Transfer to GaTech or stay at state school (Oregon State)

Transfer Students
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Hi everyone,

I’m a current first-year undergrad student at Oregon State with a conditional pathway transfer offer to GaTech. I’m currently debating if I should transfer. I’ve written down the nitty gritty details below, but feel free to skip to the end for a tl:dr.

At Oregon State, I’m already involved in a lab under a professor and graduate student mentor, both of whom I really enjoy being around and put in effort for me and my personal growth. I’m also pretty well integrated into a high-performing engineering club with a great energy and atmosphere. It’s also pretty queer for an engineering centric club, which I really enjoy.. I’ve made good friends here and I like the general vibe of the campus and community. I’m also a year ahead in credits, so I could easily graduate in three years or add on a minor (or even major) if I wanted to. OSU also has an extremely good internship program for engineers that pays well and I would like to do in the future if I stay.

However, Georgia Tech is in Atlanta, a city, which is extremely appealing for me. It’s also further away from home and more academically challenging (classes at OSU feel pretty easy so far) which will push me more as a person. I’ve visited the campus and loved it. Beyond ideas like prestige and opportunity, the push of personal growth is what draws me there most. My mom especially wants me to transfer, and though I know I shouldn’t let my parent’s opinions dictate my decisions, she’s a great mother and I truly value her opinion as someone who wants the best for me.

I feel like my whole life I’ve always played it pretty safe, never making any big, risky decisions that might put me into discomfort. This is probably one of my best opportunities to do that and really push my personal growth.

But at the same time, I might be trading a situation I really enjoy for one that I might not. If I do end up at GaTech and for some reason or another, I don’t like it, I’d be pretty wrecked. Not to mention, my English course requirement credit might knock me off the pathway. I’ve taken four English courses, but since OSU’s a west coast quarter school, I have no idea if GaTech will accept those credits (yes, I’ve emailed and checked the transfer equivalency table and done everything I’ve can) and there’s always the possibility my application will get denied.

And of course, classes being easier at OSU means I have more free time to dedicate to myself, fun personal projects, clubs, etc, and also advance my hobby, drawing, which means a lot to me. GaTech is also more expensive but my parents have saved a lot of money for my college fund, luckily, so it’s less of a deal. I’m also a little worried about GaTech, as I’m queer and alt, and OSU definitely has a stronger “vibe” of that than GaTech did when I visited.

Tldr: I’m well integrated into OSU but I want to push myself and grow as a person at GaTech, but I’d be giving up a lot of advantages I have at OSU.

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You don’t know this to be the case. Don’t conflate perceived rank with rigor.

You’re in a dream situation at OSU. I’d stay. Are you in Honors or have you considered it?

Loving your college situation is awesome. Many don’t. And going to Ga Tech doesn’t ensure you career success.

Your mom isn’t going to school. You are. You love Atlanta - then apply for jobs there post college. OSU won’t prevent that from happening.

Congrats and good luck.

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Whether or not the school is good for you in this respect, note that state laws in Georgia are much less friendly than those in Oregon.

Assuming that you are an engineering major, you will find rigor at either school.

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I feel like your win-win option here would be to finish your undergrad at Oregon State and then go to GT for a masters. Since GT is likely to take longer anyway, this would allow you to get an advanced degree in a similar amount of time while spending less money and also getting all of the benefits of the good fit and momentum that you currently have at OSU. You’d still be a GT grad in the end, without giving up a good thing where you are.

A lot of students don’t thrive in their first year of college the way you are. I’d say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it; Georgia Tech isn’t going anywhere.

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There are two parts here, and both are very highly positive. Being involved in a lab is big. This is important and will help you to grow as a person and as an engineer or scientist. Also, you enjoy it. Given that you enjoy it, you are likely to do well. All of this gives you good experience and also might eventually provide you with a good reference. This is all very positive.

This is also very positive.

Again, this is positive.

There are some very good universities that offer one year master’s degrees, or 1 1/2 year master’s degrees. I think that GT is one. Stanford is another (I am biased, it is where I went, I loved it, and the various students in the same program had come from a huge range of undergraduate universities).

There are some downsides to being that far from home, particularly for undergrad. I did go “that far from home” for a master’s degree, but when you are in your mid 20’s this is easier in multiple ways (unless you end up married with kids, in which case you probably just don’t do it).

Occasionally we have heard from students who transfer and regret it. I have seen a few posts here on CC, and have heard of a few other cases. This is rare, but does happen.

Classes are likely to get tougher as you get into upper year classes.

That is what it looks like to me also.

If you really do graduate in three years, and if you can afford to do so, and if you want to do so, then you might want to consider GT for a master’s degree. Sometimes people do this with no work experience or only internships. However, a lot of students get some work experience after getting a bachelor’s degree before getting a master’s. GT will still be there if you want to do this at some point in the future.

And you could graduate where you are, and then apply to jobs in Atlanta.

To me, it sounds like you are in a great place where you are right now. Best wishes.

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Thank you guys for all your input! It’s help dissuade a lot of my worries and I think you guys are right, I have time and can def go to GaTech or elsewhere that’s out of my comfort zone for my undergrad. I really appreciate all the help :smiley:

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I can understand how your mom got attached to the idea of the GT transfer. She’s not the one who has been on campus at OSU every day, experiencing what great opportunities you have there. She’s proud of you for getting into a “big name” school out of state, which is probably a more unusual path for students in your cohort than going to OSU, the top public university for engineering in your home state. The “familiarity breeds contempt” effect can be strong, and going to a well-known school far away can feel more “special,” and she wants that for you.

But in all reality, Oregon State is a phenomenal engineering school, and as you have experienced, there is a wealth of opportunities there. You have made great connections already, and starting over would inevitably be a setback in so many ways - socially, in terms of mentorship and EC involvement, and in terms of academic progress toward your undergrad degree.

While it may be true that your intro classes would have been more intense and competitive at GT, I don’t think it necessarily follows that your upper-division classes at OSU will lack the depth and challenge of their GT counterparts. ABET engineering is challenging everywhere, and among engineering schools, Oregon State is in no way considered lightweight or easy.

Bottom line, while GT is obviously a top-notch school, I don’t think the assumption that the proverbial grass is greener there is a good one. OSU is serving you well in so many ways.

If staying makes you (or your mom) feel like you’re erring on the side of your comfort zone, perhaps you could take advantage of the breathing room that being ahead on credits allows, and look into studying abroad. Not all engineering schools make this easy, but OSU seems to make the effort to make it possible, and your advanced standing should make it relatively straightforward. Maybe you could even go somewhere with strong visual arts, and pursue your interest in drawing in an exciting city overseas. The chance to have this kind of experience only comes around once, and transferring would probably eat up the time you could have spent doing this. You’ll want to investigate the possibilities now, if this is something you’d like to do - it takes planning that needs to start freshman year.

Between internship opportunities, club/EC leadership opportunities, study abroad, and the excellent core academics, you are not going to lack for ways to push yourself and grow as a person at OSU. Undergrad will be over before you know it, and the momentum you have now is extremely valuable - I personally don’t see the case for starting over, and I don’t think you need to view a decision to stay as a failure to challenge yourself. Choosing one monolithic challenge is not necessarily an improvement over showing up and choosing a variety of ways of challenging yourself in a setting where you already have success to build on. You are not going to run out of challenges to take on, and your record will reflect that you have sought those challenges out.

Good luck; I’m sure you’ll do great no matter what you decide - I just think you should feel 100% free to follow your heart and value the great thing you have, right where you are.

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Hi, if you don’t mind me asking, what are the course requirements by major for you and what courses are you planning to take at OSU to fulfill them for Georgia Tech? I’m in the same situation of wanting to take the Tranfer Pathway however I’m not sure which classes to take even after looking at all the resources you did as well (Transfer Equivalency Table, Course Catalog).