Colorado College is a small, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Can’t believe we just had to say Colorado three times in one sentence. Anyways, CC (that’s what we’re calling it) is known for their super unique Block Plan, where you take one class at a time for about eight weeks. Pretty neat!
CC is hard to get into, with a 16% acceptance rate for first years—however, that doesn’t tell the whole story. The majority of accepted students at CC come from Early Decision, and some say the Regular Decision acceptance rate is in the low single-digits. That means they really care if you care about them. To compare, their transfer acceptance rate last cycle was 28%. That doesn’t mean 2x the chance of getting in. 214 transfer applicants applied, and 62 were accepted. That’s not a lot of spots! No worries though, we have some tips to help you create a great transfer application for Colorado College.
Colorado College’s Requirements
In order to be eligible to transfer to CC, you need to have completed a full semester of undergraduate college work. Pretty simple. This is where the simplicity ends. If you are thinking about applying to transfer, fill out their “” ASAP. This is not the actual application, but a way for them to gauge interest, which, as we noted, they care a lot about.
The rest of their requirements are as follows:
Transfer Common Application
Essays (more on this later)
Official high school and college transcripts
You can submit a self-report college transcript (and should) but also send an official one
A document with the course descriptions of all college classes you have taken and are currently enrolled in
Two academic evaluations/recommendations, they prefer that they both be from college professors, but do accept one from high school adults. They also accept additional letters of rec
Transfer college report (a Dean or advisor has to fill this out)
Transfer mid-term report for your in-progress grades
And your “optional” requirements:
Test scores
Virtual interview (you should do this, many schools don’t offer it to transfers)
Arts supplements
Writing samples
More on their requirements and process for transfer applicants .
Pick the Right Classes
Lucky for you, CC has a whole thing about this on their website:
“Pursue courses that span the liberal arts curriculum. As a liberal arts institution, we are looking for students who are excited to explore courses across many disciplines and have already begun to do so at their previous institutions. This will also help you jump into completing our all-college requirements, as well as help narrow down what you would like to pursue for your major(s) and/or thematic minor(s). This includes taking a foreign language, math and science, and classes that help you grow as a writer, critical thinker, and communicator.”
CC wants liberal arts students, so you need to be as liberal arts-y as possible. However, you need to make sure you are taking classes that fit into your stated major. Yes, in order to appeal to CC, you need a mix, but you also don’t want to end up taking zero classes that fit into your narrative.
CC mentions that you should take classes being mindful of the core, and we totally agree. That is beneficial for transferring, but also beneficial if you end up not being successful in your transfer.
Get Really Good Grades
Colorado College does not list a minimum GPA requirement, but that doesn’t mean you can bomb your classes. You should still aim for the highest grades possible – nothing proves that you can be successful in college by being successful in college.
And look, if you almost failed out of chem in high school, you do not need to take that again as your science class. Seek out the path of least resistance. Take classes that genuinely interest you. Don’t suffer through organic chemistry if you don’t have to.
Make sure to go to office hours – all of them. If you’re struggling, the assistance can help, plus getting to know your professors helps come rec letter season.
Develop Your Niche
Surprise, surprise! Commitment to your academic field requires more than just attending classes!
How deeply have you delved into your declared major? Have you actively explored it, and taken tangible steps to advance your goals? Consider joining clubs, collaborating on research with a professor, writing for the school paper, or seeking out internships. Whatever your goals are, get out there and make it happen.
By the way, this isn't solely about sprucing up your application. Immersing yourself in your current school is crucial. CC says the same thing on their site:
“Get involved ... inside the classroom and outside the classroom. Challenge yourself to take on leadership opportunities and get to know your professors (they'll write better recommendations for you!). This tells us that you want to do the same at CC.”
Establishing connections isn't mere window dressing—it's about constructing a support system in case your transfer ambitions hit a roadblock.
Write Good Essays
CC requires the Transfer Common App personal statement that you’ll see a million times – why do you want to transfer, and what objectives do you hope to achieve?
They sum up what they want from you (and what we tell students every dang year) pretty nicely:
“Tell us why you really want to transfer. What has been challenging for you at your current institution? Why do you think CC will be a better fit for you academically and/or socially? We are eager to hear why you may be eager to be at CC, rather than choosing to leave your current institution.”
Keep this essay as academic as possible, tbh. Yes, feel free to mention things like a smaller liberal arts community or the Block Plan, but your focus should be on academics. You may remember writing lots of Why Us essays during your first-year apps, and this will follow a similar format. After telling your origin story and explaining why your goals cant be met at your current school, you’ll want to pull in specific, upper-level classes you’d want to take and professors you’d want to research with.
They also have a supplement. You choose one of the three questions:
In answering one of the prompts below, feel free to highlight any aspects of your self-identity that will help us know you better. This could include, but is not limited to, gender identity, first-generation status, race, ethnicity, political views, socioeconomic background, spirituality, or geographic origin. With respect to race in particular, please note that in a 2023 majority decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, Chief Justice John Roberts stated, “Nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected the applicant’s life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise.”
Tell us about a time when you learned from an experience that challenged your perspective.
Provide one or two specific examples from your life that demonstrate your potential to advance CC’s commitment to antiracism.
Describe how your personal experiences with a particular community make you a student who would benefit from Colorado College’s Block Plan.
Both the phrasing of the lead-up to the questions and the questions themselves should tell you a lot about what kind of school and community Colorado College is! We have a guide on how to answer these questions, and CC has a lot of tips of their own on as well.
We hope these tips help you with your Colorado College transfer app. Good luck, keep your grades up, get plugged into your local community just in case, and keep exploring your niche!
If you need help with your transfer applications, reach out to us today.