While it’s true that transferring colleges is common, there is a major misconception floating around about the process. A lot of people think that transferring is easy, and that if you want to end up at Harvard, you can start out at a state school and transfer in your sophomore year. This is very much not the case.
The idea of “trading up” sophomore year should not be a part of your application strategy. This is because top tier schools have very high retention rates and when they accept transfer students, they are only looking to replace the ~3% of students that left. They don’t technically have to admit anyone, and very few students decide not to return to Harvard their sophomore year. Admissions counselors will look to fill any holes they see, but it’s impossible to predict exactly what they’re looking for during any given year.
All of this means that before you decide to transfer, you need to figure out exactly why you want to transfer. And you need solid reasons. The process is simply not worth it if you’re wishy-washy on the specifics and unclear on what you’re trying to achieve. You’ll send in your applications around March of your freshman year, and if you get in, you’ll start at your new school fall semester of your sophomore year. There are very few top-tier schools that accept transfer students during the middle of freshman year.
Below you’ll find four main steps of the transfer process, but fair warning: these steps all take a lot of time.
Decide whether or not you should transfer. Then make lists:
An obvious step. We have worked with a number of transfer students at TKG and the first thing we do is get down to the bottom of why transferring is the best move. There are many factors that can cause a student to want to transfer, but academics usually top the list. Maybe you just decided what you want to major in, but it’s not offered at your school. It could also be that you’re looking to refine your major, perhaps from psychology to biopsychology and that is not offered at your current institution. Maybe you thought that large lecture halls would be a welcome change from your high school, but now you’re feeling overwhelmed and lost in class.
The location of your school can also be a reason, but we don’t mean the weather. “I just realized how cold it gets in Wisconsin” will not make for a solid transfer essay. However, internship and job opportunities (or lack thereof) is a common reason we hear from clients for wanting to transfer. If you realized that you want to study marine biology, but you’re nowhere near an ocean, you might want to transfer.
You should also take stock of the people who you are surrounded by. Socially speaking, does your school match your needs? “There are no fun parties” is not a good reason to transfer. But if you’re feeling disengaged or uninspired, then that is something to consider. You don’t want to be the smartest person in all of your classes, but this can go the other way too. You should be challenging yourself, but you shouldn’t be constantly floundering. Both your peers and your professors should inspire you to push yourself to perform at your best, but if you’re always stressed/overwhelmed/on the verge of tears, you might not be at the right school.
If the above made you realize that transferring is something you want to consider, it’s now time to make a list of all of the reasons as to why you want to transfer. For the initial list, write down everything that comes to mind. You’ll come back to this list as you start considering what you need in the future.
Once you have a list of all of the things that aren’t working at your current school, make a list of things that you’re looking for in a transfer school. You should only be applying to transfer schools that offer specific aspects that your current institution doesn’t, or else you won’t be able to make a case for why you’re better off there. (We’ll expand on this in step two.)
Create a Transfer School list
Now, the fun begins! It’s time to research. Let’s say your list of needs looks like this:
Agricultural Sciences major
Fieldwork opportunities
Research opportunities with professors focused on organic agriculture
The first thing you probably noticed is how specific our list is. However the most important takeaway should be that for this list to “work” these things should not be offered at the school you currently attend. Unfortunately, transferring from Bard to Princeton to major in English is not enough. This means that when you start researching schools, you’ll more than likely need to spent a lot of time on the homepages of your desired academic discipline. Look for opportunities that are specific to X school. Better yet, streamline your research from the beginning by starting with academics.
For every school on your list, write out three specific reasons for wanting to transferring. For example, I want to transfer to Washington and Lee because:
The Shepard Poverty program
’m currently at a big school, and I’m looking for smaller class sizes
I would like to research with X professor
Aim for three reasons per school, but the more the merrier. Everything might not fit into your final supplement, but you’ll gain a better understanding of the school which will help you write the essays.
It’s hard to say how many transfer schools you should apply to, because if we suggest 8-10 then you’ll likely end up applying to schools that don’t really make sense. But you should keep in mind that transfer acceptance rates into top tier schools are astoundingly low, so hedging your bets is not a bad idea. Just make sure that you’re genuinely interested in attending the schools you apply to before you put the work in.
Organize your documents:
Let’s say you end up with five schools. Create a master checklist for every school complete with deadlines and materials. Double-check this on your own, but you will likely need standardized test scores, transcripts from both high school and college, recommendations from professors, essays, and additional supplements. You’ll also need to pay the application fee. Decide what system for keeping track is best for you, and check it often. Ask for your letters of recommendation ASAP!
Write the essays:
There will be different supplements and requirements per school, and you should look into those early. But there are three things that you’re going to need to tell every single school. You will save yourself a lot of time if you nail down this material, which will be usable in a number of your applications.
An origin story: Before you jump into the specifics of why you want to transfer, you need to help the admissions team get to know you a little better. Explain why you want to study what you want to study, and if you have recently defined your goals more clearly then tell them how that happened.
An explanation of why your current school isn’t right for you: This is not where you trash talk your current institution. You shouldn’t do that, ever. Tell them why your school isn’t right FOR YOU, not why it’s the worst place on earth. Generally speaking, you should keep this brief.
Specific reasons for wanting to transfer: This part will vary by school, and you’ll rely on your research for this section. Go into vivid detail about classes, tracks, professors, research opportunities, etc. that you plan to take advantage of at the school.
Once you have all of those details outlined, you should find a way to weave that information into a story about yourself. Your essay should not read like a pamphlet of the offerings available at any given school. This tends to be the most difficult part of the transfer essay writing process, but it’s worth the effort. Write a story with a beginning, middle, and end that is first and foremost about you, with offerings of the school included throughout.
Need help figuring out where to start? Contact us here.