Tufts Blogs

Around November of my first year, I was considering the idea of transferring. By late December, I was sure that transferring was the right decision. However, without many others in the same situation, and without the support of high school guidance counselors, it was unclear what first steps I needed to take. Reopening the Common Application seemed as daunting as it had been the first time around. The personal statement prompt for transfer applicants is essentially “Why are you applying to transfer?” As straight-forward as this question is, it was hard for me to piece together all of my feelings and eloquently vouch for what I needed as a student. After conversations with family and tedious compilations of pros and cons, I realized why I felt so strong regarding my decision to transfer: I now knew what I needed from a school, and there was no way I was going to get that if I stayed. I yearned for a big city, and could not bear being in an isolated area. When deciding where to transfer, there was no compromise for location. I chose only to apply to schools in cities with endless opportunities for exploration and where I could truly see myself growing up. In my first semester of college, my academic goals had also changed. The major in Education, which had drawn me to my first college, was no longer important to me. I wanted a school that offered more courses for my interests in History and the humanities. I soon realized how much more conviction I had in my personal statement and supplementary essays now than in high school. I felt confident in how well I knew myself and what I was looking for. When brainstorming potential essay topics, ask yourself if you have any newfound passions, thinking back to any specifically eye-opening lectures you may have had during your first semester. If you know what you want to study, explore the course catalogs of potential schools to see how they match your interest. And most importantly, don’t focus on what you are running from; tell schools why their institution will suit you better, and what you are running to.