<p>The smart thing to do in your "why transfer" essay is talk about the many things you're drawn to at that particular school. What can they offer that no place else offers? </p>
<p>How are you supposed to do that when the "why transfer" can't be college-specific? Make a different Common App account for every school you're applying to? (Is that allowed?) </p>
<p>Supplements? One of my schools doesn't ask for any essays in the supplement (Middlebury). Where can I talk about Midd-specific things?</p>
<p>My advice is to customize the CA essay for each school even though the CA says you’re not supposed to. The CA is a vehicle that is aimed at making the application process easier and should not be making rules IMO. What you put in your application is between you and the school. The fact of the matter is that not all schools have a supplement that asks ‘Why school X?’, and that is one of the most important factors, particularly for transfer students.</p>
<p>The year I applied I could make multiple versions with one account. The tricky thing is that you don’t want your main “why transfer” essay to overlap with a school’s supplement of “why school x?” </p>
<p>I did not customize my “why transfer” essay for each college. My “why transfer” essay was a what I’m looking for at my new school sort of thing (aka what my old college was NOT).</p>
<p>You can still make different versions of the CA, they have a description in their help section. </p>
<p>I agree that the main CA essay should be about the question they ask, why do you want to transfer?, but if there isn’t a supplement that asks, why college x?, then I think it’s a good idea to modify the main CA and add some school specific reasons why that school fits your needs.</p>