BU Transfer Essay- "the objectives" - The Shot

I've never joined a forum before, but better late than never I guess. Let me introduce myself. I'm currently a second semester freshman at Montclair State University. My field of focus is neuropsychology as I'm a psychology major with a minor in cognitive science.

A Shot to Become a BU Student

During my senior year, I was rejected from my dream school and that truly left a mark. I was fascinated by BU but didn't apply because of the mere fact that I got rejected from a school with a higher acceptance rate (NYU). I was discouraged and believed for awhile that I wouldn't amount to much. That dissipated eventually, but it still resonates with me till this day.

So, I decided to come back with more confidence and perseverance as I am now applying to BU as a transfer. I'm very nervous because I really want attend the university as it seems like a perfect fit. Currently I have a 3.862 gpa in college and I participate in a leadership development program. In high school, I had a 94 as my gpa and I took a few honors and AP courses. I was also the captain of my high school's academic decathlon team. My rank in high school was 29 out of 710.

According to these credentials, do I actually have a shot at BU? I'm in love with their direct research opportunities and their psychology & philosophy joint major. The transfer essay prompt is as follows, "please provide a statement that addresses your reasons for transferring and the objective you hope to achieve."

I know what I want to write, but I am at a loss for words as I want it to be personal and "acceptable" in a sense. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.

@gabbyademi

Hi,

I am sorry about not being accepted to NYU.

So about being accepted to Boston, I need to know more about you. Like what was your SAT score? What other extracurriculars did you do? Is your personal statement good? Letter of recomendations? Your GPA alone won't get you anywhere. Believe me, those admissions officers look way past those numbers. I know a friend of mine who was deferred from a top school with a not-so-high SAT score while people with 2400/2400 on the SAT get rejected. Therefore, could you please tell me more about yourself?

Gabriella, your being rejected from NYU is not an issue in this case. In fact, bringing it up is not something that will reflect well once your credentials are considered. If you notice, the rejection from NYU doesn't factor into any of the transfer documents that you are submitting to BU. Therefore, your current essay is not really relevant for its purpose. The only reasons that a reviewer will want to read in this response are the following:

1. Your personal or academic reasons for transferring
2. The reasons why you feel that the transfer to BU is the only solution to your dissatisfaction with your current academic set up.
3. Why and how you hope to perform better as a BU student.

Those are the only reasons you have to explain in your essay. Your GPA discussion is irrelevant because you will be considered not based upon your explanation of your grades but rather, the results in your transcript of records. Therefore, no amount of explanation about the grades on your part will matter.

You should keep this essay for a relevant supplemental prompt instead. I believe that this essay will work better to explain your desire to attend BU, but not in the transfer reasons essay. I am sure the opportunity for you to discuss NYU and Bu being your first choice school in the past will come up. You just have to wait for the right time to discuss it. Now, isn't the right time.