If you’re planning to transfer, there’s a change coming that’s worth knowing about. The Common App is moving its transfer application onto the main Common App, the same one first-year students use. In its words, the goal is “bringing first-year and transfer admissions together in one place.”
What’s changing
- One platform. Today, transfer students use a separate site called the Common App for transfer. That’s being folded into the regular Common App.
- When. The new transfer application will be available for the 2027–2028 application season. The Common App’s own roadmap runs from October 2026 to August 2027.
- Colleges set up their pages in spring 2027. That means the exact questions and essay prompts for each school won’t be final until then.
What it means for you
If you’re applying this season (for fall 2027), nothing changes yet. Use the application each college lists on its transfer page today, whether that’s the current Common App for transfer or the college’s own application.
If you’re applying next season (for 2028), expect the transfer application to look more like the first-year Common App. Check each college’s transfer page in summer 2027 for the final requirements before you start writing.
What doesn’t change
The basics of a strong transfer application are the same as they’ve been since we first wrote The Transfer Book in 2010:
- Strong college grades, especially in courses related to your intended major
- A clear, specific reason for wanting to transfer to that school
- Recommendations from professors who know your work
- Planning ahead for transcripts and credit transfer
Helpful next steps
- See how selective your target schools are on our 2026 transfer acceptance rates for the top 50 colleges.
- Read real essays that got students into Stanford, Penn, Columbia, Cornell and more in The Transfer Book.
Source: Common App, “Unified application” member update. We’ll update this post as the Common App shares more details.