A student writes a transfer essay when transferring to another college or university. University transfer is not easy. It can be a frustrating and stressful process. Writing a good transfer application essay can open the door for more admission offers. Nevertheless, this write-up differs because transfers are also different.
When writing a college transfer essay, you should have a story to tell. Ideally, you should tell your readers why you’re transferring from one college or university to another. This is the most common question for this essay and it’s two-sided. Essentially, it asks you why you want to join a specific college or university. It also asks you why your current learning institution is not a good fit for you.
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Why Write a Transfer Essay?
A question that is likely to hit your mind is, why do transfer students need to write an essay?
Well, this write-up is usually 500 words long. It is an important college transfer application feature. Students write this essay to convince the admission officer to admit them to their learning institution. Writing this essay is also a chance for a student to introduce themselves to their dream school.
Unlike a college admission application essay (“Why do you want to be a doctor essay,” for example), this write-up should state the reasons why a learner wants to leave their current institution and join the one they are applying for. Most admission officers gave more time to go through every common app transfer essay. That’s because they are mostly sent at a time when they don’t have many applications from freshman applicants.
Therefore, your essay should express thoughtful reasons why you want to transfer from your current institution to the one you’re applying for. Pay keen attention to every detail of your essay to enhance your chances of being admitted to the college or university of your dreams.
How to Write a Good Transfer Essay
When writing a transfer essay, focus on making a logical and strong case why your prospective college will be a perfect fit for you. Here’s how to write transfer essay in 7 steps.
- Establish Your Major Core Values
Make your main core values clear from the starting paragraph. Ensure that your readers can identify your core values by tying in them. These may include discipline, imagination, community, and inclusion. Show how your core values have improved. Use your core values to show the audience how they guided you in deciding what to study and where to pursue your studies.
- Explain Why You Opted to Study in Your Current School
This should be a brief explanation. Be specific when explaining your reasons for choosing your current school. Ideally, make sure that the reader can see the thoughtfulness and maturity that guided your initial choice.
- Explain Why You Want to Leave the Current Institution
You’re mainly writing reasons to transfer college essay. Therefore, tell the admission officer of the college you’re applying to about what is not working for you at your current school. Be specific and provide valid reasons. Don’t provide general reasons like location and class size.
Instead, include relevant reasons like unavailability of a specific major you want to pursue, inadequate resources, and unavailability of specific classes. As hinted, each transfer is unique. As such, even the reason why you want to transfer to another institution can vary. Nevertheless, provide specific and valid reasons why you want to go to another college or university.
- Explain Your Achievements in the Current Institution
Show the admission officer that you have made the most from your current learning institution. This is a chance for you to show the admission officer why they should admit you to their institution. Therefore, use your transfer college essay to demonstrate what you have learned during your time in the current institution and how it has changed your mindset. Also, explain the contribution you’ve made towards improving your current institution.
Was your educational experience in the current institution valuable? If yes, tell the admission officer how and why you want to leave the college or university.
- What is Your Dream?
This is a common app transfer essay prompt. Ideally, you should tell the admission officer what you want to pursue or study in their institution. Therefore, make sure that you have a dream career in mind when writing this part of the essay. Also, express your curiosity and commitment level to prove to the admission officer that you will bring value to their institution.
- How Will the School You’re Applying for Help You Achieve that Dream?
Perhaps, this is the most important part of the why transfer essay. Here, you should tell the audience why the institution you’re applying for is the best place for you to realize your dream. Outline every specific reason easily for the reader to understand. Make sure that you do not include reasons that may apply to a different institution. Each of your reasons should be specific to the institution you’re applying for.
- Close Your Transfer Essay Common App
Wrap up your essay by reminding the admission officer of your core values and why you want to join their institution. Be brief and use different wording. Also, tell the reader your plan based on what you’ve learned so far.
How to Start a Transfer Essay
Although this article has highlighted the main steps for writing a college essay for transfer students, many learners struggle to start this write-up. Essentially, not every learner knows how to express their core values. And this makes starting this write-up difficult even when they know how to write a college transfer essay.
So, how do you establish core value in the introduction of this essay? Well, focus on making a great first impression. Make sure that your first paragraph is on point. For instance, explain your suffering in the current institution. Or, what deeper needs is the current institution not meeting?
Compose an essence image to capture those values. For instance, you can say that the current institution doesn’t provide the major you want to pursue. You can also say that your current institution doesn’t have the resources you need to realize your dreams. Be specific because you’re writing a why I want to transfer essay. Therefore, the audience should see the reasons why the admission officer should admit you to their institution.
College Transfer Essay Tips
Although the internet is awash with transfer essay examples, this write-up presents different challenges from those of an admission essay. If you’re struggling with this write-up, here are transfer essay tips to guide you.
Be Specific When Stating the Reasons Why You Want to Transfer
Your essay should present specific and clear reasons why you want to transfer from your current learning institution to the one you’re applying for. A good transfer student essay should exhibit knowledge of the institution a learner is applying for. Therefore, show the admission officer that you know their institution and why it’s a good fit for you. For instance, tell the audience that the institution you’re applying for offers a specific program or course that you’re interested in.
Don’t Talk Bad About Your Current Learning Institution
It’s easy to badmouth the current institution in a common application transfer essay trying to justify the reason why you want to leave it. However, you should avoid this temptation because it will only make you sound ungenerous and unnecessarily critical. The admission officers want to find out if your contribution to their school will be positive. Therefore, don’t appear overly negative when writing this essay because that could be the reason why you won’t impress the admission officers.
Be Responsible for Your Academic Record
Most common app transfer essay community college write-ups do not mention grades. That’s because many applicants don’t want to be responsible for their academic records. Ideally, don’t try to explain your low GPA or bad grade. Don’t even try to blame a mean professor or a roommate for your bad grade. Instead, take responsibility for your bad grades and tell the admission officers that you will improve once you’ve been admitted to your new institution.
Format Your Essay Nicely
Make your essay easy to read. A college transfer essay format should include the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. Use the right sentence starters and transitions to ensure a smooth flow throughout the essay. Introduce yourself and your topic in the introduction. Explain your main points in the body part of your essay. Conclude by wrapping up your main points properly in the last bit of your essay.
Edit Your Essay
Once you’ve written your essay go through it carefully to identify typo, grammatical, and stylistic errors. Attend to the mechanics, tone, and style of your write-up. If possible, seek help from your peers, tutors, or professors, although it might feel awkward. That way, you will avoid submitting a sloppy essay full of errors that you can easily eliminate. Your essay will impress the admission officer if it goes through several revisions by professors and peers.
Frequently Asked Questions about Transfer Application Essay
Q: What do you write in this essay?
A: Your essay should include clear reasons why you want to transfer from your current institution to the one you’re applying for. You may include personal reasons but your academic needs should come first. You should also be positive and meticulous. Avoid speaking badly about your current institution and then revise your essay before submission.
Q: Is writing this essay a must when transferring to a different college?
A: Students have varying reasons for transferring from one institution to another. However, most institutions require learners to write and submit this essay. Although this essay is not a golden ticket, it boosts the admission odds for the applicant.
Q: Are all transfer essays the same?
A: The format for this essay and the idea behind writing it are the same. However, a business school essay may differ from a law school transfer essay in terms of things like the reasons to want to transfer. However, the point of this essay is to explain why you want to leave your current school and join the one you’re applying for.
Q: What is the best way to end this essay?
A: There is no specific way to end this essay. However, one of the most effective ways to write the conclusion paragraph of this essay is to refer to a specific idea that you stated in your introduction. Remind the reader of the main reason why you want to transfer from your current institution to another one. That way, you will give your essay a sense of finality and wholeness.
This article has highlighted almost everything you want to know to write this essay. But, if you still have difficulties drafting yours, contact an online essay writer or read a good sample transfer essay first. The internet has many college transfer essay samples. Look for one with reasons you can relate to and use it as your writing sample.
