Being a Competitive Applicant

[thedig13]

So, basically, here it is. I currently go to a decent (but not great) school as an undergrad. On US News & World Report's rankings, it's ranked between 75 and 100.

If I want to be a competitive applicant to a top-tier graduate school (i.e.: Columbia, Brown, Northwestern, Berkeley, maybe Stanford if the powers-that-be shine upon me), should I transfer to a higher-ranked school for my undergrad studies?

I've heard it both ways: yes, where you went to undergrad matters, and, no, it doesn't really matter as long as your GPA/GRE/experience/LORs are legit.

My primary concern is that, if I transfer to a more competitive school, my GPA might drop a bit.

Some advice, input, pearls of wisdom, stories about your own paths to grad school would be great here.

Edited July 25, 2011 by thedig13

[TMP]

I was a transfer student but I didn't transfer for better name. From my experiences, if you are already very happy where you are, then stay! Transferring is tough! It's worth doing so if you think the new school will meet your academic/living needs better (which was in my case). Otherwise you may find yourself unhappy at your new school if it doesn't do anything for your other than vanity. As long as you are among the top students in your department and have strong relationships with your professors, you will be okay. It just so happens that students at higher ranked institutions are already exposed to doctoral programs there and have the top-notch faculty's names. But a honest, personal, and well-written letters from a little-known professor is better than a lukewarm one from a famous professor (which at this point you don't even known if those kind of professors will have time to prepare you). Graduate programs realize that everyone comes from different programs and respect that. Also, you can check on your department's placement records- see where the graduates have gone.

[wtncffts]

I agree with the above, except maybe the last point; I'm not sure many departments keep track of and make public their undergraduate placements to grad schools. I've seen some cases where there might be a departmental news section touting the achievements of its most prominent and promising undergrads, but none that I know of which keep detailed records of such things. I may be wrong, though.

As to the question, first of all, overall rankings mean less than program rankings. Second, I'm skeptical about the efficacy of transferring for this particular reason as well as the signal it might send. If you're transfering to a higher-ranked school for this reason only, what's to say you're not going to try to transfer from a lower-ranked grad school to a higher one when you get the chance? I'm assuming from your location info that you go to UC Riverside. I'm not personally acquainted, but I'm pretty sure that's a perfectly good school which should not handicap you at all.

[thedig13]

I agree with the above, except maybe the last point; I'm not sure many departments keep track of and make public their undergraduate placements to grad schools. I've seen some cases where there might be a departmental news section touting the achievements of its most prominent and promising undergrads, but none that I know of which keep detailed records of such things. I may be wrong, though.

As to the question, first of all, overall rankings mean less than program rankings. Second, I'm skeptical about the efficacy of transferring for this particular reason as well as the signal it might send. If you're transfering to a higher-ranked school for this reason only, what's to say you're not going to try to transfer from a lower-ranked grad school to a higher one when you get the chance? I'm assuming from your location info that you go to UC Riverside. I'm not personally acquainted, but I'm pretty sure that's a perfectly good school which should not handicap you at all.

So, in your opinon, upper-tier graduate schools don't really make a big deal about where you did your undergraduate work?

[Riotbeard]

It could help, but it depends on where you transfering to. I think at the end of the day if you have great letters, a great personal statement, and a great writing sample, these are the most important things. If you have already built up a good relationship with an adviser, this could be more advantageous to transferring to a super department with a PhD program where you will probably not get the personal attention you would at a liberal arts type college. Then again, if you don't have strong connections where you are, it might as well be the better program that you build those relationships. As for doing well (gpa wise) in a more competitive school, if you wanna do well in a graduate program you will have to raise your game considerably, so if you can't hack at a top tier undergrad you will not succeed in a top tier Phd program. I don't mean this to put you off either course, but If a top tier PhD program is your goal, you should assume you can suceed in a top undergrad. Like I said though at the beginning, the quality of your overall application packet is much more important than a name at the top of your resume, but if all the rest is equal, it would be a lie to tell you it wouldn't hurt to come from a bigger more reputable program (although, those schools are super expensive and good scholarships for undergrads are rare...). There are people in my program who went to Ivy league schools and people who went to non-descript state schools.

[Sigaba]

For better and for worse, one's academic pedigree counts for a lot. Professors have a lot of committee work to do on top of their other responsibilities. Some will cut corners by using an applicant's pedigree and fields of interest as a first sort. Others will reason that an applicant's pedigree is a good predictor of an applicant's future performance. Maybe a few will read every part of every application before making decisions.

If you do not have the opportunity to attend a top tier school, you can balance things out by demonstrating that you're a top tier student who is committed (rather than just dedicated) to becoming an outstanding professional academic historian. There are many ways to travel this path but the journey should probably include many of the following bench marks:

• participating in your school's honors program (that is, write an honors thesis in addition to the senior thesis),
  
• building strong language skills,
  
• developing strong relationships with faculty members both at your current school and at your schools of choice (professors will help you in ways beyond writing LORs),
  
• doing a research internship after your junior year,
  
• getting something published,
  
• presenting at a conference,
  
• learning the historiography of your fields of interest,
  
• developing a vision of how you will contribute to that historiography and to the profession overall, and
  
• figuring out how to write an outstanding SOP that discusses the path you've traveled and how the journey should continue at a school of your choice.
  

Be realistic and understand that undergraduates at top tier schools will be doing many of the same things to show their commitment. And then use that realization to drive yourself even harder.