34 ACT, 800 Math II, 730 Physics).

I have been heavily discussing the prospect of going to MSU with my parents, given that UMich doesn't work out (as well as CWRU), as a double major in Mathematics and Computer Science with double minors in Physics and Philosophy. My essential concern with this is that my graduate school prospects may be hindered (I want to be competitive for places like Stanford, MIT, Caltech, CMU, Princeton, etc.) as I know that MSU is a great state school, but I'm unsure about how competitive I will be able to be with other students who are likely coming from far higher ranked undergraduate institutions even if my earned credentials are extremely good.

I've been reading this forum pretty heavily for the past few weeks or so, taking in information about the GRE, GRE subject tests, cGPA, REU's, Internships, Publications, Fellowships, Scholarships, and etc., and I've come to the realization that I'm more than willing to put in the work, blood, sweat, and time to make the most of any institution I attend. I'm just worried, and uninformed, about what that might specifically mean with MSU. 

If anyone has any thoughts, advice,  whatsoever they'd like to share, please don't hesitate. Also, if anyone has had prior experience at MSU which they can speak to, please let me know whether that be through this thread or PM.

 

Thanks for all of the help Gradcafe!

 

Best,

Piperpanama

[goosejuice]

Graduate admissions are different than undergrad. I'm sure you know this, but specifically what I mean is that a bachelor's degree from a well known university can open doors for you in industry, but graduate programs mostly look at your academics. Lots of people get into big name graduate programs from smaller named schools simply based of their performance. If you truly can graduate with all of that, with a good GPA, GRE scores, research experience, and letters of recommendation, you'll be fine. Get to know your undergrad professors. Work I'm their labs. Get into internships over the summer.

I should mention this as well: those schools you hope to get to for grad school are well known and highly ranked, but graduate school is about the program, not the school itself. When you start looking into grad programs, look specifically at their departments and faculty. Look for the specific professors you'd like to work with. Compatible research interests are the most important part of finding good grad programs. You may find that an overall "lower ranked" school has a really stellar program for your research interests.

Edited April 3, 2019 by goosejuice

[Psyhopeful]

Honestly the most important thing you can do is do lots of research, which is something you will have a lot of opportunity to do at MSU if you're proactive. Join a lab or two, work there a couple years and then join a couple others if there's an area that you find interests you most. MSU is a high level research institute with a lot of output. If it makes you feel better, I'm about to graduate from MSU and I have gotten into top programs in my area of interest despite not getting an undergraduate degree in that discipline. In addition, if you get in to UMich, that school is essentially a public Ivy, no one is going to consider you less for attending. I think anything you can do to save money is good. And with your intended course load, being close to home (I'm assuming you're from Michigan?) will be a good thing too for your mental health. Like @goosejuicesaid, it's all about your experience and your fit in grad school Also, also, no one cares too much about your minor. You can take courses that interest you without going full out to get the minor. If it will be useful to you in terms of your research focus when you apply to graduate school, it's useful to say you minored but otherwise I have never had it come up.

[palyndrone]

Seconded, all of the above. The prestige of your undergrad institution doesn't mean anything without the experience and skills to back it up! MSU is a perfectly good school, and there's no reason to transfer mid-degree just on the basis of rank or the promise of prestige. Use your four years to build a resume, explore your interests, and make connections with the professionals wherever you end up.

You might find, like I and a lot of other people did, that your academic goals and interests will change after you start actually getting into a field. I went into my biology degree wanting to do invertebrate zoology. After internships, summer lab volunteering, and my thesis project, I ended up settling on microbial biogeochemistry! (Which MSU has some good research in). Where you eventually apply to grad school should be where you can find mentors and opportunities that fit your niche.

PS: good luck!! you'll be fine  

[spidy]

Going to add one more voice of support to all of the above posters. I went to a large, not top-tier state school and I think it I actually had more opportunities, in some ways, than I would have had at a more prestigious school. I stood out more and received more attention from professors and in terms of awards, scholarships and the like than I would have otherwise. It was also cheaper (both due to it being a state school and the scholarship I received) than other schools would have been, which has given me a bit more freedom while looking at graduate schools--where, IMO, going for the bigger name is more worth paying for.