Now that I'm done with my 2nd year of undergrad, I've managed to get admission into the best college in the country (by a country mile). No transferring credits though - and I'll have just turned 20 when I join (if I join).
That's pretty much the gist of it - should I leave my Top 10 college for the Number One college? Since I'm joining at 20, will it be too late? I'll be graduating at 24 - do you think it's worth it? Will future employers look upon this switch negatively?
I don't know which country you're talking about, but I'd be really surprised if nothing transfered between two top universities in the US, so I'm kind of surprised that would be the case anywhere else.
As others have said, the age isn't really a big deal though. If you had something else going on, and were just starting college at 20, no problem.
As far as should you abandon 2 years of credits to switch from a top ten school to the number one school…I just can’t imagine the benefit outweighing the cost. Starting your career 2 years earlier is probably going to be of more value.
As far as (1) goes, I had around 5000 students in my career (give or take). Some were starting college in their 20s (e.g. after working right out of high school, or having served in the military). But I had students starting school in their 30s, 40s, 50s (!), though the oldest tended to be people who were returning for a second degree (very often they wanted to teach, which is just wonderful). The majority completed their degrees. They seemed to get along with their younger peers pretty well, though that depends on personality. (I'm thinking of a couple of guys in their 50s who'd sit in the tutoring room happily studying with students who were young enough to be their grandkids.) It helps to not be too self-conscious ("I'm so much older than my classmates"), and to think of the people around you in terms of commonalities rather than differences (e.g. you're all students).
People who had been away from school for a while would probably have a bit of rust, but it was more than made up for by "life experience" - for instance, knowing what you want, understanding that you need to work at things (and being able to do it), having the ability to self-monitor (which seems to develop on average in the late teens to early 20s).
I'm not sure how much of the above is relevant to OP's situation, but I hope it helps.
But, I'm not really sure about value of difference in top 1 vs top 10...
But, personally I would consider the degree more if that is different. Will the new one be more interesting?
There will be plenty of 20-year-olds where you transfer, and no one will care what year you technically are. Don’t worry about that. College is not like high school.
As other commenters have noted, the big question is whether you want to spend the extra time in school (and spend the extra money for the extra time - college debt is serious business!) But you know your own situation best, and an extra couple years of classes can be spent profitably if you’re thoughtful about how you use them.
But, here’s another possibility to consider- finish undergrad at your current place, and then go for a Master’s degree at the more prestigious school? It’s an extra two years in either case, and then you have a whole postgraduate degree as well.
This made no sense to me (especially because who agrees on "the best" college) but then I realized you probably aren't talking about the US.
So I doubt advice from Americans who have no clue what schools you are talking about will be helpful.
Is accreditation a thing for these schools like in the US? I would expect that accredited schools in the US would allow transferring credits, especially those in the "top ten" however defined.
Why not pour yourself into something you love professionally and take some risk. Eventually you may develop a mindset that you're too old to task risks in life.
Sorry, I'm not big on traditional education since it's just a business model that locks people into debt they can't escape.
Life is the best university there is out there. Its admission is just time and effort.
Note: I'm a high school drop out so don't pay me no mind :)
Changing your major / school a bunch of times is a good way to not finish.
Employers want to see initiative and critical thinking (debatable?)