# Help me pick a college to transfer to. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 26, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-a-college-to-transfer-to/497681 "2009-05-26T14:47:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-a-college-to-transfer-to/497681/21 "2010-01-13T20:16:51Z")
Have you considered U. Wisconsin @ Madison or U. Iowa in Iowa City? Even out of state, you probably won’t break the bank on these, and they’re smaller than Oregon, located in quaint-ish college towns. There’s also UNC. Anyway, I’d strongly consider your prospective tuition before you go–coming out of college with multi (or high) five digit debt can be financially crippling. Good luck. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-a-college-to-transfer-to/497681/22 "2010-01-13T20:25:04Z")
> [@mo50](#): > > If you wanna go crazy on a big name grad school, fine, by that point you’ll have a better idea of what you want, & what you’ll be doing for work. But BAs are dime a dozen, no one really cares where you get yours from. You can get the college experience you want from a state school & still get a good education. Really depends on the classes you take & how hard you want to work. I pretty much agree with this. At least, I hope it’s true. _3/4 done with a very expensive masters degree at a big name school_ ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-a-college-to-transfer-to/497681/23 "2010-01-13T21:41:22Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > I can’t get into Notre Dame, as I am short a math credit. Give the Admissions Department a call. Yes, they have minimum course credits you need (4 years of math, in this case) - but there’s a possible exception for your Air Force experience. It absolutely cannot hurt. Plus, if you have a college level math course, it may count as well. Also, is this your first year at city college? Feel free to PM me for more information. I volunteer for our alumni club at all the local college fairs, and have a very good friend in the Admissions department. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-a-college-to-transfer-to/497681/24 "2010-01-14T00:55:46Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > I’m not sure what you mean by “college”. Is there some connection between Notre Dame, Texas A&M, and University of Oregon that I’m not seeing? I know people that went to all of those schools, and they aren’t necessarily similar types of people. > > Never heard of the schools you applied to. Of course, I’m not a history student, but if you’re going for high name recognition, I don’t know how well you’re doing. College? Oregon? Humanities? Pretentiousness? You must apply to Reed. ETA: Whoops! Quoted the wrong post! ---
**Author:** ![Kiber](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiber/32/317_2.png) [@Kiber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiber)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-a-college-to-transfer-to/497681/25 "2010-01-14T16:07:43Z")
I think you still need to answer some fundamental questions first. For example - size. Do you want a large school or a small one. You mostly mentioned large schools - which are great. You can really get behind an athletic program or whatever else gives you a sense of belonging. However - you can get these from small schools too. So I wouldn’t count them out. And the northeast is absolutely crawling with smaller schools with good history departments and charming campuses. It’ll just be a different college experience. So decide on that first. For me - I got my undergrad in History from a small school in Pennsylvania. Loved it - small school, personal feel, great campus, college-y feel to it. Average class size was under 10 for my last 2 years. But it’s not for everyone - some people really like the big campus life-style. Big time football games, national TV, living in a city, whatever. In my opinion - the difference in quality between different schools is pretty minor for an undergrad history degree. I would first pick what type of school you want (big, small, etc.). Then I’d pick geography - do you want to go somewhere far away? The Northeast? Out West? Then, once you’ve narrowed that down, look at specific schools. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-a-college-to-transfer-to/497681/26 "2010-01-14T16:55:42Z")
> [@Kiber](#): > > I think you still need to answer some fundamental questions first. For example - size. Do you want a large school or a small one. You mostly mentioned large schools - which are great. You can really get behind an athletic program or whatever else gives you a sense of belonging. However - you can get these from small schools too. So I wouldn’t count them out. And the northeast is absolutely crawling with smaller schools with good history departments and charming campuses. It’ll just be a different college experience. So decide on that first. > > For me - I got my undergrad in History from a small school in Pennsylvania. Loved it - small school, personal feel, great campus, college-y feel to it. Average class size was under 10 for my last 2 years. But it’s not for everyone - some people really like the big campus life-style. Big time football games, national TV, living in a city, whatever. I’m looking for a smaller-middle sized campus. The city college I go to now has around 18,000 students, and that’s too big for me. I don’t need to live in a city, and as long as the school is in the North East or the North West, I’m happy. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-a-college-to-transfer-to/497681/27 "2010-01-14T22:15:56Z")
Notre Dame, eww. You need to go to Madison. The University of Wisconsin has a great grad school, tons of highly regarded departments, and most definitely is a “college” feeling university. Madison’s very much a college town. And the campus is pretty. Yeah, it’s way bigger than you’re looking for, but it really doesn’t feel that big (maybe because it’s in a relatively small city.) Yep. You want to go to Madison. You really do. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-a-college-to-transfer-to/497681/28 "2010-01-14T22:24:53Z")
You definitely do not want to live in South Bend. Good Lord. The campus is nice enough, but it ends there. So you’re looking for a relatively small school in the NE or NW–but you mentioned Texas A&M and Notre Dame, neither of which fit either criteria. Hmm. How about Stony Brook? ---
**Author:** ![Kiber](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiber/32/317_2.png) [@Kiber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiber)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-a-college-to-transfer-to/497681/29 "2010-01-15T14:37:53Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > I’m looking for a smaller-middle sized campus. The city college I go to now has around 18,000 students, and that’s too big for me. I don’t need to live in a city, and as long as the school is in the North East or the North West, I’m happy. Well - I’m a bit biased - but if you’re looking for a small school in the NE with a good history department, you can’t go wrong with members of the Patriot league. Excluding Army and Navy (I assume), you’re still left with American (Washington, D.C.), Bucknell (Lewisburg, PA), Colgate (Hamilton, NY), Holy Cross (Worcester, MA), Lafayette (Easton, PA), Lehigh (Bethlehem, PA), Fordham (NY) and Georgetown (Washington, D.C.). Several of these are in large cities, but many are in small towns that have a great small-town college feel to them. In my opinion, you get the greatest kind of classic college feel from Bucknell, Lafayette and Lehigh - all excellent schools. But I’ve been to the other camupses too - and they are great in their own right. Of course, these tend to be pretty pricey - so that may well enter into your decision. And some have religious ties - although if you were considering ND, then that shouldn’t be an issue. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-a-college-to-transfer-to/497681/30 "2010-01-15T14:46:41Z")
Not all Master’s-granting programs accept students from their undergraduate programs… there is often no documented rule about this, but it is worth checking into before making a move to a new school hoping to make a BA-\>MA move… ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-a-college-to-transfer-to/497681/31 "2010-01-15T14:54:58Z")
> [@Kiber](#): > > Well - I’m a bit biased - but if you’re looking for a small school in the NE with a good history department, you can’t go wrong with members of the Patriot league. Excluding Army and Navy (I assume), you’re still left with American (Washington, D.C.), Bucknell (Lewisburg, PA), Colgate (Hamilton, NY), Holy Cross (Worcester, MA), Lafayette (Easton, PA), Lehigh (Bethlehem, PA), Fordham (NY) and Georgetown (Washington, D.C.). They are all good schools, however if debt (or hot chicks) are a concern, the Patriot League might not be for you. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-a-college-to-transfer-to/497681/32 "2010-01-15T15:15:41Z")
Don’t laugh but you might consider Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. Tuition for New York State residents is $2,300 per semester and it ranked among America’s Best Value Colleges in the Princeton Review. The programs are fairly good and although the school is in the city, the campus [looks like a traditional New England college](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BC_Snow.JPG). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-a-college-to-transfer-to/497681.md?page=1)