Undergrad Transfer Essays

Hello everyone! I am a current sophomore at a non-target with a high GPA and SAT. I have worked in a top F100 company in their finance department and will be working at a large investment management company this upcoming summer. I have an interest in iBanking but our school has 0 alumni in the industry and absolutely no on campus recruiting.

I plan on transferring to a target and I know I have the resume for it. However, I am struggling to write the transfer essays. Can someone please give me ideas on reasons for leaving my current institution and how the new one will benefit me? I feel like OCR isn’t a valid reason to list in an essay because many top schools offer that.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

11 Comments
 

You said a generic reason isn’t good but have given no specifics on the school you’re applying to which would enable people to give more specific answers

 

If the school you are transferring to has more “community” programs, you can say that you want to attend a school where you can have more opportunities or is more open to serving the community and solving problems like human rights.

 
Most Helpful

Sounds a little pretentious of you to say you have the resume for it. Want to humble you: transfering to a target-level school has an extremely low acceptance rate, with some "top targets" taking extremely little or no transfers at all. That being said, it's possible, but the numbers are not in your favor. As far as "why transfer" essays go, it's fine for you to argue that this school would offer you far better opportunities to "pursue an interest and curiosity in business" citing top professors (academic or ex-professional), business student infrastructure at the school (career office, student orgs, etc.). Also, don't overlook the importance of letters or rec from your current school. Good luck!

 

No problem man. As far as schools to look at, public schools can be tough because the majority of transfers are in-state (UVA, Umich, UT Austin, Cal berk). UNC isn't too bad about it but you have to transfer to arts and sciences and then apply for Kenan-Flagler undergrad. Harvard Princeton Yale, Stanford, MIT: infintiessimal chances. I think your best looks might be Stern, Wharton, Cornell, UChicago, rest of the Ivy League. USC actually accepts 30% out of state transfers which is comparatively very good for the value you could get at USC Marshall

 

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