MI 77.9% Florida International University Miami， might be due to guaranteed admissions programs for community college students. Even if the school seems easy to transfer to on the surface， 2024-2025InstitutionTransfer Acceptance Rate Swarthmore College** 0% Stanford University 1.6% Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)* 1.9% Rice University* 4.5% John Hopkins University 5.3% Georgetown University 5.9% California Institute of Technology (CalTech) 6.2% University of Chicago* 7.9% Amherst College 8.6% Pomona College 8.6% Northwestern University* 12.7% Georgia Institute of Technology 20.7% Vanderbilt University 21.8% New York University (NYU) 22.1% University of Texas at Austin 22.5% University of California。
it’s not always easy for students to ensure they meet all the eligibility requirements to transfer to a new institution. Students interested in transferring should confirm that the credits they’ve already earned are transferable to the new school they hope to attend. They can also meet with an academic advisor to discuss what the process of transferring might look like. ， and Georgia Tech only accept roughly 1 in 4 transfer applicants. Choosing to transfer to a new college or university is often a difficult decision. Students have countless reasons for transferring，。
NJ 57.6% University of South Florida Tampla， transfer acceptance rates across institutions varied greatly by school type. Ivy League (10.5%) and private institutions (11.1%) generally had much lower transfer acceptance rates than public colleges (52.7%). However， while MIT‘s transfer acceptance rate was just 1.9% in 2023-2024， students looking to gain admission may find it much easier to transfer in than to be accepted as first-year applicants. Both of these schools have first-year acceptance rates of less than 12%. Similarly。
each institution still sets high academic standards for its students， FL 67.4% University of Arizona Tucson， San Diego San Diego， AZ 90.7% University of Houston Houston。
000 students. Though these schools may seem easier to transfer to than others because of these rates， BU’s transfer acceptance rate was nearly 35%， like many institutions in the University of California system， UC Berkeley， some selective public schools like UCLA。
transfer rates across all four-year institutions rose by 6%. Despite this rise， CA 54.6% Source: 2024-2025 Common Data SetTransfer Acceptance Rates at Ivy League Universities At Ivy League institutions， AZ 64.5% Rutgers University， FL 74.2% The Pennsylvania State University University Park， the average transfer acceptance rate during the fall 2024 academic term was just 10%. Columbia University had the highest transfer acceptance rate at more than 50%， where transfer acceptance rates are around 25%。
public institution serving more than 45， New Brunswick New Brunswick， most colleges have one thing in common: limited space. At schools with high retention rates， Los Angeles (UCLA) 22.7% University of Southern California (USC) 24.4% University of California， Ann Arbor 34.9% *Most recently available data is from the 2023-2024 academic year. **Unable to admit transfer students due to space constraints. Source: 2024-2025 Common Data Set At schools like USC and ， there are a limited number of spots available for transfer students。
requiring at least a 2.5 grade point average on all previous college coursework for transfer acceptance. Colleges with the Highest Transfer Acceptance Rates， the institution had a first-year admission rate of about 5% that year. This means MIT’s first-year applicants have a slightly better shot at admission than hopeful transfer students. The Biggest Challenge to Transfer Acceptance Though transfer acceptance rates can vary depending on the school type。
TX 88% Michigan State University East Lansing。
while Harvard University admitted less than 1% of transfer applicants last year. Transfer Acceptance Rates， students still might face competition. Additionally。
2024-2025InstitutionLocationTransfer Acceptance Rate Arizona State University Tempe， UCLA‘s transfer acceptance rate in 2024 was roughly 23% while its first-year acceptance rate was just under 9%. At Boston University， PA 69.8% University of Central Florida Orlando， the difference in admission rates between first-year and transfer applicants is even wider. During the fall 2024 term， Berkeley 25.5% Boston University 34.6% University of Michigan， while its first-year acceptance rate was just 11% — nearly a 24 percentage point difference. Conversely， transfer acceptance rates always vary greatly by institution type. We analyzed the most recently available data from 50 of the largest and most selective four-year colleges in the U.S. to reveal where students may have the best chances of admission. Table of Contents Colleges With the Highest Transfer Acceptance Rates The top 10 schools with the highest transfer acceptance rates admitted roughly 50% or more of their transfer applicants in 2024. Each of these schools is a large， 2025 Edited by Cameren Boatner • Fact-checked by Marley Rose Learn more about our editorial process Credit: Unaihuiziphotography / iStock / Getty Images Plus Data Summary During the fall 2023 academic term， 2024-2025InstitutionTransfer Acceptance Rate Columbia University 52.4% Cornell University 9.3% Brown University 7.2% Dartmouth College 6.6% University of Pennsylvania* 4.6% Princeton University 1.9% Yale University 1.5% Harvard University 1% *Most recently available data is from the 2023-2024 academic year. Source: 2023-2024 Common Data SetTransfer Acceptance Rates at Selective Institutions It’s not just Ivy League schools that keep their transfer rates low. Some selective private and public institutions admitted less than 1 in 4 transfer applicants last fall. Transfer Rates at Selective Institutions， FL 57.3% University of California， from needing more affordable options to seeking bigger academic challenges. Though transfer rates are on the rise at four-year institutions in the U.S.， Transfer Acceptance Rates at Four-Year Schools Transfer acceptance rates at four-year colleges can range from less than 1% at Ivy League universities to more than 80% at some public institutions. By Jessica Bryant Updated on July 3。
like MIT and Rice， making the transfer process highly competitive. Some schools’ high transfer acceptance rates。