How we score

What the score is

AI models read your essay and score it against a rubric we wrote for transfer essays. A person does not read it to make your score.

No college publishes a transfer essay rubric. We built ours from what admissions offices and counselors publish about strong and weak transfer essays, and from the experience of students who transferred. It is our scale. It has not been tested against scores from real admissions readers.

It does not predict admission. Colleges decide with your grades, your classes, the seats they have and things we never see. A 9 does not mean you get in. A 4 does not mean you will not.

What the numbers mean

3

It is not doing its job yet.

6

Clear and correct, and easy to forget.

9

Only you could have written it, and it makes the case. Rare on a first draft.

The six parts

1. Reason for leaving

   Can a stranger say why you are leaving in one sentence?

   WeakA complaint or a feeling. It was not a good fit. I was not challenged. The reader learns what you dislike and nothing about what you need.

   StrongOne need your school cannot meet, and it grew out of your college work. You show what you tried first. You say one fair thing about where you are.

2. Fit with the target school

   Would this paragraph still work with another school's name in it?

   WeakPraise any school could claim. Great campus, strong alumni, so many opportunities. Swap the name and nothing breaks.

   StrongA few things this school has and yours does not, each tied to what you would do there and why. Take out the school's proper nouns and the paragraph falls apart.

3. Evidence from college work

   What have you done since you got to college?

   WeakA list of clubs and classes, or stories from high school. Passion claimed and never shown.

   StrongOne to three things you did, chosen because they support the move. What you did, with whom, what came of it.

   We judge this against the time you have had. One semester is not held against you. Jobs, military service and prior learning count.

4. Trajectory

   What changed, and where does it lead?

   WeakI was unhappy, now I want to go there. The future is a job title or making a difference.

   StrongA turning point you can name. One real lesson in your own words. A next step that follows from it.

5. Consistency with your transcript and activities

   Does the essay match the record?

   WeakYou say you love a subject you got a D in and never mention it. A research claim with no sign of it anywhere. Grades explained by blaming someone else.

   StrongThe essay and the record back each other up. A weak spot gets one factual sentence: what happened, what changed, how your grades have looked since.

   We can only score this if you give us your transcript and activities. Without them, it is marked not scored.

6. Writing and voice

   Could anyone else have written this?

   WeakStock phrases, big words doing no work, nothing a reader can picture. Or a resume turned into sentences.

   StrongAt least one passage only you could have written. Plain words and tight sentences. Plain wording is never a flaw.

Not every essay has to do all six. A UC answer has no reason for leaving, so that part is marked not scored. A part we cannot score never counts against you.

How red flags work

A red flag is one specific thing that makes a reader stop trusting the essay. We check every essay for them.

A minor flag is a note to fix. A major flag means a reader would hold it against you, and the part of the rubric it hurts is held to 5 or lower, even if the rest of the part is strong.

Sounds generic is a note about voice and nothing more. We never say an essay was written by AI, and we make no claim about what a college can detect.

What you pay for

The Transfer Pass does not buy a better score. The free review gives you the same scores, a blunt verdict and your biggest problems named. The pass shows you where they are, pins each one to the exact sentence and scores every new draft. See the Transfer Pass

We never write your essay. We tell you what to cut, what to add and which sentence is weak. The words stay yours.