I applied to a few colleges as a freshmen and got into all of them. I spent hours on all of my essays and perfected them so would it be an option to reuse those? It’s only been one year and everything I said previously still stands so I don’t see how i could better them. Would colleges care/notice?
If you mean reusing the essay for the same school, yes, they will notice. They will pull up your freshman app when evaluating you as a transfer. I wouldn’t reuse.
Many schools keep your file active, meaning that if you applied and were accepted for freshman year, and you are now applying to transfer (during your freshman year), you won’t have to reapply with a full application. Those schools typically just ask for your college transcript and a “why do you want to transfer” essay.
Reach out to the admissions officer from your home region and/or the admissions officer who handles transfers. Tell them you realize that not choosing their school originally was a mistake and ask what steps you need to take to transfer.
What if you were wait listed at that school? Would they still pull up your previous application?
If you are applying to school you previously applied to then it woudl be best to write a new essay. If you are applying to a new/different group of schools then I guess it would be fine (perhaps update it a bit though).