<p>What would you advise your son or daughter if he wanted to transfer from Stanford University to your state flagship? Suppose he’s visited the state university many times and even sat in on classes there, and much prefers it over Stanford. Would you support such a transfer? Would you encourage him to apply to Harvard or Yale as well? Would it be a decision he would regret? </p>
<p>I don’t suppose anyone can really answer that last question…but the move would be for social reasons, not academic or financial.</p>
<p>If he much prefers it over Stanford, why wouldn’t you support that choice? It’s his four years, not yours.</p>
<p>And why, oh why, would you want him to apply to "Harvard or Yale as well”? If he prefers the state flagship to Stanford, it’s seems likely he’d prefer it to Harvard and Yale also.</p>
<p>And, remarkable as it may seem, there have been occasional reports of state U. graduates actually leading successful lives . . . ;)</p>
<p>However, the academic and financial aspects of the different schools matter. If the flagship is equal or better in academics for his major(s) and equal or lower in net price, then there is no trade-off. If it is not as good in academics for his major(s) and/or more expensive, then he needs to consider the trade-off there.</p>
<p>@Dodgersmom “And, remarkable as it may seem, there have been occasional reports of state U. graduates actually leading successful lives” —Had to laugh at this, especially since my husband and I went to this state U! As did our parents, grandparents, brothers, nephews, etc.</p>
<p>@thumper–my husband and I met on campus at the state U during my freshman year–our son didn’t meet that “special someone” during his freshman year at Stanford so in a way it is related to a future, unknown girlfriend!</p>
<p>If the son is a freshman, I’d say it’s too early to make that decision. If not, then go for the transfer, unless there’s some extenuating “temporary” circumstance that is the reason for the change of heart.</p>
<p>Oh brother…I didn’t meet my husband until 8 years after I graduated from college…and it was in a new state where I had never lived before.</p>
<p>Does your son really want to transfer so he can find his future girlfriend? There certainly are many young women at Stanford. Maybe someone in THIS freshman class will be “the one”. Or maybe he will meet a friend of a friend.</p>
<p>Ok…having said all that…what is the REAL reason this student wants to transfer? If it’s that he hates Stanford, then maybe he should transfer. But really what does he dislike about Stanford?</p>
<p>Depends on the state, and a couple of other things.</p>
<p>Stanford to Berkeley. OK.</p>
<p>Stanford to Rutgers Not as good.</p>
<p>Stanford to UMinn. Not as good.</p>
<p>Stanford to Oklahoma Not as good. </p>
<p>Stanford to UVA Ok</p>
<p>Stanford to UMich. OK</p>
<p>The other issue is whether his grades are going to be OK. A 3.0 from Stanford is a lot better than a 3.0 from many state flagships…most, in fact. He needs to get higher grades to be as well off. Probably he will, but its up to him. If he’s a big score guy who will also put up high grades, then it probably doesn’t matter much anyway.</p>
<p>I agree with those who say it depends on which state flagship. Where you graduated from really does help with getting an interview. Everyone is pretty cognizant of that right now, I think.</p>
<p>Even if he wants to major in philosophy (Rutgers) or petroleum engineering (Oklahoma)?</p>
<p>Really, there does not seem to be enough information about why he wants to transfer or other relevant factors (major, cost, etc.) that may allow others to give more informed opinions. It is almost as if the thread is trying to start a prestige war.</p>
<p>The OP’s son entered Stanford in 2012 and is majoring in international relations and also studying Russian, and the state university may be Wisconsin (although that is not explicitly stated, it is stated that it is less expensive than other schools).</p>
<p>^^I think you are correct…looking at his old threads…they are from Wisconsin…so he is looking to attend Wisconsin-Madison…</p>
<p>…there was a similar thread earlier this year about a girl who wanted to transfer from Harvard back to the St. Louis area because she was homesick…it may help…</p>
<p>Find out what specifically your son doesn’t like about the Stanford social scene and why he believes that Madison will be better. Sometimes there are work arounds while other times going to a less prestigious school will be worth it because the social issue is inherent to the way the university is structured. Also remind him that there are likely avenues of Stanford that he hasn’t explored given the depth of resources. Finally, make sure he isn’t dealing with an underlying depression or other mental issue as that can make even the perfect fit university seem like an absolute hell hole. </p>
<p>Fwiw, one of my friends at OU is doing her second bachelors in engineering after going to Harvard. She’s said that she wishes she had gone to the school from the get go because she much prefers the state school environment even though there’s far less diversity and resources per student. I’m the same way. I wasn’t much of a fan of either my old LAC or the larger university to which it’s affiliated but LOVE my new school, a mid tier flagship. Some students just prefer that environment and that’s ok. Remember, although Stanford offers far more resources per student, it’s still impossible to take advantage of even 1% of the opportunities at a school like OU or UW.</p>
<p>whenhen - what was her first degree in? I had a class mate in grad school back in the 80s who was going for a PhD in Engineering. He had a degree in anthropology from Harvard and I was wondering why he came to the lowly state school. He said something along the lines of only engineers being taken seriously in the real world. :p</p>
<p>I agree about the social scene at Stanford. It is kind of sort of ridiculous how many different ways a kid can go to entertain himself or be involved. Only thing one can’t guarantee are friends but if you find activities you like, you will find those friends.</p>
<p>Texaspg, she majored in econ. She tried the IB route for a year but realized that she wanted to do engineering above all else (during her UG she worked at MIT, so she had previous exposure to the field).</p>