Degree at a good standing university - Rice Transfer (reasons I choose Rice)

Some advice? I'm actually finding this to be the most difficult out of all the essays. :/ I don't know what they want... Is it too vague?

What motivated you to transfer to Rice University? Please be specific and limit your response to 200 words.

I will be graduating from community college in May, and there is no question that I will be continuing my education for a bachelor's degree at least. A transfer to one university or another is inevitable. I simply had to decide which would be the best school for me and for my interest in a major. I have considered going to several other four-year universities, but they are all significantly lower-ranked than Rice, and none of them reflect the same importance Rice places on high quality of education. It is very critical to me that I receive a well-earned degree at a school of good standing, and Rice has stood out to me above the others. I was especially impressed when I read about Rice's reliance on a strict student honor code, which I believe to be an admirable characteristic. With its impressive rankings, statistics, and reputation as among the best schools in the country, it is something that I would very much like to be a part of and which I would be extremely proud to be able to represent.

I will be graduating from community college in May, and there is no question that I will be continuing my education, at least until I obtain a bachelor's degree.

A transfer to one university or another is inevitable. I simply had to decide which would be the best school for me and for my interest in a major.

This would be a good place to mention what that major will be, (above) and say something good about what Rice has to offer towards that particular class or program.

The rest of this is great, good luck in school!

:)

I suggest you not to mention the ranking and the prestige of the school since that's not a substaintial reason to transfer to Rice considering there are a bunch of schools that are more prestigious and have better rankings.

Good luck!

Final draft... hopefully?

Throughout my life, other people have always had high expectations for me. I never thought twice about the possibility of attending Rice until after I began college, when I realized that success is only possible when I have high expectations for myself. Finally, I found my calling in civil engineering.

When I began to look into Texas schools to which I could transfer after completing my Associate's degree, I was immediately drawn to Rice. As I researched, I saw several things that appealed to me. The one that initially drew my interest was the reputation of Rice's undergraduate engineering program as among the top 20 in the nation, since I am pursuing an engineering degree. I was also happy to learn about the 5:1 student-faculty ratio; I come from a school with small class sizes where I have always been able to seek personal assistance from professors. I was particularly encouraged by the social atmosphere enjoyed by Rice students: a diverse student population made close by the unique housing system and numerous campus activities.

I believe Rice's overall strong academic and social atmosphere can help me get the training I need to begin a successful career in civil engineering after graduation.

Feel free to pick it apart! I'll take all the advice I can get.

Can you take this sentence: I believe Rice's overall ...after graduation.

And make it your intro? That would be great. Make it your intro, and then elaborate on it now that you know what you want to write for the rest of the essay. Now that you know what you ar going to say, make a powerful intro paragraph that grabs the attention.

That is the best advice I can give!!