I currently attend Georgia State University, and I participate in their Honors College. I initially selected GSU because their nursing school is one of the best in the state, and because they gave me a generous scholarship of $3000/yr for the time that I am here. Recently, I changed my major to Biology with a concentration in Microbiology. I want to become a clinical microbiologist, I plan to attend grad school, and my dream job is to work at the CDC. I am now considering transferring to UGA because they actually have a Microbiology major, and also because it is a more prestigious school than GSU, which I think will help with future internship and job opportunities. I am a sophomore, and I currently have a 4.0 GPA and think I have a shot at UGA’s Honors College. However, money will be a problem because UGA is more expensive than GSU and if I transfer, I will lose the $3000 scholarship. My plan right now is to just apply to transfer and see if UGA will offer me any scholarships and financial aid. Is it worth it to transfer? How important is the level of prestige for my undergrad degree? Will employers and grad school admissions prefer I attend the honors college of the lowered tiered school or the more prestigious school?
isn’t one advantage of a Honors college supposed to be the personal advising? Have you been working with an advisor at GSU to discuss this? With someone at the career center to help develop a plan on how to best prepare for your career, as well as to understand the educational options/requirements (eg. MS or PhD)? If its the CDC you want my guess (but I’m no expert here) is that they expect a PhD.
As far as prestige it’s a small factor if indeed any at all in relation to others. Experience is going to be a big factor for getting into a good PhD program (as well as the personal letter of rec from the lead researcher singing your praises). Also important are strong letters from some of your undergrad profs. If you aren’t already working in a lab on campus then you’ve fallen behind your peers across the country that will be competing for admission to summer internship programs including the CDC, and later to grad school. And access to these on-campus positions is something that your Honors college is supposed to facilitate.
If IU were to stake out a position, it would be this. If you take advantage of all the resources you already have thru Honors such as access to research positions, the opportunity to find an advisor to write a thesis or do a small piece of independent research, the advising, then you will be well positioned for grad school no matter your undergrad college.
edit: I just saw your thread from last week http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/1850354-college-isnt-working-out-like-i-thought-it-would.html in which it appears you have many more issues than just academic. Before you make any more rash decisions I suggest you work with a counselor at http://counselingcenter.gsu.edu/services/counseling-services/ to help resolve your personal issues and figure out a way to make the transfer decision
Thank you for your answer. I am actually going to meet up with an advisor soon to discuss this. As for last week’s post, I totally regret posting it because I was at such a low point at that time and didn’t think things through. My decision on whether to transfer now is based solely on finances and academics. My Honors College doesn’t have many resources for bio majors like me. Most of the opportunities that they provide are usually for business majors. I have also looked into working in a lab on campus, but I have not been able to find any. I wonder if UGA will have more opportunities like that, considering they actually have a micro major.
Have you carefully studied the requirements for microbiology major at UGA? If I’m not mistaken, you are required to take:
Calculus: MATH 2250
General Chemistry I & II, Organic Chemistry: CHEM 2211-2211L & 2212-2212L
Organic Chemistry: CHEM 2211-2211L & 2212-2212L
Physics: PHYS 1111-1111L & 1112-1112L or 1211-1211L-1212-1212L
Biochemistry (BCMB 3100)
Did you do AP Calculus (or Pre-Calc), Physics and Chemistry courses in high school? One of my kids major in Microbiology & Immunology in College and was “surprised” by the fact that he had to take Calculus II as part of his degree requirements.
You do not need to major in microbiology to go to grad school in that field. A solid undergraduate degree in general biology and/or chemistry with excellent grades, excellent GRE scores, excellent letters of reference, and a clearly written statement of purpose, will be good enough.
Since it looks like money is a big issue for you, talk with the people in the biology department where you are right now about your academic and career goals, and find out what you can do at your current university that will help you achieve them.