Multiple "Why Transfer?" Essays on the Common App?

Transfer Students
1

<p>On the Common App transfer application there is an essay that asks why you want to transfer and what you hope to achieve that gets sent to all of the schools you apply to. In addition, most schools usually in include a "Why X University? question in their supplement.</p>

<p>I keep hearing that you need to give specific reasons why you want to transfer to each school in your applications, but it's not really possible to tailor the main Common App essay to a particular school because the other schools will see it.</p>

<p>I know that you can make alternative versions of the common app under the same account, but I'm wondering if it's really necessary to write a different essay for each school in addition to the one in the supplement... I don't want to sound lazy, but that seems like a lot of work and I'm not sure if I'll have enough time to do it well.</p>

<p>Can anyone weigh in on this? Any suggestions for writing a general "why transfer?" essay to be sent to all of the schools?</p>

2

<p>This should clear it up.

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3

<p>Thanks a lot, that did help!</p>

<p>I guess that does make the most sense, and I could probably write a general essay and keep most of it the same, but add some specific details about schools that don’t have a “Why School A?” question in the supplement.</p>

4

<p>When applying for transfer, I used one main essay that only gave the reason why I wanted to transfer - e.g. why I was unhappy at my current school. </p>

<p>As for “Why school X” in the supplement. Do not tailor your main essay to say why school X, I would even extend that to say do not tailor your original essay to be used in the supplement at all. Write a whole new essay for the supplement, for each school. Otherwise your essay may seem too generalized and unspecific. The point of the supplement is to write something critically thought out. The supplement requires more writing for a reason - the school wants to know WHY you want to go there or they want to see they you are devoted to going to school at school X. (E.g. this is why some schools have supplement questions that are completely different from other schools. - U Penn, NYU are two for example)</p>

5

<p>@NYU2013</p>

<p>By tailor I mean writing versions of the main essay with specific details about schools who don’t have a “Why School X” question in their supplement. Of course the supplement questions have to be different from the main essay . Most of those can only be 5 or 6 sentences long, so it should be used for specific things that interest you about a particular school.</p>