<p>I am at GWU. I don't really find fault in the academic programs here; in fact, I think they're great. I have had more opportunities here than most have elsewhere.</p>
<p>However, I want to transfer. GWU was not my top choice; I hate the campus; the student body is on the fringe left while I am very conservative politically and socially; I am disgusted with the way the school's administration gouges us and wastes money on ridiculous things like giving the president a four million dollar salary and buying all freshmen books on civility; I desperately want a traditional school with some school pride. </p>
<p>Are these things bad to write about?</p>
<p>Yes, they are. While it’s okay to write about non-academic topics, writing about vague abstractions is not. What does “traditional” even mean? It’s too relative/subjective. Do you mean Bob Jones University traditional or Dartmouth traditional? What does “school pride” mean exactly? Are we talking USC level (fanatic) or Penn (a little more subdued, but still present)? Likewise, I can’t think of a single accredited school that doesn’t gouge students and overpay administrators (or have a relatively liberal student body), so those are out too.</p>
<p>I think you need to conceptualize your desire to leave in a more concrete way and do more research. The transfer essay is two-pronged: You must state why you want to leave, but more importantly, you must indicate why school is in a better position to help you than say GWU. Your reasons for wanting to leave are legitimate, but they don’t reflect any frustrated academic objectives or bring to mind any specific programs elsewhere, which is problematic.</p>
<p>LOL. The level of intelligence and of maturity these “very conservative” people seem to possess…</p>
<p>You can apply to BYU, it’s one of the few “very conservative” schools that are still respected academically. It is also fairly inexpensive. But, be warned, they still pay their top officers high salaries.</p>
<p>LOL at you, bud. Look who the close-minded one is. </p>
<p>Oh and buddy, I am not talking about the BYUs and Bob Jones of the world, I am talking about schools like Wake Forest and Boston College.</p>
<p>And, regarding your top officers comment, GWU’s president received the highest salary by far in the nation while places like our library is falling to pieces</p>
<p>To trojan, I planned to state those things much more eloquently in an essay; I quickly wrote the above and didn’t go into any detail whatsoever.</p>
<p>Please, you don’t know what you’re talking about. Your president Steven Knapp earned between $300’000 to $800’000 in 2007 (depending on the source). The alleged $4M payment was not $4M, but rather $3.6M, and not to president, but to president emeritus Trachtenberg who stepped down in 2007 after serving the school for almost twenty years.</p>
<p>Also, you’re absolutely incorrect about your school’s paying “the highest salary by far in the nation.” Many schools pay their regular presidents well in excess of a million. See the link:</p>
<p><a href=“http://money.cnn.com/2005/11/11/pf/college/college_president_pay/index.htm[/url]”>http://money.cnn.com/2005/11/11/pf/college/college_president_pay/index.htm</a></p>
<p>And many pay more than GWU does:</p>
<p><a href=“http://chronicle.com/premium/stats/990/private/private.php[/url]”>http://chronicle.com/premium/stats/990/private/private.php</a></p>
<p>But thanks for showing us the competence of the “very conservative” people.</p>
<p>Thanks again for the info., bud. I knew it was Trachtenberg who received it; hence, I used the word received as in the past tense. I am not the only one outraged by how much he made in 2007 even if it was his last year. Are you happy when AIG execs. receive their million dollar bonuses when their company was faltering? </p>
<p>And it’s not only that, this school spends thousands upon thousands to bring in singers like Sean Kingston who no one likes and whose concert ends prematurely. You think I want Sean Kingston at my school when there are plenty of other uses for that money? Furthermore, the GWU administration is more concerned with spending thousands on green initiatives in order to move up the “green list” instead of trying to move up the USNews list.</p>
<p>I know that some people have their reasons to support these things, and nothing against them at all, but I don’t; I am not trying to make the whole school transfer; I just want to transfer.</p>
<p>OK, how about if I incorporate the fact that you can’t really take that many classes in other schools (I am in the Arts and Sciences school and can only take 20 credits or so in the International Relations) and because of this I think I am missing out on GW’s main selling point- the opportunities that DC provides. I will then explain how BC was my first choice and how it will provide me personally with a better situation academically (better program) and personally for reasons I will outline.</p>
<p>Showing that you prefer the conservative lifestyle is actually a sufficiently good reason for transferring. BYU explicitly says (I think) that many students choose the school because of the lifestyle and “values”. I don’t know if BC is conservative enough in that regard though.</p>
<p>I think there is a misunderstanding. When I sai very conservative, I meant in relation to most the kids here. I am by no means the Evangelical or Mormon conservative you are thinking of; I don’t attend church regularily and many of my social views are moderate. I am not nor is any person in my family into the stereotypical conservative lifestyle. In my op, I meant socially in the sense that I don’t want to go clubbing until 2 am on a Tuesday like many are doing right now.</p>
<p>I suppose that I would say BC is much more competitive than GWU in terms of admission rate for transfer applications. If you think your GPA is high other than the issues inscribed in the non-academic related background, then throw the arrow onto the dartboard for it. You have by no means, expecting a “no-good” presumption for transferring to a different school. However, I would say that Wake Forest would be a good back-up for BC. Try looking up a third school, or BYU (Brigham Young University), like drek’thar suggested. Don’t anyone try to wry my values for lending a support to the OP’s battle-view on GWU’s salary and social affiliation. (GWU is considered a very good school… heck I don’t even know why they still haven’t moved up to top 35 yet).</p>
<p>Hey, let’s all play nicely, shall we? The OP asked a serious question and it needs to be answered objectively and at face value.</p>
<p>Anyway, we’re straying from the point: You need to have compelling reasons to go to a given school other than your perceptions of its character or social atmosphere. You’ll be expected to know a fair amount of what’s in store for you academically and have a solid reason for wanting a degree from there. I mean, really, the idea that one can craft a compelling reason for transferring without substantively addressing academic objectives is facetious at best.</p>
<p>It’s not anyone’s place to judge your feelings or beliefs, but they’re just not enough on their own for wanting to go somewhere. It’s fine to include them (delicately of course), but without demonstrating a sound knowledge of the intended school’s academic offerings, I doubt your essay would persuade.</p>
<p>The way you word it in post #8 sounds much more reasonable. I would list the academic reasons as primary reasons and then list things such as atmosphere and student life as secondary or tertiary reasons for transferring.</p>