Stay or transfer?

[CrowZzzz]

So... right now I am in a tier 2 UC and have a well off GPA (3.9) but I got accepted to a top UC which was my dream school. However I have super hard time deciding. 

I am second year right now but I am pretty sure I can graduate next year, meaning that I should apply this December, if I stay. I aim to do biochemistry and molecular focus program. Right now I am working in an immunology lab. My PI is not very famous but I am very close with him and I am pretty sure I can get a letter from him later. I also get a fellowship in my home institution and I will be doing some molecular bio/genetic engineering research over the summer and present at a undergraduate conference (hard to say if there will be any paper).

For some personal reasons, I have to stick at bay area for my graduate studies so I basically only have UCB, UCSF and Stanford. All of them sound like a far reach tho. If I transfer, I should have around 1.5 years at UCB. And I also heard that graduate schools don't tend to admit their own undergrads. If so, it sounds like I have a smaller chance getting into UCB if I transfer? But is it transferring will look better to other schools?

[fuzzylogician]

It's not entirely clear from your post, so you you clarify -- are you an undergraduate who is hoping to go to grad school (MA? PhD?)? Or an MA student? Answers might differ if you're an undergrad vs grad student. 

In general: some schools don't like to admit their own undergrads to their graduate programs. You can check whether that's the case at the relevant school/department by looking at the pages of current students and trying to figure out if/how many got their UG degree at the same institution. As for other schools, it's fairly standard to transfer to a better school with better opportunities. Assuming that the better school actually has more to offer, it should be pretty easy to write something in your SOP discussing all the new opportunities you got once you transferred. If you take advantage of them and keep your grades up, I don't think anyone would be concerned about this issue. 

[CrowZzzz]

42 minutes ago, fuzzylogician said:

It's not entirely clear from your post, so you you clarify -- are you an undergraduate who is hoping to go to grad school (MA? PhD?)? Or an MA student? Answers might differ if you're an undergrad vs grad student. 

In general: some schools don't like to admit their own undergrads to their graduate programs. You can check whether that's the case at the relevant school/department by looking at the pages of current students and trying to figure out if/how many got their UG degree at the same institution. As for other schools, it's fairly standard to transfer to a better school with better opportunities. Assuming that the better school actually has more to offer, it should be pretty easy to write something in your SOP discussing all the new opportunities you got once you transferred. If you take advantage of them and keep your grades up, I don't think anyone would be concerned about this issue. 

Sorry for the confusion. I'm currently undergrad and look into PhD. And I did get some confirmation here and there about Berkeley doesn't tend to take their own undergrads (as for MCB).

[ilovelab]

18 hours ago, CrowZzzz said:

So... right now I am in a tier 2 UC and have a well off GPA (3.9) but I got accepted to a top UC which was my dream school. However I have super hard time deciding. 

I am second year right now but I am pretty sure I can graduate next year, meaning that I should apply this December, if I stay. I aim to do biochemistry and molecular focus program. Right now I am working in an immunology lab. My PI is not very famous but I am very close with him and I am pretty sure I can get a letter from him later. I also get a fellowship in my home institution and I will be doing some molecular bio/genetic engineering research over the summer and present at a undergraduate conference (hard to say if there will be any paper).

For some personal reasons, I have to stick at bay area for my graduate studies so I basically only have UCB, UCSF and Stanford. All of them sound like a far reach tho. If I transfer, I should have around 1.5 years at UCB. And I also heard that graduate schools don't tend to admit their own undergrads. If so, it sounds like I have a smaller chance getting into UCB if I transfer? But is it transferring will look better to other schools?

Don't. No School is going to care that you went to UCB vs UCSB/UC Davis etc. Your GPA is excellent just focus on getting a good GRE score and you will be fine for grad school apps. You are already working in a lab getting research experience which is the most important piece of your application for graduate school. You can always get an RA/Lab tech position at one of these schools after you graduate. 

 I transferred from one UC to another. Even though they were both on the quarter system I had to repeat quite a few classes since there was no transfer agreement in place. I had to repeat GE's again. Its not worth the hassle and extra money... trust me. Unless you already have the transfer agreements with your respective department at UCB don't risk it. 

[Victorious Secret]

Tier 2 UC could mean a lot of things. Are you talking about Merced/Riverside or Irvine/Santa Cruz, or Davis/Santa Barbara? They're all on different levels. I would say if you're at Merced, moving up to Berkeley would be a smart thing to do. But if you're at UCSD or Davis now, or a UC of a similar caliber, the marginal difference is much less, and probably not worth it unless you know that your personal situation will be better at UCB.

I don't know what your major is right now. You mention doing a biochemistry/molecular focus, I assume you mean in grad school. 

ilovelab is right to mention that you may need to re-take some things. But the CAN system, assuming that is still in place, means that the process is somewhat simplified over a public to private or out of state transfer. You should be able to get a good grasp from Berkeley of what you still need to take based on the transfer credit they assign. Also, I sometimes recommend that students who are going to graduate early stick around for an extra semester if they can afford it (such as, when scholarships or mom&pop's money make such a scenario possible. A couple of extra advanced or graduate electives, coupled with more time to do research and generate relationships for LORs, can mean the difference between an acceptance and a rejection at highly competitive institutions. Also, consider that Berkeley is known to have very difficult STEM classes, and your GPA may bear the brunt of that. At the end of the day, it is mostly your disciplined intensity and academic viciousness that will get you into grad school, and not a brand name school. But brand names still count for something. 

Even if you ultimately choose not to transfer, congratulations on your acceptance.