Should I Transfer Or Stay

Had thoughts on possibly transferring lately. Currently a sophomore at Michigan State University. Got a 4.0 GPA freshmen year and currently headed toward a 4.0 for this semester. Extracurricular wise currently the Sophomore Class President and involved with Student Government. SAT score mediocre at 1320 2 parts.

I hope to do management consulting at one of the Big 4's or Accenture. MBB would also be a possibility as a reach.

Would you give the advice of staying at my school, would it be holding me back? Would it also be risky transferring to school and starting over GPA wise and extracurricular wise, would the new improved school outweigh the costs if I make it in? Schools I am thinking of possibility transferring to are Cornell, Penn (CAS or Wharton), Columbia, Duke, UVA (Mcintire), Michigan, Georgetown.

 

Having multiple close contacts in msu and um, you should try transfer if money affairs doesn't bother you. Others are brave and achievable, but I'm concerned with your repositioning because you have less time to sink in.

 

you should transfer to U Michigan. Their business program has strong placement into finance and consulting. with your background, you should easily get in.

I wouldn't choose to transfer to other private schools on your list, except wharton. I'm assuming you're in-state for michigan, in which case you should take advantage of in-state tuition at U Mich. No reason to dish out 10's of grand for undergrad degree, when you have a strong school as an option at a reasonable price.

 
Best Response

OP I didn't go to a target, so take my advice with a grain of salt...

People- are you really saying that this guy who is the president of his class at a very large university (MSU has to have 30k undergrads at least) with a seemingly established network of classmates should leave the school? Come on. At some point there's more than just "going to a target". If you think that someone with a 4.0 from Michigan State (it's not like it is some obscure directional school) is not going to get interviews from consulting firms you are mistaken.

Again, I don't work in consulting OP, but I'd say stay. Just get on linked in, take advantage of OCR, and network your way into a spot. I don't have any doubts that if you had enough motivation to be class president you'll be able to get a spot in the consulting firm of your choice.

 

My old firm was a boutique, but we had our core schools all of which WSO would consider target/semi-target. Of analysts, consultants and EMs probably 70%+ went to a core school. Obviously, the OP is accomplished and has strong grades, but in consulting far more so than banking, school matters. I think ACN/Big 4 are doable and with networking you have a shot at MBB/Tier 2 and 3. If you just had great grades I'd say transfer, with the ECs, I don't know that I would.

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