<p>The Common Application says "Please provide a statement (250 words minimum) that addresses your reasons for transferring and the objectives you hope to achieve.
Note: The Common Application essay should be the same for all colleges. Members that wish to review custom essay responses will request them on their Supplement form." Am I right in inferring that the essay is supposed to be a general explanation of why an applicant wants to transfer from his or her current school, rather than a specific explanation of why he or she wants to transfer to the schools he or she is applying to? As it's a common application, details that pertain to a specific institution can't be included, right? I think this limitation makes writing a compelling transfer essay hard. =/</p>
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The majority of schools will have a supplement where the question is why do you want to attend this institution. Use the essay for general comments, and then the supplement to articulate why school X is a good fit.</p>
<p>One of the colleges I’m applying to is Dartmouth, which doesn’t have a supplement component to its application…</p>
<p>While the CA makes that statement, IMO the purpose of the CA is to facilitate the application process for the student and college, not make up their own restrictions. However, it is up to each individual to determine whether they want to make multiple versions of the CA to accommodate different essays. Many fr and transfer students do this because schools vary widely in their supplemental requirements, and as you have found, some do not have “Why college X?” essays.</p>
<p>My advice is to have one CA version with a generic main essay for those schools that do have supplementals that ask why you want to attend, and alternate CA versions with the main essay addressing specifics for each school.</p>
<p>As I said, the decision is up to you. I can tell you that in all the years I have been on CC, no one has reported having a problem with the CA for making alternate versions for different essays, including both my kids.</p>