For those that are applying for trasnfer to Rice via commonapp: is it just the two 150 word short answers and the box that we need to do? I didn’t see anything about the 650 word commonapp essay.
Not sure about the transfer app, but for the freshman app, the longer essay doesn’t show up until you fill in what school you are applying to. This is because architecture has its own unique question. Try filling out all of the preliminary info and see if it shows up.
The big essay was needed at least for the transfer class of 2016. I would imagine it would still be in effect. Seems like it would be quite a jump to remove that essay considering how big of a part it plays in terms of the written portions of the application. I would think Faulkner is correct in that the essay doesn’t initially show, making it appear to not be a part of the commonapp at first glance.
Hi, I have the same question as op.
The larger 500 essay does show after I select a school to apply to. However, I am wondering about the main common app essay (one required for all schools I am applying transfer to) and if that is required. After all, don’t we have to have reasons for transferring out of schools?
Not necessarily. People have all sorts of reasons to transfer. You can say, to some extent, that the majority of transfers are not satisfied with their current institution and/or are appealed by another institution, but the exact reason(s) may greatly vary. For example, some people may want to transfer due to curriculum, others for social life, or geographic location, or financials, or extracurriculars, or campus culture, and so forth. In fact, I would think one person could have totally different reasons for transferring to each respective institution to which they are applying.
In any case, whatever approach you take to write your essay, DO NOT write as if you’re just listing out grievances and complaints of your current institution, however reasonable they may be. Indeed, you may end up just sounding like you have an attitude problem rather than a justification to transfer. Instead, I think politely writing about how your new institutions and/or a change of scenario may be a better fit for you would put you in a better position.