Transfer student seeks advice

Hi,

I am currently at local state university on a full scholarship but I
feel that I have exhausted their resources and am not being
challengend enough. During High School I had low marks for my
freshman/sophomore years but began earning all A's throughout
Junior/Senior years, making a culminative G.P.A of 3.3. Currently I
have a 4.0 in Biomedical Engineering; Do I still have a shot to
transfer to schools such as Stanford, Duke or Georgetown.

Thanks

There are a lot of factors involved in a transfer decision, and in
acceptance by the target college.

I must preface my remarks by saying that most of my research and experience
with transfers has involved community college transfers, which are a
slightly different subject.

First...what are your plans after completing your bachelor's degree? If
they include grad school, then perhaps a transfer is not a good move. OTOH,
if you plan on entering the workforce on graduation, then it might be worth
considering.

Second...what is the reputation of your state college? If you don't want to
mention its name, that's understandable, but give us a clue...Northeast,
South, large, small, USNews top 50 or fourth tier, something to go on.

Third...Georgetown is not a name which springs to mind for biomedical
engineering. I'd suggest you add several of the University of California
campuses to your list, e.g. Berkeley, UCLA, and UC San Diego. You may also
find programs of interest at other UC campuses. If you must have a private
school, consider Cornell, and of course Cal Tech and MIT.

I cannot speak to the other two colleges, but Stanford is a tough transfer
admit.

One of the major factors in a college's admission decision for a transfer is
the attrition rate in their lower division. Colleges often don't feature
this statistic, so you may be best served by going to the appropriate
department directly before talking to the admissions office.

But...I'd carefully weigh the option of remaining at your current
university. As a sophomore (I'm guessing, since you didn't state your
current level), you probably have not hit the full variety of courses in
your major yet. Your current home may have more to offer than you expect.

Best of luck,

Hank Murphy
speaking only for myself