Transfer Credit - Undergraduate Admissions (2024)

FAQs

Is it easier to get accepted as a transfer student? ›

It's important to understand that the transfer admission process is often much more selective than the undergraduate process — especially at universities where gaining admission is already very difficult. According to NACAC, on average, transfer admission rates were slightly lower than that of first-year students.

Transfer Credit Limits

Additionally, most colleges have a limit on the amount of credit they will accept. For instance, they might consider accepting 60 to 90 transfer credits from a combined study at a two-year community college and a four-year institution.

“It's important to indicate interest, send requested documents, and [generally] follow through.” So, when the letter says no, it doesn't hurt to try for a second shot. “Appeals generally don't cost anything extra,” Penn says. And you just might be rewarded with a spot in your transfer college's class.

Tips to Boost Your Chances of Admission as a Transfer Student. Take rigorous courses required by your major, and do as well as you can. If you know your transfer college, make sure those credits will transfer with you. In fact, make sure your overall GPA will meet the minimum required GPA for transfers.

According to NACAC's 2019 State of College Admission report, the average admit rate for transfer students was 61% compared to 66% for freshmen. This means your grades will play an even more important role in the viability of your transfer application than they did the last time you applied.

Academic Preparation

The average GPA of admitted transfer students is above 3.5 and admitted students have completed most or all major preparatory courses. We give highest priority to applicants from California community colleges and other UC campuses.

We accept a maximum of 16 credits, combined, for coursework completed by an examination, such as the College Level Examination Program (CLEP), or professional training approved by the American Council on Education (ACE).

Your transfer courses will appear on your official academic history transcript, but the grades you received in the classes will not count toward any GPA or class ranking.

Consider applying to colleges with rolling admissions, taking a gap year, or attending community college. If you are still dwelling on your rejection, try to stop. Letting go of the colleges to which you were not admitted may help you evaluate your acceptances or other options on their own merits.

In most cases, especially in early decision applications, admissions decisions are final. In rare cases, students who are rejected may appeal their decision, but only if there was an egregious error in their submitted application, such as the wrong transcript being sent in or grades being inaccurately reported.

Can you apply to the same college twice after being rejected? ›

Yes. While students certainly can ask a university to reconsider, these are rarely, if ever, successful in changing an admission decision. Many counselors only recommend that students appeal their decision if an important piece of information was missing from their application.

When transferring to a four-year university, admissions officers often look at your GPA as a measure of your academic potential. A 3.8 GPA puts you in a competitive position, especially if you're aiming for mid-tier or some selective universities.

Focus On Your Grades

Since your grades are the most important part of your application package, you want them to be as high as possible. In addition, you should focus on the courses that will easily transfer to your new school. This means taking your general education courses and excelling in them.

Grades and classes from college matter the most. If a student is hoping to transfer into a more selective college than where they are currently enrolled, their grades should be as strong as possible.

FIT accepts 56.02% transfer applicants, which is competitive. To have a shot at transferring into FIT, you should have a current GPA of at least 3.3 - ideally you're GPA will be around 3.43. In addition, you will need to submit standardized test scores.

The applicants compete with each other NOT with the existing students or freshman applicants. Outside of state schools which are required to provide a path for CC students, private schools have very few spots for transfers, so admissions are more competitive.

How competitive is the transfer process for Ivy League schools? The transfer acceptance rate is generally lower than the freshmen admission rate, making it highly competitive. Each Ivy League school has its own criteria and admits a different number of transfer students.