Amherst is a small, highly competitive liberal arts school in Amherst, Massachusetts. Given that Amherst is quite difficult to get into as a freshman, it should come as no surprise that their transfer acceptance rate is below 5%. Their website will take you through the requirements, but we’ll go over the required writing supplements below.
Please briefly elaborate on an extracurricular activity or work experience of particular significance to you. (Maximum: 175 words)
We love to see colleges acknowledging the fact that work experiences are just as valuable as extracurricular activities. A lot of students skip over “real jobs” but we always encourage our TKG clients to get jobs. It’s a great experience for real life, and you get paid. To answer this question, don’t try to pick the activity or job that you think makes you sound the most important. You should truly be picking the most significant and meaningful bullet point on your resume, and then take the reader through a day in the life. What’s like to be there? Make sure that your story highlights the skills required and the challenges you face, but don’t forget to include the good parts that make you love it so much.
Essay #1: Tell us about your educational journey. Within your essay, please address your reasons for transferring, as well as any objectives you hope to achieve. (250-650 words)
Props to Amherst for the structure of this prompt. They clearly lay out what they’re looking for, which makes it easier for you to frame the narrative and get to work. Let’s go through it in order:
“Tell us about your educational journey.”
In addition to telling Amherst what you plan to study, bring them up to speed as to how you got there. Obviously, your story should align with the offerings at Amherst. You should already know what you plan to major in, but your origin story needs to explain why. Think back to the day, or experience, when you decided that you wanted to major in Linguistic or Physics. Tell them that story.
“Please address your reasons for transferring”
Amherst needs to know why you want to transfer, and what’s not working at your current school. Explain why it’s not working for you without bashing the school, and also include why you initially decided to go there. The goal here is to make a case for yourself that your current school can’t provide you with what you’re looking for, so don’t shy away from being precise about the details. This part of the essay should lead directly to the last part of the prompt.
“Objectives you hope to achieve.”
This is where you explain why Amherst is the perfect school for you. Similar to the “Why X School” prompts that you wrote the first time you applied to college, you need to find two upper-level classes that you want to take, a professor that you hope to work with, and an extracurricular activity that you plan to join. This is a research assignment, and you should spend a lot of time finding offerings that align with your personal brand. Think specializations. Everything that you choose should be a continuation of what you did in high school, and what you’re currently doing in college. Explain why you want to take the classes and why you’d be a solid addition to the research team of the professor that you choose. Writing about an extracurricular activity shows the school that you have aspirations that go beyond the classroom, and that you’d be a good cultural fit for the campus.
After you’ve found all of the information, craft a narrative! Don’t just go through it bullet-point style. Amherst wants to get to know you, so make sure that you’re weaving the school’s offerings into details about your life seamlessly.
Essay #2: Describe the life experiences, personal circumstances and notable challenges that have most affected you as a student, community member and person. How have these factors influenced who you are today? (250-650 words)
The phrasing of this prompt, however, is not great. Don’t freak out. The best way to go about answering this question is to look at everything that you’ve submitted so far and decide which qualities about yourself that you still need to convey. While you’re at it, text your friends and ask them how they would describe you. Then text your family and do the same. Let’s say that you end up with three qualities: curious, empathetic, driven. Decide which quality resonates with you the most – but make sure that you’re picking something that you haven’t already expressed in the first supplement or second supplement. Then, go back to the question. What life experiences, personal circumstances, or notable challenges have occurred in your life that can be used as a starting point to express the personality trait that you’ve chosen? Let’s use driving as an example. Perhaps a life experience (and eventual challenge) that you faced was the creation of a small business that wasn’t ultimately successful. Take them through what happened, and let the details of the story make it clear that you’re a go-getter.
If you want to transfer and you’re not sure where to start, contact us here.