Rising Sophomore -- Need school/advice! -- At a turning point.

I am a rising sophomore at nowhere university (Oakland University if you care) and have dreams of breaking into high finance. Not to knock my school (as it is accredited and is recruited by B4 firms), but it has no serious (to me at least) finance recruiting. Additionally, when I reach out to bankers I feel as though I am not taken seriously.

The decision to transfer would seem obvious; however, there a few caveats for my situation.

First, I receive 100% free tuition at my current university. Second, I live for free at home (boring though). Third, I am fairly well known by faculty

Background: I currently have 3.83 GPA with 53 credits completed (a 3.91 after first semester freshman year)
I work at my school's Bloomberg terminal and have the BESS certification. Separately, I am a research assistant for a well-respected finance professor here (I extract big data on Indian stocks for him, 1st recommendation letter). I tutor econ for many students at my school and started doing so by posting creative ads; I consistently "mentor"/tutor a student with Asperger's and coordinate with his dad who is an accountant at a respected local firm (2nd recommendation letter). I also volunteered over 100 hours at my local food bank where I helped organize large amounts of unorganized data on volunteer groups from outlook calendars to excel worksheets. I started and currently manage a small scale (and I mean SMALL scale) car customization service where I install subwoofers, LED lights, and paint cars. I'm also in the process of completing the Wall Street Prep course.

I am passionate about finance and believe I have ability to excel in the field. The only problem for me is getting in the door.

Considering I have free tuition, should I still transfer to achieve my long term goal even if I get into debt?

The big question: Location aside (because I will work wherever an opportunity arise), which of the following schools should I pursue/have the best chance of getting in?

-USC Marshall (looking here the most, but here mixed reviews on job prospects)
-UVA (out of state so I do not know my likelihood of getting in)
-Umich Ross
-Cornell
-Uchicago
-Johns Hopkins??
-NYU - Stern
-Utexas
-Richmond??
-Rochester??
-Northwestern
-Boston college

I'm really anxious about the future, as this is basically my last opportunity to transfer.
I would truly appreciate any tips / advice, but please do not simply cite a transfer rate. I've read up on those, but it is hard to put that in context considering different school policies etc.

Main questions:

Should I transfer to a well known school and get in debt for this goal?
Should I finish undergrad at my current school and get a MSF from a top tier school?
What other schools should I consider?

Also, I apologize for the sloppy writing here in advance. Frankly, I dont have time to revise forum posts these days.

 

I'd suggest you transfer ASAP and take the debt. All of those schools sound good except Richmond and Rochester (not really target or even semi-target). The value of a strong brand name cannot be understated, even in nontarget recruiting. Start writing those transfer apps now

 

UM/Ross has the best chances for you locally available. Sorry for the directness, OU is lightyears behind Ross and peers all around

if you can visit the semi/target schools (Chicago Northwestern UM ND and IU WUSTL) and find a few unique differentiation for each one, you'll have good chances for acceptances.

Saving money is only worth it when you're not losing much. for example, by choosing Ross for someone who could attend ivy leagues. Ross vs. Ivy, not much is lost honestly in opportunities in the grand scheme of things... your place vs. Ross, you're losing a ton of upside by not transferring, as you noticed.

You'll also have trouble adapting to the new learning environment as a warning, because you may be getting that 3.8 with teaching slowdowns to accommodate your 2.0 classmates

 

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