I have my Mount Holyoke transfer interview tomorrow and panickedly thought of this now - part of why I am transferring is because after being rejected from Smith as a first year I realized I wish I had applied to more women’s colleges and after touring Mount Holyoke realized it was my dream school. Should I just say; “I was rejected by the only women’s college I applied to as a first year and after you were recommended to me by a friend and I realized I needed to apply as a transfer” or “I was rejected from Smith, which I only applied to since I had a friend who went there” and then the rest. I know Smith and Mount Holyoke don’t have a huge competition against each other but I thought I would ask in case. I don’t want them to think I’m applying to MoHo as like a rebound from Smith because I’m not - I genuinely like Mount Holyoke better and believe it would be a great fit for me after touring both campuses and doing a lot of research. Smith is also a lovely school and I’m applying again because what do I have to lose. I feel like I should have considered MoHo first year especially considering the proximity but I was very unsure of what I wanted in schools and did little research on my own and just went off of where other kids from my school/family members went. I want to touch on that in my interview to show how I needed more time to really think about what I wanted but I don’t want them to feel like I overlooked them in favor of Smith or something because I truly didn’t. Any advice would be appreciated even if it is last minute.
You don’t need to mention Smith, since you are not transferring to there or from there. Talk about how Mount Holyoke appeals to you more than your current college.
@CheddarcheeseMN Thank you! That seems so much more simpler in hindsight. I guess I just want to explain why I chose my school since I chose it really to give me more time to think about what I wanted but once again thank you it seems so simple when you say out loud.
Agree that you should not mention Smith. You can say that you have realized that you would really prefer a women’s college and that after researching, MHC is your favorite because…
@gardenstategirl thank you so much! I guess I thought it didn’t make sense without my long wordy backstory but since both of you pointed out I don’t have to mention much outside of why I like MoHo it makes so much more sense. My interview is in a little over an hour so thank you guys for quick responses and helping to calm my nerves! 
Good luck!
Based on your posts in this thread, you seem kind & likable. You should have no problem whatsoever in an interview. Just remember that Mount Holyoke is your first choice school.
You realized you wanted a women only school and Mt Holyoke appealed to you because …
To come up with ideas for that “because…” look at the “about Mt Holyoke” section on their website and then see what appeals to you and then talk about those things. .
Hope the interview went well!
I think you get it now. But how would you feel if someone asked you on a date because the one they asked before said No? Or, “Why do you like me?” “Well. Mary rejected me so I looked around…”
Thank you everyone for your responses. My interview went well and I think your input also put me in a better mindset for going forward. I shouldn’t be hung up on the past or even try to justify the past like I was so worried I would have to. Once again thank you all for the comments - they not only helped my interview but my Outlook going forward into the transfer application process