Transfer Essay General Theme

Transfer Students
1

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>I am relatively new to posting on this forum (although I have lurked around here during my later high school years) so I don't know if this is in the right place.</p>

<p>I am a freshman at UMass Lowell, and I don't like it here and I have decided to transfer. Should the essay be more focused on the school I want to leave, or the schools I want to go to? The things I don't like about the school I am at include the split-up campus, the large commuter population, and the large classes. I am planning on applying to transfer to several smaller, suburban, private schools that i was previously accepted at (wait listed at one, but it was a rolling admissions school and i got my app in late).</p>

<p>My second question is should I write a different essay for each school, focusing on specific things I like at each school? All four of my schools (Quinnipiac, Stonehill, Saint Anselm, Merrimack) all fall under the general category of small, suburban schools that offer smaller classes and better campuses. Should I focus on the specifics of each campus, or talk generally about the kind of school i want to go to? Is the transfer essay supposed to be creative like the freshman application essay? Or should I be more formal? I have done enough reading to know I shouldn't slander my current school on the way out btw.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance</p>

2

<p>It’s called the ‘common’ app because it’s meant to make your life easier by having the same essay sent to multiple schools. </p>

<p>I would talk about what you want to accomplish at your new school and stress why the new environment would help you. </p>

3

<p>I understand that the common app streamlines things, but I have heard that some people submit multiple essays slanted at specific schools. I was wondering if this would be an advantage to a transfer student, mentioning specific features of specific colleges, is what that was about.</p>

4

<p>Given the prompt, CA main transfer essays are generally more straightforward and less creative than fr essays. </p>

<p>The main CA essay can address both what doesn’t work with your current school (without bashing it) and what you are looking for in your new school.</p>

<p>IMO you should discuss some specifics about each school you are applying to. Where you do it depends on whether this can be addressed in the college’s supplement or not. If a Why College X? question is asked in the supplement, then the CA main essay can be more general. However, if there is no supplement or that question isn’t asked, then you should make an alternate version of the CA to have your essay discuss school-specific aspects.</p>