If you missed your chance to get into the top school of your dreams because you flunked your exams, don’t worry because you still have a chance to get into the best schools by transferring colleges! Want to know about best colleges to transfer to and their transfer acceptance rates? Then keep reading below.
Why Transferring Colleges?
In fact, undergraduate transfer is a very common phenomenon in the U.S. Many students will apply for transfer because of the limited learning resources offered by their school or because they cannot adapt to the life of a certain school.
U.S. universities also treat transfer students very kindly, firstly, because our transfer students can increase the diversity of the student body and bring vitality to the campus. Secondly, transfer students’ grades and scores are not submitted to U.S. News, which means that transfer students’ data are not counted in the rankings, so universities have more room to recruit the students they want, and they can also increase their financial revenues through the tuition fees paid by transfer students.
If you look at the data, many Top 30 schools have higher transfer acceptance rates than direct application acceptance rates. For example, Cornell’s freshman acceptance rate is only 7%, while the transfer acceptance rate is as high as 14%, doubling the entire rate.
The U.S. transfer system is very flexible, the main U.S. to U.S., community college to four-year university, international students to U.S., and other ways. For mainland students, the U.S.-based to U.S.-based transfer is more common. Community colleges are also becoming a popular way of transferring due to factors such as lower tuition and higher acceptance rates.
What Are Transfer Acceptance Rates Of Top 30 Colleges?
As of the latest transfer admissions data in 2023, we can see that although the transfer acceptance rate of the Top 5 schools is still very low, especially harvard transfer acceptance rate and mit transfer acceptance rate, at only 1%, the acceptance rate of these schools is extremely low regardless of whether they apply directly or transfer, and the difficulty is great for all students. However, in the Top 10 to 30 schools the emergence of a number of transfers is more advantageous than direct application schools, such as private Northwestern University, Cornell University, Columbia University, Vanderbilt University, Emory University, Notre Dame University, University of Southern California, etc.; public universities in the UCB, UCLA, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Florida, and other schools of the transfer acceptance rate is also very high.
| Rank | University | Direct Admission Rate | Transfer Admission Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Princeton University | 6% | 3% |
| 2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 4% | 1% |
| 3 | Harvard University | 3% | 1% |
| 3 | Stanford University | 4% | 2% |
| 5 | Yale University | 5% | 2% |
| 6 | University of Pennsylvania | 7% | 5% |
| 7 | California Institute of Technology | 3% | 6% |
| 7 | Duke University | 6% | / |
| 9 | Brown University | 5% | 5% |
| 9 | Johns Hopkins University | 7% | 6% |
| 9 | Northwestern University | 7% | 13% |
| 12 | Columbia University | 4% | 11% |
| 12 | Cornell University | 7% | 14% |
| 12 | University of Chicago | 5% | 7% |
| 15 | University of California-Berkeley | 11% | 24% |
| 15 | University of California-Los Angeles | 9% | 24% |
| 17 | Rice University | 9% | 5% |
| 18 | Dartmouth College | 6% | 7% |
| 18 | Vanderbilt University | 7% | 17% |
| 20 | University of Notre Dame | 13% | 27% |
| 21 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 18% | 37% |
| 22 | Georgetown University | 12% | 7% |
| 22 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 17% | 42% |
| 24 | Carnegie Mellon University | 11% | 7% |
| 24 | Emory University | 11% | 19% |
| 24 | University of Virginia | 19% | 35% |
| 24 | Washington University in St.Louis | 11% | 17% |
| 28 | University of California-Davis | 37% | / |
| 28 | University of California-San Diego | 24% | 59% |
| 28 | University of Florida | 23% | 44% |
| 28 | University of Southern California | 12% | 24% |
Colleges With High Transfer Acceptance Rates
If you are already enrolled in a U.S. college and have the intention to transfer, uhomes.com highly recommends that you try to apply to these colleges with high transfer acceptance rates according to your actual situation. If you apply for a transfer to a new school, it usually takes 2 years for you to graduate, which is a good opportunity to enter your dream school.
Columbia University
U.S. News Ranking: 12
2022-2023 Transfer Acceptance Rate: 11 %
Transfer Application Deadline: March 1st
As one of the Ivy League institutions, Columbia has a world-class law school, business school, medical school, school of journalism, school of international relations, school of engineering and so on. Not only is it one of the universities that has produced the most Nobel Prize winners, but it has also produced four U.S. presidents, including Barack Obama and Teddy Roosevelt, and 10 U.S. Supreme Court justices. At the same time, according to the survey, columbia transfer acceptance rate is 11%, which means that, compared to other Top 30 universities, entering columbia through transfer is relatively high.
New York City, where Columbia University is located, is highly internationalized and the student body is also very diverse within the student body, and cultural diversity and tolerance enable international students to adapt to the life of studying abroad more quickly.
Vanderbilt University
U.S. News Ranking: 18
2022-2023 Transfer Acceptance Rate: 17 %
Transfer Application Deadline: March 15th
Vanderbilt University is located in Nashville, Tennessee, which makes it a slightly remote location compared to other schools. However, there is an abundance of cultural and artistic endeavors in this big city which is famous for its music culture, as well as the fact that Tennessee is the birthplace of American country music.
Humanities education is Vanderbilt’s specialty, and no matter what you major in, you’ll study the humanities, basic sciences, history, and foreign languages. The business, law, medical, and education schools are among the top in the nation, and engineering, social sciences, and music and fine arts are all strong majors for them as well. So it seems that choosing a literature or science program at Vanderbilt is also a good choice.
Vanderbilt has been ranked the happiest university in the nation and the most beautiful campus in the Princeton Review. Vanderbilt’s campus, which has been certified as a National Arboretum since 1988, has a rich artistic atmosphere and a beautiful, livable climate.
University of Notre Dame
U.S. News Ranking: 20
2022-2023 Transfer Acceptance Rate: 27 %
Transfer Application Deadline: March 15th
As a Catholic university, Notre Dame is very religious and has a more conservative school spirit. Theology, one of the top theologies in the U.S., is a mandatory subject for all undergraduates, though it is not mandatory for students to be religious. Other strengths include Arts and Humanities, Architecture, Law, Business, Politics and International Studies, Philosophy, Mathematics, and Earth Sciences, and Engineering is in the top 20 in the U.S.
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
U.S. News Ranking: 21
2022-2023 Transfer Acceptance Rate: 37 %
Transfer Application Deadline: February 1st
Known as the “Harvard of the Midwest,” Umich is one of the best public universities in the United States, with few shortcomings in academic disciplines. At the same time, Umich’s Ross School of Business is one of the best undergraduate business schools in the U.S., the law school is not as good as Harvard and Yale, but still in the top ten, the College of Engineering and the School of Medicine are also among the best in their respective fields. Umich’s sociology, psychology, philosophy, and political science are also very strong.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
U.S. News Ranking: 22
2022-2023 Transfer Acceptance Rate: 42 %
Transfer Application Deadline: February 15th
Founded in 1789, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has a long history and was one of the first universities to be included in the Public Ivy.
UNC’s strengths are in sociology, journalism, psychology, and history. The School of Public Health was once ranked second in the U.S. with Harvard, behind Johns Hopkins. Business, Biology, and Chemistry are also of top U.S. caliber. Relatively weak is engineering, and UNC does not have a school of engineering, only set up a bioengineering program, so it is not recommended to students interested in engineering to apply.
University of Virginia
U.S. News Ranking: 24
2022-2023 Transfer Acceptance Rate: 35 %
Transfer Application Deadline: March 1st
UVA’s strongest majors are in the humanities, such as philosophy, politics, history, classics, English, and education, which are more suited to students who prefer the liberal arts, and the natural and scientific disciplines are a bit weaker here. Undergraduate and graduate business school programs are top-notch in the U.S., with a reasonable curriculum, good preparation for employment, and a target school for consulting firms and big banks. After graduation, most of the students here have gone on to work for well-known companies.
University of Southern California
U.S. News Ranking: 28
2022-2023 Transfer Acceptance Rate: 24 %
Transfer Application Deadline: February 15th
The usc transfer acceptance rate is relatively high at 24%. USC is known to have strong programs in film, theater, and media. In addition, business, architecture, medicine and engineering are among the top-ranked majors in the U.S. Entrepreneurship and international trade are ranked sixth, accounting and real estate are ranked seventh in the U.S., and management is ranked tenth. Many political and business celebrities and show business directors, producers, and actors have come out from here, ranking among the top four in terms of influence in Silicon Valley.
The Biggest Challenge To College Transfer Acceptance
The biggest challenges students may face when transferring between universities are GPA , academic knowledge, and preparation of transfer essays.
A high GPA is often required if you want to transfer to a better university, and different universities have different standards for GPA. Courses that count toward a degree at your school may not be accepted at another or may only transfer as elective credits. This may result in students needing to retake courses or extend their education to meet the requirements of the new school.
Some colleges have specific course or major requirements that transfer students may have difficulty meeting. For example, if a student transfers in the middle of a program, they may need to make up the mandatory core courses at their new school.
Competitive schools often have lower acceptance rates for transfer applicants than first-year students. In addition, collecting transcripts, writing transfer-specific essays, and dealing with the different transfer application processes can be both time-consuming and stressful, and as a result, students lose much of their after-school time to relax.
Changing from a familiar environment to a new campus or city may also cause anxiety for transfer students. It usually takes some time to adjust to this new environment, and students must find new accommodations and a new social circle before transferring.
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Why These Schools?
These schools are very highly ranked and well-known universities in the U.S. Many students may not get into their desired schools for a number of reasons. However, many students actually realize their dreams by transferring to other schools every year, so we are here to provide the transfer acceptance rates of these schools in the hope that it can help students find their best colleges to transfer to!
Guide of Transferring Colleges：Credit Transfer
Here, you can find some best schools to transfer to. You should know that transferring schools could be your chance to turn things around. If you’ve decided to take the leap, it’s time to start preparing for credit transfers and mapping out your next steps. The initial point to comprehend regarding credit transfers is that you can only proceed with the transfer if your current school credits are eligible and can be transferred to your new school.
A lot of transfer students worry about whether their college credits will transfer to their new school. Transferring credits between public schools within the same state is usually the simplest option. Many times, these schools have agreements that make it easier to transfer college credits and could promise admission to students who meet specific criteria.
FAQ About Transferring Colleges
Why does acceptance rate matter?
The transfer admission rate largely represents your probability of success. If you desperately want to transfer to another school, choosing a school with a higher transfer acceptance rate is the right choice; a school with a low transfer acceptance rate means that there are high requirements and high competitiveness, so there is a high probability that your application will not be approved.
Is it harder to get into Harvard as a transfer?
You need to have a GPA above 3.85.
First-year GPA is an important criterion for transfer students. While Harvard does not explicitly state a minimum GPA requirement for transfer students, most successful transfer students have a GPA of 3.85 or higher.
What is a good GPA to have to transfer?
If your goal is to transfer to one of the top 30 colleges in the U.S., a 3.5 or higher GPA will put you in a good position. There are some universities with more lenient requirements, such as the University of Southern California (USC) or Cornell University, where a GPA of about 3.3 to 3.5 is also acceptable.
What universities have the best transfer acceptance rates?
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill transfer acceptance rate：42%
University of Michigan – Ann Arbor transfer acceptance rate：37%
University of Virginia transfer acceptance rate：35%
University of Notre Dame transfer acceptance rate：27%
University of Southern California transfer acceptance rate：24%：
Vanderbilt University transfer acceptance rate：17%
Columbia University transfer acceptance rate：11%
