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Transfer Essay Tips
The following outline may help to address Texas A&M University’s Statement of Purpose. Each university may or may not require a Statement of Purpose essay or other essays and short answer questions for your desired major, so thoroughly research your university or program’s transfer requirements.
Paragraph 1: State the purpose of writing, which is applying for transfer to the specific institution’s specific department and why. Summarize career goals, perhaps including a forecast of where you see yourself being in five or ten years. Summarize why you are a good fit for the institution and department—strong GPA, demonstrated work ethic and commitment to academic and professional growth, honorably completed military service, or special life experiences or accomplishments that have inspired your chosen career path.
Paragraph 2 (and other interior paragraphs as needed): Provide explanatory narrative detail in support of the specifics summarized in Paragraph 1. Focus on the positive but be forthright if your overall GPA is relatively low. Briefly explain why, emphasizing that that was then, but here is where I am now. Many of us, including review committee members, were uncertain of their academic goals, or immature when they began college but overcame personal deficits and obstacles.
Final Paragraph: Restate the reason(s) why you want to transfer in a way that answers this question: “What makes you a good investment?” Conclude by thanking the unknown readers for their time and thoughtful consideration.
Pitfalls to Avoid: Students assume that their audience “bleeds maroon” or shares their enthusiasm for the institution. (While some review committees do want to know if the student is a “legacy,” this should be mentioned once.) Generally, the audience does not and is going to make a risk-assessment business decision.
Watch for your tone crossing the confidence line into cockiness. Proofread. Pay attention to the red, green, and blue squiggly lines in Word alerting you to problems. Read what you have written aloud to ensure that there are no missing words or confused phrases. There can be no misspellings or serious mechanical defects. Have one of your peers read your essay and provide you with feedback.
Texas A&M University’s Statement of Purpose: The essay/statement of purpose should clearly demonstrate academic interests and career aspirations. It also provides an opportunity to explain any extenuating circumstances that you feel could add value to your application. The statement of purpose is not meant to be a listing of accomplishments in high school or a record of your participation in school-related activities. Rather, this is your opportunity to address the admissions committee directly and to let us know more about you as an individual, in a manner that your transcripts and other application information cannot convey.
Essays may be submitted through the application or uploaded through the Applicant Information System (AIS) . Emailed copies will not be accepted.
Transfer Essay Checklist
- Be able to explain what you want to study and why. How will you use this degree? What career interests you? Ask yourself, “How will a degree in _______ help me accomplish ________?” This information will help in developing your essay, specifically, paragraph 1.
- If you are unsure about goals, aspirations, and/or area of study, then come up with something that best fits these item specifics and stick with them throughout the entirety of the paper. Uncertainty is a detriment to any transfer essay.
- Take an inventory on what you know about the prospective university and the program of study you desire. Have you met with an advisor from that program? Do you understand how to be a competitive applicant? This research will help determine what information to highlight in the essay.
- If you have not made contact (email, phone, in-person) with someone from that university, plan to do so. This meeting will help with writing your essay, especially paragraph 1, and shows initiative on your part.
- Determine the meaning of the prompt. Do you understand what should be included? Do not be confused by the vague and broad nature of the essay’s prompt. Helpful tips: Brainstorming, outlining, and listing ideas or details will provide focus and structure in addressing the prompt.
- Essays should address the prompt in a specific and concise manner. The essay should have a conversational tone but be free of loose writing, contractions, slang, and clichés. Length should be 2500 characters or less. Transfer essays DO NOT require a title.
- Stay current. You may refer to your senior year of high school up until the present time. The exception would be if you are tying in a special life experience from your past that is distinctly related to your desired major.
- Universities receive many applications. Be sure to emphasize your uniqueness! Tell a story or discuss special opportunities/experiences that have shaped you as a person and/or created interest in a specific course of study. Note: Experiences can include volunteer or charity work, church activities, Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts, etc.
- Briefly (no more than a couple sentences) address difficulties (grades/personal hardships) but accentuate the positive. How have you matured? What changes have you made? What resources did you use to overcome obstacles?
- Enthusiasm for a school or program is great, but do not oversell the emotion. Texas A&M, UT, etc., are not the only good schools, and the person reading the essay may have attended another university.
- Make sure university names and locations are included and correct. Remember there are different Texas A&M campuses, too. Do not send Texas A&M’s transfer essay to UT and vice versa.