The University of Chicago is one of the most sought after acceptances among first-year applicants, and the same holds true in the transfer process. Successfully applying as a transfer to the university requires exceptional academics, a sense of purpose, and a strong strategy. In this post, we’ll give you what you need to craft your strongest University of Chicago essays, augmenting your strategy for eventual acceptance. But that’s a lot of long words for a school that, while intellectual, also likes to have fun — especially with words.
When evaluating transfers, the University of Chicago looks for students who are clear in their goals and academic objectives, excited to push themselves beyond their current boundaries, and who will bring something new to campus. “Your experiences at other institutions,” the university says, “contribute to the diversity of our student body and provide valuable perspective to all kinds of interactions on campus, from classroom conversations to coffee chats on the quad.”
To qualify for consideration as a transfer, you need to have completed at least one term as a college student after high school graduation. It’s also important to know what you’re up against steep odds. The transfer acceptance rate is miniscule at less than 8%. And, of those accepted, nearly everyone completes the transfer and moves to the University of Chicago. The school is coveted, beloved, and very hard to get into.
Now, let’s get into this.
Transferring isn’t an easy way into a highly selective college, but it is possible if executed strategically. Learn how we make it happen.
As a rule, the University of Chicago takes writing very seriously. They will not seriously consider your application if you don’t have a track record of ascending grades, with your performance improving significantly since high school and resulting in an incredible GPA. They also care deeply about academic focus. If you don’t have a clear vision of where you want to be, that will not work out well. You need to have a plan. But back to the writing.
THE ESSAY
The core college essay for the University of Chicago transfer application will look familiar because it is. It’s also listed as optional, but it’s not. The prompts are, indeed, very close to those for first-year applicants. Unlike for first-year applicants, this essay is technically optional. If you want to get into the University of Chicago, though, you need to write it.
Which prompt to pick, and our guidance on how to answer each option, is very different here than you may have seen in our first-year guides, so please read and consider carefully.
The Common App Personal Essay helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice. What do you want admissions readers to know about you that is not reflected elsewhere in your application? Choose the option that best helps you answer that question and write an essay using the prompt to inspire and structure your response (1,250 - 3,250 characters, approx. 250 - 650 words).
Option 1: Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
As we’ve said, the University of Chicago loves writing, and they adore story. Many students gravitate to this prompt because they feel like their most powerful story is connected to where they come from geographically, culturally, or socioeconomically. While your background can be a powerful story, we want to implore you to explore other options.
The University of Chicago is looking for transfers who have dynamic interests and deep passions, so if you do pick this prompt, you should be looking at those interests and talents that you have nurtured and developed. Basically, instead of focusing on what life has dealt you write about what you’ve done, so far, with life.
To execute this approach, you need to take a little from Option 6, making the reader as excited about the things that drive you as you are about them. Vivid descriptions, engaging storytelling, and careful use of dialog are key here, so use them.
Option 2: The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
This prompt can pose a bit of a trap. Either, A, you risk making yourself sound like you’ve been put upon and beaten up unfairly, or, B, you write about an obstacle that is so small that it feels like you are overstating a challenge to inflate yourself. Neither of those are good. So, what is one to do?
Well, the first option is to avoid that prompt. But, just for the fun of it, let’s assume that you’re set on picking it.
If you pick this prompt, you need to select a precise moment within a larger obstacle or hurdle. For the ease of the metaphor, let’s play with the idea of writing about running a sprint with hurdles — literally. Instead of trying to tell the story of the whole race, you’ll focus on a precise moment. Maybe, one of the literal hurdles is slightly askew. You see it as you get closer and closer, and there is nothing that you can do to fix it. You need to clear it, so you’ll have to adjust your normal approach. Maybe your angle of approach needs to shift, and you need to add more height, and delay lowering your leg longer. All of this is running through your mind in the seconds before you have to execute…and then you have to do it.
This entire essay should exist in those few seconds, including how it impacted you. As you land (or trip) after the hurdle, the lesson lands too. Narratively, speaking, at least.
Option 3: Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
Ok, so this prompt isn’t bad, but it also isn’t our favorite. A teenager (or 20-year-old) on a soap box can become, well, problematic, when it comes to college admissions. Remember, the reader doesn’t know you. They only have the application to go on, and so if the main message they get from you is being anti-something, that can conjure a bad taste in the mouth.
But, again, let’s play the game of picking this prompt.
If you are going to pick this prompt, you need to allow for the idea that you may be wrong. Perhaps you questioned an idea, only to realize that there’s a middle ground you hadn’t seen before. Or maybe you challenged a belief, then discovered that while you may not agree with it — there is a reason for it to exist. Basically, create room for nuance while telling a focused and detailed story.
Option 4: Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
We’ve been open to the idea of picking a prompt that we aren’t big fans of twice so far. For this one, we draw the line. This is your application, and you need to focus on you. This can include you as part of a team, but writing a 650-word essay that is primarily about what someone else has done isn’t a winning strategy. For that reason, we suggest picking a different prompt.
Option 5: Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
Now we’re back into strong options. This supplement allows you to write about a way in which you are awesome, the key, if you select this option, is to not simply write a love letter to yourself. That would be bad. Don’t do it.
Instead, select an event (not a realization, that’s too wishy-washy) that has nuance, tension, and, ideally, a team. “Team” can be defined broadly. It could be a lab partner, a debate team, or a sibling you play doubles air hockey with…if that is a thing. What matters isn’t that it’s ‘impressive’ as much as that you convey an image of yourself as someone who is self-aware, striving, and motivated to continue tackling great challenges and accomplishing even greater things.
Option 6: Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
This is one of our favorite types of prompts. It invites you to absolutely obsess over something that matters to you, and if you pick this prompt that is exactly what you need to do. Lean into a single topic, idea, or concept, and zoom in ridiculously close. Like writing? Focus on a specific piece of punctuation. Like bridges? Focus on a single bridge, type of footing, or load-dispersion concept. Like politics or law? Focus on a case. Then, use this hyper-zoomed in point of view to illustrate a bigger point about your passion.
And make sure not to miss the last question. What (or who) do you turn to in order to learn more? Ideally, you want to give them a specific person or place, like a certain shelf in your local library, tying the passion in your head to a relationship with place and people.
Option 7: Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
For the first-year Common App essay, we insist that this is the only prompt to pick. “All signs point to 7!” — or something to that end. Here, though, our advice is different. You can pick this prompt, but it’s probably not you best option, and there are very (very) few circumstances in which submitting something you’ve already written for this essay will boost your chances of admission. So, consider your other options. If you end up back here, tell a story that is true to you. Be vivid, be yourself, and show elevated writing skills by including things like imagery, dialog, or a non-standard structure.
THE EXTENDED ESSAY
After the first long essay, you have another one. This essay will be about the same length as the previous one, and is even more important. How so? Well, this is the University of Chicago application signature. They are known for having totally weird prompts on their applications, and this is where that happens. They want to see that you can write, but they don’t need a weird prompt to do that. These prompts are more a chance to challenge you by, perhaps, unsettling you a little, pulling you out of your comfort zone, and requiring a fresh approach.
Choose one of the seven extended essay options and upload a one- or two-page response. Please include the prompt at the top of the page.
First, let’s get the rules straight. You must stick to the 1-2 page limit. You must use normal margins and spacing. You must use a minimum of a size 12 font. Technically, you can do whatever you want. However, not following the rules is a quick way to guarantee a rejection.
After that, you need to tell a story. For each prompt, you need one core story (and quite possibly only one), that packs a punch. Keep that in mind when reviewing your options.
1. We’re all familiar with green-eyed envy or feeling blue, but what about being “caught purple-handed”? Or “tickled orange”? Give an old color-infused expression a new hue and tell us what it represents. – Inspired by Ramsey Bottorff, Class of 2026
This is fun, right? Maybe? We honestly aren’t too into this prompt, but if it immediately connects with you — go for it! Just be sure to show yourself, not just your cleverness.
2. “Ah, but I was so much older then / I'm younger than that now” – Bob Dylan. In what ways do we become younger as we get older? – Inspired by Joshua Harris, Class of 2016
This prompt may have been a bit much for a 17-year-old applying to college for the first time to pick, but as a transfer applicant you have more time, and more experience, under your belt. You’ve gone through a really hard experience by applying to college the first time. Then you’ve gone through another experience that’s difficult for many by accepting, and sharing with others, that your first pick perhaps wasn’t the best. That’s a humbling admission for many, and now you’re here, applying again, reassessing what you want and where you hope to end up. So, this quote may resonate more, or differently, than it would have even just 12 months ago. With this in mind, it can be a great choice. Don’t focus on your transfer, though, as there’s a prompt for that later. Focus instead on what you’ve learned about yourself by getting closer to where (and who) you want to be.
3. Pluto, the demoted planet. Ophiuchus, the thirteenth Zodiac. Andy Murray, the fourth to tennis's Big Three. Every grouping has something that doesn’t quite fit in. Tell us about a group and its unofficial member, why (or why not) should it be excluded? – Inspired by Veronica Chang, Class of 2022
This prompt is fun if what you hope to study has something that you can use here. By highlighting your passion, and perhaps a little-known or oft-forgotten side of it, the reader will learn more about what and about what you want to study, leaving them with a sense of you and your preparedness for everything that the University of Chicago has to offer.
4. "Daddy-o", "Far Out", "Gnarly": the list of slang terms goes on and on. Sadly, most of these aren’t so "fly" anymore – “as if!” Name an outdated slang from any decade or language that you'd bring back and explain why you totally “dig it.” – Inspired by Napat Sakdibhornssup, Class of 2028
This is fun if you want to dive into linguistic and cultural history. If your transcript doesn’t highlight a fascination with words, this prompt probably isn’t for you. But if you are truly invigorated by language and your transcript and proposed major underlines that, this can be a perfect fit.
5. How many piano tuners are there in Chicago? What is the total length of chalk used by UChicago professors in a year? How many pages of books are in the Regenstein Library? These questions are among a class of estimation problems named after University of Chicago physicist Enrico Fermi. Create your own Fermi estimation problem, give it your best answer, and show us how you got there. – Inspired by Malhar Manek, Class of 2028
This is super fun. If something pops into you mind, run with it. The key is to pick something that actually can be estimated. Don’t try to go abstract with this prompt, because doing that isn’t clever. If that’s your urge, pick something else. But if you’re still thinking about a Fermi estimation you’ve dreamed up and you are one of those people who always throws in a guess for the number of jellybeans in a jar, go for it.
6. And, as always… the classic choose your own adventure option! In the spirit of adventurous inquiry, choose one of our past prompts (or create a question of your own). Be original, creative, thought provoking. Draw on your best qualities as a writer, thinker, visionary, social critic, sage, citizen of the world, or future citizen of the University of Chicago; take a little risk, and have fun! You can find our past prompts here: https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/apply/uchicago-supplemental-essay-questions
This prompt is sort of a sabotage disguised as an opportunity. Sure, great, pick anything you want from a massive list, but that list is truly massive, and the onslaught of options can easily devour you. Instead, we suggest picking one of the previous options and pretending like Pandora’s box was never on offer.
THE TRANSFER ESSAY
This is a transfer application, in case you’ve forgotten. Now, about 1500 words deep, they want to hear about why you’re submitting it.
In approximately 500 words, please tell us why you are planning to leave (or have already left) your current college or university, and how the University of Chicago will satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future. Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to UChicago.
The key to this supplement is to be specific, without becoming catty. Bashing your current school is not a good plan of attack. Instead, highlight why you want to leave your current (or previous) school by spotlighting what you’ve been running towards at the University of Chicago. And, in that, you need to be super specific. Simply being into the school isn’t enough. You need to name a specific major, program within the major, at least one professor, and at least one other academic program that you intend to immediately become involved with upon arriving on campus.
Then, look beyond. Where will these opportunities take you, and how is the university critical to you achieving that income.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Parallel to working on your essays, you need to be working on your recommendations. You won’t be writing your recommendations, of course, but finding recommenders can be tough in college, especially if you are somewhere with large class sizes or where the professors are a little out of reach.
Two Teacher Recommendations
The University of Chicago requires two teacher recommendations who taught you in an academic subject, ideally related to what you want to study at the University of Chicago. If you really need to, you can ask a teaching assistant or lab instructor, or even a high school teacher if you just got to college, but these should all be treated as back-up options. Instead, we suggest investing time in building a relationship with a professor.
And don’t just ask the teacher who gave you your best grade for a recommendation. If there is a professor who you love, and who teaches you in a course related to your area of focus, a slightly lower grade is better than a perfect grade but impersonal recommendation.
Supplemental Recommendations
They also allow for an additional letter of recommendation, and we do recommend finding someone who is a meaningful part of your academic or creative life to write it for you. While not required, it can make a big difference.
The Video
If this application isn’t packed enough, they let you submit a two-minute video introduction. Do it. It’s that simple, but don’t overthink it. They don’t want editing, or a veneer of polish. The want you. So, be creative. Show a part of yourself that may not otherwise come up in the application. If you love making joke music videos, maybe run with that. If you are fascinated by a certain documentary format, run on that idea. Have fun with it.
Before you dig into the application properly, remember that they offer a Transfer Early Decision option. If you can, use it. Your chances of being accepted as a transfer are massively improved by opting into early decision.
There is also a rolling admissions deadline that is open deep into spring and not binding. While this option is convenient, allowing you to submit even after you may have heard back from other transfer options, it severely hampers your likelihood of admission. However, the rolling option is probably the best choice if you are very early in your college career or excelling in college but didn’t perform at an equally high level in high school. The more distance you can get from a low grade, the better.
Transferring to a top school requires strategy. Contact us.