i'm an int'l student who just came to a not-that-good school (ranked 80) without even applying to better ones ('coz the deadlines were over). i'm now thinking about throwing out a few applications as a transfer student. i believe that i have a decent chance of being accepted at some of the top 50 schools (minus top 20). is it worth switching to a school just because it is slightly better than your current one? we do have one or two decent research groups here. but i'm worried that the quality of my phd program could hurt me because i aspire to make a career in academia..suggestions?
if i switch, would it be better to wait until i get my master's from here?