Transfer College Report, Midterm Report and Recs

Transfer College Report, Midterm Report and Recs

The College Report is a form an official at your current college fills in to confirm you are in good academic and disciplinary standing. It is not a recommendation. The Mid-Term Report is a form you fill in, listing your spring courses with official or estimated grades. Of the six schools we checked, three require a recommendation, one makes it optional, and two do not want one unless they ask.

Our view: the forms that stall a transfer file are the ones you have to start yourself. At Cornell, the College Report only reaches your dean after you file a request in the Applicant Portal, and the Mid-Term Report waits until you have a grade or estimate in every spring class. Recommendations get the attention, but these two forms carry the deadlines.

Every school page quoted below was checked on October 30, 2026. Most of these pages list dates without a year, so recheck each one before you submit.

The transfer forms at six schools in one table

Sources: Cornell transfer applicants, Michigan transfer requirements, USC transfer students, UNC transfer application, UT Austin transfer admission, Parsons how to apply. "Not listed" means the page we read does not mention the form; a portal or a later request can still ask for it.

What the College Report is

Cornell's definition is among the clearest we found: "The College Report confirms that an applicant is in good academic and disciplinary standing at their most recent institution." It is a standing check. Your dean confirms that you are allowed to continue and are not under discipline.

You do not hand the form to your dean. Cornell says: "You must complete the College Report Request form in your Applicant Portal and designate an official at your current college or university to complete the College Report. Once you submit the request form, an email will be sent to the college official asking them to complete the College Report."

Our recommendation: before you file the request, find out who at your college signs these forms. Common App's own 2026-27 College Report is addressed to an official who has "access to the student's academic records", which may not be your advisor. Email that office first, so your request does not land with someone who has never seen the form.

What the Mid-Term Report is

Cornell's Mid-Term Report is the one that catches transfer applicants out, because you cannot file it early. The page says: "Applicants complete the Mid-Term Report when mid-term grades are available for their current spring college courses." The grades "can be official midterm grades or estimates of your performance based on assignments you've received grades for thus far." And: "Do not submit this form until you have an official or estimated grade in each class you're taking for the spring."

If a class has no grade yet, Cornell says "you must provide a written explanation, which can be submitted through the document uploader in your Applicant Portal." Cornell's deadline for "All other required materials" is April 15, so plan to have an estimate in every spring class by early April.

Michigan uses the term "midyear report" and does not require it unless asked. USC takes a different route: it needs "your most recent fall-term grades," so "be sure your current school has posted them before transcripts are sent," and it may ask for spring grades later. USC says candidates "will receive either an admission decision or a request for spring grades by the end of May."

Constructed example: the note for a class with no grade

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant statement. It is 68 words.

Mid-Term Report explanation, [Course name and number]. This course is graded on two exams and a final project, and the first exam is scheduled for April 9, after the date I am filing this report. I have no graded work in the course yet. My instructor, [Name], can confirm the grading schedule at [college email]. I will send an update through the portal once the exam is graded.

Who should write your transfer recommendation

The schools describe the right writer in different words:

• Cornell: "The Academic Evaluation should come from instructors who taught the applicant in a full-credit college course. If an applicant has not been enrolled in school for two or more years, the instructor recommendation may be replaced by a personal or employer recommendation."
• The New School: "one recommendation from a professor with whom they have studied," or "someone who can speak highly of you as an artist, scholar, or student, like an employer or mentor. They may not be written by family members."
• UNC: "Choose someone who knows you well and can describe both your academic potential and unique personal qualities."
• UT Austin: letters "may be from mentors or people who know you well," but UT encourages "letters from sources that best speak to your interests, accomplishments or preparation for the intended major," and says a letter "should be able to give additional context or information to support your admission that is not already provided in your application."

Our view: ask the college instructor who graded the most of your writing or problem-solving in a course close to your intended major, even if it was a small community college section. The basis is in the rules above: Cornell asks for an instructor who "taught the applicant," and UT asks for information not already in your file. A professor from a 300-person lecture who knows only your grade adds nothing your transcript does not show.

The countercase: if you have been out of school two or more years, Cornell lets an employer write instead, and The New School accepts an employer or mentor. For a working adult, a manager who has watched you solve problems for three years can say more than an instructor from one recent course.

When not to send one: Michigan lists the instructor recommendation as "Not required unless requested," and USC says letters are "not required unless specifically requested by your intended academic department or major." If neither school asks, do not send one. If a USC department asks, treat its letter as required.

How to ask a professor for a transfer recommendation

Ask early, ask in writing, and give the professor everything in one message. The professor needs the course and term, your grade, one piece of your work, the form link and the deadline.

Constructed example: the request email

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant statement. It is 124 words.

Subject: Transfer recommendation request, [Course] fall 2026

Dear Professor [Name],

I was in your [Course] section in fall 2026 and earned [grade]. I am applying to transfer to [School] for fall 2027 to major in [field], and I would be grateful if you would write my academic evaluation.

Your course is the reason I chose that major. My final paper on [topic] is attached, with your comments, in case it helps.

The form will come by email from [School] after I list you. [School]'s deadline for recommendations is [date]; I will send a reminder one week before. If you would rather not, or do not have time, I understand completely.

Thank you for considering it.

[Your name] [Student ID, if your college uses one]

Why it works: one paragraph gives the facts, one gives a reason tied to the course, and one gives the logistics. The professor can say yes without writing back for anything. If you need help asking a high school teacher instead, our guide to the Common App teacher recommendation letter covers that letter. If a recommender is late, see what to do when a recommendation letter is late.

Activities and resume for transfer applicants

Two of the six schools say how they want your activities:

• UT Austin requires a resume that "should include your previous five years of academic, extracurricular, community and work activities as well as honors and awards," with "The number of hours per week and weeks per year spent on each activity."
• UNC reads the Common App's Experiences and Achievements section and adds: "If you'd prefer to submit a resume, you can do so in the 'documents' section of the Common Application." Its tip names "working to put food on the table" and "caring for siblings or grandparents" next to clubs and startups.

Cornell asks for a resume or CV only from Applied Economics and Management and Hotel Administration applicants.

Our recommendation: count paid work and family care as activities, with honest hours. A transfer applicant who worked 25 hours a week has a record that a club list cannot match. For how to write each entry, see our Common App activities list examples.

Calendar: who submits what, and when

Month windows are our planning ranges; the named dates come from each school's page. Our Fall 2027 transfer deadlines guide lists the full set. Cornell's version of these forms, with its college essays, is in our Cornell transfer essays guide.

Questions about transfer school forms

Do transfer students need letters of recommendation?

It depends on the school. Of the six we checked, Cornell, UNC and The New School require one; UT Austin makes up to two optional; Michigan and USC do not want one unless they ask.

Can my academic advisor fill in the College Report?

Cornell says to "designate an official at your current college or university." Ask your college which office completes standing forms; it may not be your advisor.

What if I am not taking spring classes?

Cornell's page says "If you aren't enrolled in spring courses, you can note that in this form."

Does the College Report replace my transcript?

No. Cornell requires official transcripts "from all institutions you have attended" as a separate item. If your standing answer will be no, read how to explain probation before the College Report does.

Get a free review of your transfer essay

Get a free Quick Review of your transfer essay against GradPilot's transfer reasons and goals rubric. It checks whether your reason to transfer follows from your current situation, whether your experience gives a visible basis for your direction, and whether your next step fits that direction.

More transfer guides:

• The Common App transfer essay prompt: why each school's transfer essay differs.
• Michigan transfer essays: four prompts and their character limits.
• Transfer essay examples: constructed examples for community college transfers and major changes.

Sources

Retrieved October 30, 2026, except where noted.

• Cornell University Undergraduate Admissions, Transfer Applicants (no year beside dates): College Report, Academic Evaluation, Mid-Term Report, transcripts, deadlines, resume rule.
• University of Michigan Office of Undergraduate Admissions, Transfer Requirements & Deadlines (read through a text reader; no year beside dates): forms not required unless requested, course list, February 1 deadline.
• University of Southern California Office of Admission, Transfer Students (Fall 2027 cycle): recommendation rule, fall-grade rule, February 15, 2027 deadline, end-of-May decision or spring-grade request.
• UNC-Chapel Hill Undergraduate Admissions, Transfer Application (no year beside dates): one letter, resume option, activities tip, March 15 supporting materials.
• The University of Texas at Austin Office of Admissions, Transfer Admission (no year beside dates): optional letters, five-year resume, March 10 supplemental materials.
• The New School, Parsons How to Apply: Undergraduate Programs (read through a text reader): transfer recommendation rule.
• Common App, 2026-27 College Report (PDF): the college official section and its records-access instruction.