How To Write Transfer Essays

If you want to transfer into an elite university, there is only one valid reason that they will accept. Namely, that you have explored your genuinely academic interests as much as you could at your present institution, and along the way, you discovered a different subproblem within that academic interest, or a different interest altogether, and your current institution simply lacks the resources and opportunities for you to pursue this new interest, but the schools you seek to transfer to do. Now, you should be asking yourself, why is this the only valid reason elite universities would accept. Why can’t it be due to finances, or that I’m having trouble making friends, or that I prefer a change in scenery, better weather. Well, let me tell you.

Despite what admissions officers might advertise, the purpose of college isn’t something whimsical, like "discovering yourself" or learning how to make the perfect cup of coffee. The sole purpose of college is to educate you—either so you can contribute in a novel manner to humanity’s collective knowledge through a career in academia or so you can enter the workforce and make a living afterward.

This hard truth isn’t emphasized to high schoolers because many are thrust into the college admissions process with little agency of their own. College is simply expected of them, whether they have thought deeply about it or not. Many of them aren’t considering a career path or what groundbreaking problem in physics they want to tackle while still in high school—they're just thinking about having fun. Admissions officers capitalize on this by marketing college as a wonderland of personal exploration, experimentation, and fun. This attracts applicants and fills their pockets with application fees.

However, applying as a transfer student is a different matter altogether. Transferring to a different college after already being admitted to one is not the cultural norm. As a result, the decision to transfer is one that you have likely considered much more carefully and made with greater personal agency than you did when applying to college right out of high school. Colleges therefore expect transfer applicants to demonstrate a significantly higher degree of maturity and thoughtfulness in explaining their reasons for transferring—reasons that must align with the fundamental purpose of college.

You might argue, “Of course academics are important, but making friends, affording tuition, and enjoying the campus environment are equally significant.” Let’s examine these alternative reasons one by one to understand why they are poor topics for a transfer application. If you mention difficulties in making friends, admissions officers may interpret this as a deficiency in your social skills rather than a failing of your current institution. They have no way of verifying whether your social challenges are truly external, and they cannot guarantee that you will form the desired connections on their campus. Consequently, discussing an unfulfilling social life can only harm your chances during the transfer process. Worse still, if they cannot be sure that you will establish a social network at their school, how can they be confident that you will remain enrolled? Colleges dislike seeing their students transfer to another institution because it results in a loss of tuition revenue. However, what they despise even more is a student who transfers in from another school only to leave again.

Similarly, if you are struggling to pay tuition at your current institution, it raises questions about your decision-making. Admissions officers may wonder why you chose that school in the first place, potentially questioning your judgment and your ability to manage financial responsibilities at their institution. Anything that compels a college to invest extra resources in you compared to another student generally counts against you in the admissions process.

Finally, regarding campus culture and environment, this reason does little to bolster your application. How can a college be certain that you will enjoy their campus when you haven’t lived for more than a year before? There is just as much risk that you might dislike the new environment as there was with your previous institution. Discussing this in your application makes you appear as another flight risk, since no institution can guarantee that you will appreciate every aspect of their campus life over the two to three years you are likely to reside there.

Even if they could verify you’d love their campus, that is still not a compelling reason on its own. They already assume you love their campus. If you didn't like the campus, why would you petition to make it your home for the next two to three years? They already know you like their campus. They also know everything there is to know about their campus. You can’t tell them anything new about it. Connecting your lived experiences to certain elements of their campus traditions would be a smart idea when prompted to do so in your transfer essays, but it shouldn’t be the foundation of your transfer application.

To give colleges the best confidence that you will fully benefit from their offerings and contribute to their student-driven campuses, you need to show the schools you wish to transfer to that you were a model student at your current college. You want to give them glimpses of you making friends, bantering, and taking advantage of the most challenging classes available to you, as well as utilizing research opportunities. You should describe the moment you discovered something that sparked a new passion—one that your current school, objectively, does not offer many opportunities to explore.

For example, if you became really interested in data science but your current school does not have a data science major, you should highlight that. Then, you need to make it clear how the schools you are transferring to have academic opportunities aligned with your new area of interest. Demonstrate to the reader that you truly understand the technical aspects of these opportunities. Finally, convince them that pursuing this new academic path at your transfer school will allow you to make a tangible, positive impact in the world—this will make them root for you to be accepted.

When it comes to your supplemental essays, don’t stray from your hook and your new academic interest. It needs to seem like an obsession in your essays. That is how you will convince them that you are transferring for the right reasons and how you will carve out a place for yourself on their campus.

One last thing: please don’t say anything negative about your current college. Colleges stand by one another. Harvard is not going to tolerate you trashing Michigan State and talking about how low it is ranked compared to Harvard. Keep the negativity out.

Also, no sob stories. Those, at best, have a neutral impact in the admissions process straight out of high school, but they will almost certainly have a negative impact for transfer admissions.

If you want to maximize your chances of getting into your dream school as a transfer student and want the straight facts regarding the transfer admissions process, schedule a free consultation with an admissions expert today!