No Ling Undergrad = No Ling Grad?

[blueSky2018]

I'm a first year student at a university which doesn't offer a linguistics undergrad program. I've been told by multiple professors and researchers in the field that I need a ling undergrad to have any chance at going to a good school (like UCLA, Stanford, etc.) for grad school. Is this still true?

It appears that from some of the posts here and other people I've talked to that I may not, but I'm still on the fence.
If I transfer undergrad schools, I'll leave the friends I've made so far, probably have to retake multiple courses, and incur a ton of debt (not including grad school). However, if I stay, I'll keep my presidential scholarship and my friends but I might miss out on the chance to study linguistics as a career and I don't know what my backup plan will be.

Any suggestions?

[lnik]

It's mostly true, honestly. Having a ling undergrad *would* allow you a better chance at a ling PhD in general, let alone at those schools (they require a good research background that can't be supported at a school that doesn't have a linguistics major/department). However, you could stay at your current school, spend time doing linguistics readings, then do an MA in linguistics at a less prestigious school before reapplying to prestigious schools for a PhD. (That being contingent on you doing good research in your MA.)

Basically, the choice is yours. You do have options if you don't want to leave your current university.