You can start thinking about your end goals, even if you haven’t begun classes yet. Here are some things to consider:

• Where you want to end up.
• Majors you want to explore.
• How your major will transfer at other colleges.
• Your options after LaGuardia.
• How programs at LaGuardia connect to other colleges.
• How the transfer process works.

As you work through your first year, start thinking about:

• Your skills and goals and the majors that fit best.
• Institutions that offer those majors.
• Different types of colleges. Commuter or resident? Urban or rural? Big or small?
• Math course completion — a CUNY transfer requirement — as well as other requirements.
• Starting a syllabus file for every class, which is useful for transfer credits in the future.
• Maintaining your GPA and why it’s important for transfer.

From here, you’ll have an idea of the schools you’re considering. Make a list, and learn more about them with resources like College Board, CUNY, SUNY, National College Search and the websites of the specific colleges you’re interested in.

Use our transfer exploration grid to keep the most important details at a glance for your reference and for conversation with your Transfer Advisor. Plus, answer the following:

• What are the requirements for:
  • Admission to the college?
  • Admission to your major or program of study?
• Do the majors and/or programs align with your academic and career interests?
• What major will you declare?
• How will your courses/credits transfer?
  • How many credits will transfer?
  • How will your credits transfer and how will they be applied?
• What percentage of your credits will apply to general education, your major of choice, a minor and electives?
• Will you transfer in as a junior?
• What are the tuition and room-and-board costs?

If you need help with academic strategies, log into My LaGuardia to make an appointment with your academic advisor.

You have a long list of options now, and it’s time to narrow down your search. We can help you plan:

• Campus visits that will give you a more thorough understanding of your choices.
• A schedule of application deadlines and processes for each chosen institution, plus related fees. (Watch the CUNY application tutorial video, and review the CUNY, SUNY and Common Application steps. The Common Application is used by more than 750 U.S. colleges.)
• Scholarship opportunities, which include their own application processes and deadlines.
• Your essay, a requirement for most competitive schools and scholarships. (Find writing tips below.)
• Letters of recommendation and which faculty you’ll want to ask.

Applications, essays, letters of recommendation — it’s paperwork time!

• Refer to your schedule of application deadlines and processes. Make sure to gather all the documents you need in time for the earliest deadlines.
• Clear any holds on your account. Holds delay transcripts, and that impacts applications.
• Request all of your transcripts, including a high school transcript if necessary.
• Visit the Writing Center to make sure your essays, personal statements and similar documents are reviewed and edited.
• Follow up on any letters of recommendation.
• File your FAFSA as early as possible, and include the schools you’re applying to.
• Graduate! Obtaining your associate’s degree matters, especially within CUNY but also at any SUNY or private schools where we have transfer credit agreements (articulation agreements).

Did you know? Senior colleges look favorably on people who have earned their associate degree.

Now’s the fun part! Once you’ve been admitted, it’s time to make your decision, based on all the important research you’ve done.

Evaluate your Credits

The purpose of the essay is to convince admission officers whom you’ve never met, in less than ten minutes, that you would be a good match for their colleges. At the most basic level, it allows admission officers to evaluate your communication and writing skills. In addition, the essay allows admission officers to discover more about you as a person — a side of you not shown by your grade point average and your transcripts. The essay gives information about your history, attitudes, interests and creativity; it gives a sense of your values and goals. What admission officers are doing is creating a community, looking to see how you would fit in that community, what would you bring to that community and what sets you apart.

How the Essay is Evaluated

• Is your writing mechanically sound? Is your writing style comfortable? Can you write a good sentence? Can you write a good paragraph? Do you address the question asked?
• Can you form a thesis? Can you discuss a theme? Is your argument logical? Can you get in and out of the essay with some finesse?
• Do you write with style, nuance and creativity? Do you write with a distinctive voice?

How to Choose a Topic
Choose the essay topic that appeals to you most. The topic is less important than your delivery. Remember: there is no right or wrong answer. The college just wants to know who you are and how your mind works.

There are bad essays, not bad topics, but be careful about the following:

• Winning or losing the big game.
• Anything that suggests that you don’t see the world beyond college.
• Simple solutions to world problems.
• Cynicism almost never plays well.
• Don’t try to “prove” your intelligence by choosing a topic you think makes you sound smart.
• Remember, be sure to answer the question!

The First Draft

• Narrow your topic and try to be as specific as possible.
• Brainstorm! Scribble down everything you can think of about your chosen topic. Pick out the good stuff and work it into a brief outline.
• Write a rough draft. Read it. Read it again - out loud.
• Ask yourself: Have I focused on the topic? Have I answered the question? Is it specific and detailed? Have I written in my own voice?
• Don’t be afraid to use your imagination. Don’t be afraid to be unconventional. But, don’t be weird just for the sake of being weird.
• Avoid sophisticated words when simpler ones will suffice.

Polishing the Essay

• Start early.
• Consider eliminating the first sentence (or two). That allows the essay to “start fast.” A good opening sentence will hook the reader. If you’re bored, the reader will be bored.
• Also, add details to make it richer and more interesting.
• Be revealing. Let us know things about you, but don’t be confessional.
• Be careful with sentimentality. Use it sparingly.
• Beware of trying to impress the college with what you think they want to hear. Instead, be authentic.
• Be concise. Ask yourself: Have I avoided repetitiveness? Did I make my points directly and without a lot of unnecessary padding?”
• Show; don’t tell. Don’t just list what you have done – detail it with action words. Make your writing come alive to the reader. Use quotations wisely – to move the story along or prove a point.
• Ask a teacher, parent or friend to read your second draft. Ask them: “Is it interesting from the start? Does it sound like me? Was it fun to read?” Listen to what they have to say, but don’t let someone else rewrite the essay for you.
• Read what the application says about essay length, but don’t just write to fill space.

Navigational Hazards
The little details aren’t the most important part of the essay, but you are trying to make a good impression. You don’t want the admission committee to think you’re a sloppy, careless writer.

• Always proofread before producing the final draft. If you are sick and tired of the essay, let someone else proof it. Check for spelling errors. Spellcheck won’t catch everything!
• Check your word choice by reading out loud. What looks good on paper may sound awkward or, in fact, say nothing.
• Make sure that if you are including the name of the college in the essay, it’s the correct school. Wesleyan doesn’t want to know you’ve always wanted to go to Smith.
• Taking risks is okay, but be sure you know your subject matter and feel comfortable with that style of writing. For instance, poetry is often risky.
• Think twice about injecting humor. It often doesn’t translate in writing.
• Remember: A college essay is not a research paper. In fact, most often students are asked to evaluate a significant experience or achievement that has special meaning. That’s a very personal question.

The Biggest Mistake of All
Don’t plagiarize! Admission officers have read all the books and seen all the websites. They’ll know.

The Good News
We’re here to help. Visit us and make an appointment with a transfer advisor to discuss your essay. Lastly, don’t stress too much — write what you feel, do it well, and they will like you!

Writing your Essay

• Does the essay fully and clearly address the prompt?
• Does the essay have a definite beginning, middle and conclusion?
• Does the essay reveal something personal about you?
• Are transitions in place between sentences and paragraphs, making for a smooth read?
• Do all sentences “pull their weight”?
• Is the essay free of grammatical, spelling and mechanical errors?
• Does the essay communicate that you are a strong candidate for admission?

Tapping into your storytelling voice can help you turn your powerful story into an authentic college admission or scholarship essay.

Editing your Essay

• Read, re-read and proofread your essay.
• Visit the Writing Center to make sure that your essays are reviewed and edited.
• Read your essay out loud to catch grammar errors and hear how it flows.
• Ask a friend or family member to read your essay and give you feedback.

Finalizing your Essay

• Visit Transfer Services and make an appointment with a transfer advisor to review and finalize your essay.
• No later than 48 hours before your meeting, email your essay to the advisor you’ll be meeting with. Include what application the essay is for, the essay question of prompt, and all essay requirements specified in the application (e.g. topics, prompts and word count).

Adding a Personal Narrative Statement

Considering a personal narrative statement in addition to your essay? If your application has multiple writing components, they should tie together to give a whole picture of you and should not be repetitive or disconnected. The topic should be on point but also as personal and event-specific as possible — not a resume or a biography but a particular event that ties into the topic.

• Story2 can help you turn your powerful story into an authentic scholarship essay.
• Harvard College Writing Center can help you map out and put together a well-structured essay.
• MIT Admissions outlines the basics for writing a great college essay.
• The Essay Map tool can give you a visual idea of your essay structure and flow and offer tips for making it better.
• Run your text through this plagiarism detector to rule out any chances that you’ve mistakenly plagiarized someone else’s words.