Transferring Colleges After Freshman Year TKG

Transferring Colleges After Freshman Year We have written a lot about the process of deciding whether or not you should transfer. The truth is that you might have a million reasons for wanting to transfer, but only some of them are worth writing about in your transfer application. This blog post will go into the process of transferring once you’ve decided that you want to leave your current school. We've broken the process out into three steps: FIGURE OUT WHAT’S MISSING: Start by making a very specific list of what you’re looking for, and then group it out into subcategories. For example:Academics:Philosophy, Politics, and Economics major (right now you’re studying Economics, but you’re actually interested in the intersection of these three disciplines)Small to medium size classes (you’re at a large research university, but feel overwhelmed) Research opportunities (there are very few at your school)Location:In or close to a city (because you want to apply to internships and don’t have many opportunities to do s o now due to the location of your current school)  FIGURE OUT WHERE TO FIND IT:This is where a hyper-specific list comes in handy. Working with this list above, you would start by researching schools with a PPE major, and then go through the rest of the metrics on your list. This fictitious student might want to look at Penn. Keep in mind that successful transfer applications show two things: 1) the offerings at your current school do not meet your academic needs and 2) you have what it takes to succeed at another institution. Writing that you want to transfer from Lehigh to Villanova to major in Biology is too broad; so make sure that when you’re doing transfer school research you’re looking into specific classes, professors, and other unique offerings at your desired school.  We do not suggest that you apply to schools that don’t meet your needs, but when working with transfer students we do usually hedge our bets. Transferring is common, yes, but it’s not as easy as peop le think. Keep researching until you’ve found a few schools that are good fits, but don’t apply to random schools.  APPLY:  Transfer applications are usually due in March, which means that you need to start working on them early. The best way to approach all of the supplements is to start by writing out all of the due dates, and submit all of the necessary documents. Ask for recommendation letters early. Then, log onto the transfer common app website and review all of the supplements. You’ll likely find a lot of (or at least some) overlap. While we would never suggest copying and pasting work from one school to another, be smart about not doing double work. Come up with an origin story about why you want to transfer and use that for the main transfer essay for every school. When it comes to writing about why you want to leave your current school, don’t say anything negative or dramatic. Just write a 1-2 sentences about why it’s not a good fit for you. As for making a cas e for why X school is the best place for you, that’s when you’ll rely on research. Write about the classes, professors, and unique opportunities that we mentioned earlier. When we work with transfer students, we remind them to follow up with their professors and colleges to ensure that the necessary documents have been sent. Set a reminder to check in to avoid any last-minute issues.    Finishing the applications is time-consuming work, but it’s worth it if you’re certain that you want to transfer. Let us know if you need help.