The University of Virginia is a top public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. The university holds a sense of a great purpose at its core. They students who want to do something more than simply get a degree, whether they join the community as first-years or transfers.
Transfer students come to UVA from educational institutions — both four-year and two-year — and from around the world, and the university embraces them as part of the UVA community.
UVA accepts students for fall admission, and students can enter as second or third-year students (sophomore or junior year). A small number of students are also admitted to start in the spring semester, but only in the College of Arts and Sciences and 300 applications for 35 spots in that circumstance alone. The chances of admission in the fall are much higher, averaging 35-40% including students from in-state two-year colleges who are eligible for guaranteed admission (who make up of enrolling transfers each year).
Regardless of when you start, you to complete at least four semesters of full-time coursework in residence at UVA. If this works for you, there are seven colleges that you can apply to for transfer admission:
The College of Arts and Sciences
The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
The School of Architecture
The School of Nursing
The School of Education and Human Development
The McIntire School of Commerce
The Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Before you set your sights on a school, check out for transfers to ensure that you are eligible. That link also includes super important information on limitations for transfers at each school, such as how transfers into the School of Architecture are not permitted to change the major that they selected on their application.
Strong applicants to any of these colleges within UVA typically, they say, have of a B average and admitted students a 3.5 or higher. This is a little misleading, though. As a state school, UVA prioritizes applicants who are residents of Virginia. They don’t explicitly lower the bar for admissions for those in-state students, but it’s undeniable that being from outside of Virginia demands higher grades, higher scores, and a more impressive application overall. We can’t help you with the grades and scores, but we can absolutely help with the application — and the secret is storytelling.
Even with a strong tradition of accepting and welcoming transfers, getting into UVA isn’t easy. For the fall of 2024, they received 4,245 applications for transfer and the acceptance rate was 32%. What makes the difference on an application isn’t taking any particular class load or hitting a particular GPA. Instead, it’s making a compelling case for who you are beyond the numbers. We can help you do that.
Transferring to a great college requires strong strategy. Learn More.
Once you’re ready to dig into the UVA application, it’s time to start the essays. You’ve done this before (senior year, to be specific), so it will look familiar. However, applying as a transfer is not the same as when you were a senior. The approach is different, so let’s break it down.
THE TRANSFER ESSAYS
Please use the space below to provide details about any period of time when you were not enrolled in college courses since you graduated from high school. (800 characters)
This prompt does not apply to everyone. If it does not apply to you, do not respond to it. That should be obvious, but it is worth underlining. This is not a spot to try to cram something in that doesn’t fit elsewhere in the application. However, if you have had a break in school since graduating from high school it’s important to write a strong answer in about 300 words.
Don’t try to write about everything you’ve done to fill your time. Instead, focus on the highlights — or even just one highlight. This could be a job, an alternative learning experience, or a life circumstance. It does not need to be relevant to your prospective course of study, but the way you write about it should illuminate an aspect of who you are and what you value. The best way to pull this off is by leading with story, including strong and compelling details, and focusing on what you’ve learned and how you’ve grown through the gap in higher education.
Please provide a statement that addresses your reasons for transferring and the objectives you hope to achieve. You can type directly into the box, or you can paste text from another source. (4,000 characters)
This post allows for 4,000 characters, but we advise aiming for about 600 words. At that length, it’s plenty of space to write a super strong supplement without the risk of adding unnecessary fluff to try to take up more space that you don’t really need to use.
You also absolutely should not type directly into the box. That is a recipe for errors. Instead, write your draft in your favorite word processor and then spell check, copy, and paste once done.
With those nitty gritty details ironed out, let’s talk content. UVA wants to know why you want to transfer and what you hope to get out of your move to UVA. You probably have lots of reasons for wanting to transfer. At least a few of them probably have nothing to do with academics. We highly advise leaving those ones out of the supplement. UVA is not interested in your social complaints. They also don’t want to hear if you think your professors are all idiots. Remember that they are trying to imagine you on the UVA campus, and if you show yourself to be a whiner at your current school, they’ll see you doing the same thing at UVA. That would be a bad taste to put in their mouth.
What you should be focusing on instead of social stuff is academics. The point of college is to go to school, so that should be at the center of this supplement. Focus on an academic reason for seeking out a transfer to UVA, portraying your proposed move as running to UVA — not running from your current school. Includes specific courses, professors, and opportunities that attract you to UVA, being as specific as you can be.
Finish the supplement with how you hope to grow through this transfer to UVA, maintaining the academic focus.
As you pull your application together, remember that test scores are never required. However, we highly recommend being able to include strong scores if at all possible. UVA is also very explicit about what they absolutely do not want. On the Common App supplement, they say: “We do not accept research papers or supplemental items that do not fit the criteria for architecture supplements. We do not accept, nor will we review art supplements for transfer students.” (Our bold for emphasis.)
One of the ways of illustrating to UVA that you are a strong and serious candidate is the ability to follow directions, so be sure to listen to the guidance and guidelines they supply.
We help driven students transfer to strong schools. Contact us to learn how.