What are the best school(s) I could potentially transfer to?

Transfer Students
1

Hi,

I want to transfer for next fall, and I"m looking for input on where to apply.

To give some background; I spent 2 years at a second tier liberal arts school, majoring in political science.
In my time there I got a 3.48 gpa (mediocre, I know). My ECs were similarly mediocre; an assortment of clubs, radio djing, a few leadership positions in my fraternity.

Anyways, I hated the school, and left after two years, with no intentions other than to leave.

About a year ago, I was very lucky to land a job at one the big 3 consulting firms (MBB). Granted, it’s an entry level admin/facilities job, but hoping the prestigious name and unique experience will help my otherwise unexceptional application.

Fast forward 2 years after leaving school (to the present day), and I certainly feel ready to return to college. I’m much more mature than I was, and my intellectual interests are far more developed and refined. For those reasons, I think I can write a really good essay, and demonstrate that my potential is significantly higher than what is indicated by my grades.

Given all this, what are the best schools that I could reasonably get into? I have no idea at what type of schools would accept me. I’d like to go to the best ranked school possible, where I can surround myself with motivated, and high achieving peers.

I’d appreciate any advice or input!

2

Anyone?

3

You should give more info about majors, geographic preferences, urban/rural, financial constraints, etc.

4

I’m majoring in Political Science, I have no geographic preference, although I do prefer being in a urban area. I’m really open to whatever, so long as the school is well ranked and very rigorous. One of the few factors that makes a difference to me is school size. I don’t want to go to a school under 4,000. I had a very negative experience at a small college, after going to a very large high school, and I now realize that many small schools have atmospheres similar to high school. Other than that, I’m really intent on finding a school with intense students. If I could go to any school, I would choose UChicago, because I’ve heard that the school attracts many intellectually serious students. Although I obviously can’t attend a school of that caliber, I think that at higher ranked schools I’m more likely to find students who fit that mold. I find that being around people like that challenges and develops my thinking, while keeping me intellectually motivated.

Unfortunately, I do have financial constraints, my family income is only ~65k, and I have a sibling in college. However, I’m lucky to have large sum of money saved up to pay for school, ~45k.

Hopefully this gives a more clear picture of my situation.