Northwestern is a fabulous and highly-respected research university in the Chicago area and nestled on the banks of Lake Michigan. As a large university with equally large resources, Northwestern has become a sought after destination for transfers who want a combination of community and opportunity. They welcome applications from students coming from 2-year and 4-year colleges, and successful applicants will have typically completed at least one full year of college before arriving at Northwestern. Unsurprisingly, the high demand for transfer also means that it isn’t easy to get in.
How to Transfer to the University of Southern California 2026
USC is a top private research university in Los Angeles, California known for combining top academics and an enviable social experience. Students look to USC as a transfer option, often, because they are seeking out a specific academic opportunity that their current school can’t fulfill — especially around supporting and conducting research. The climate doesn’t hurt, either. In the dead of winter, students in colder climes understandably look to the sunny potential of a California college.
How to Transfer to the University of Texas Austin 2026
How to Transfer to Northeastern 2026
Northeastern is an impressive university with campuses in Boston, London, and Oakland, CA. There are nearly 20,000 undergraduate students at Northeastern across the three campuses, with thousands participating in global experiences each year. The main campus, though, is Boston, and Northeastern is considered a top-50 research university.
How to Transfer to UNC Chapel Hill 2026
The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill is a top public research university and has a long tradition of welcoming transfers with strong academics and a clear sense of direction. They welcome about 900 transfers each year, joining a robust transfer community on campus.
How to Transfer to the University of Virginia 2026
The University of Virginia is a top public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. The university holds a sense of a great purpose at its core. They seek out students who want to do something more than simply get a degree, whether they join the community as first-years or transfers.
How to Transfer to Cornell 2026
Cornell University is a top research university and a member of the famed Ivy League. The program is unique among the Ivy League for many of their programs, especially those related to agriculture, management, and labor relations. This makes it highly sought after as a transfer option, offering both highly-respected degrees and uniquely focused career trajectories.
How to Transfer to Georgetown 2026
Georgetown is a highly-respected Jesuit university in Washington D.C that is particularly well-known for opportunities in politics, policy, foreign service, and the humanities more broadly. Part of the loosely defined and very unofficial “Ivy Plus” club, Georgetown is difficult to get into as a first-year. Unfortunately for prospective transfers, it isn’t any easier as a transfer applicant.
How to Transfer to the University of Michigan 2026
The University of Michigan is a top public state research university, and they have a long tradition of welcoming transfers. For the fall of 2024, Michigan received 6,832 applications for transfer and accepted 2,385. Transfers who are accepted by Michigan are rewarded with more flexibility than most other top schools: they can start in any season.
How to Transfer to the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) 2026
The University of Pennsylvania, or Penn, is an outstanding Ivy League university with equally impressive outcomes. It is mid-size, with 10,610 undergraduates across a range of colleges, and attracts students who think big. At Penn, students put their big ideas into practice. The Philadelphia setting empowers taking action rather than waiting for graduation.
How to Transfer to Duke 2026
Duke University welcomes only about 70 transfer students each year, most of whom arrive as sophomores. To be eligible, students must have completed at least “one full year of transferable college work,” by August before arriving at Duke, and should not have been completed while still in high school.
How to Transfer to Dartmouth 2026
Dartmouth is not known for welcoming large numbers of transfer students. In a recent year, the transfer acceptance rate was only 1.6%. They accepted only 12 of over 700 applicants. That is an abysmal transfer acceptance rate. However, 12 students did get in. It is possible. Not probable, and certainly not easy, but possible. We help students make it happen.
How to Transfer to Brown 2026
Brown is an Ivy League university with a strong creative streak. Located in the heart of Providence, Rhode Island, Brown attracts students who want to go far while thinking differently. The university is looking for a diverse transfer student group, but that doesn’t mean that it is easy to get in. Most recently, Brown received just under 3,000 applications for transfer. Ultimately, they accepted only 215 — or 7.2%. Getting in, then, isn’t easy. It’s just about as hard as getting in as a first-year, and a strong application requires strategy and preparation well in advance of pressing submit.
How to Transfer to Boston University 2026
Boston University is a school that embraces transfers — over 700 each year. Transfer students are able to start in either the fall or spring semester, and benefit from a robust community specifically geared towards supporting the unique needs of transfer students.
How to Transfer to NYU 2026
If you are dreaming of a transfer to New York University (NYU), you almost certainly have big dreams. NYU is a school for big dreams in a city fueled by passion, hustle, and creativity. NYU attracts young people with a vision for the future, and the transfer program isn’t any different. If anything, the dreams are even bigger because transfer students tend to have greater clarity on their life goals and academic path.
How to Transfer to Vanderbilt 2026
Vanderbilt is a dream school and a dynamic school. They offer a strong education in a super fun city, Nashville, with tons of opportunities for personal growth and career development long before your graduation date. It’s not surprising, then, that there is a lot of demand for transferring to Vanderbilt. Students get a fun college experience and a prestige college experience all in one, and that’s a strong pitch.
How to Transfer to the University of Chicago 2026
How to Transfer to Stanford 2026
The Stanford transfer acceptance rate hovers between 1% and 2% most years. Even when it spikes, it’s still under 5%. As a result, it’s statistically extremely unlikely that even a highly qualified applicant will get into Stanford through the transfer admissions path. To be fair, though, it’s just as hard to get in as a first-year, so no matter what you’re rolling the dice.
How to Transfer to Princeton 2026
Princeton is an iconic university, most often associated with exceptional academics in a stunning environment that pushes students to expand beyond perceived intellectual limits. Students who seek to transfer to Princeton often do so because whatever college they are currently at isn’t, they feel, pushing them as far as they can go.
How to Transfer to Yale 2026
Yale is a dream school for millions of students, but less than two thousand undergraduates make it into each graduating class. Most get in a first years, straight out of high school. However, there is another way in. Yale “enrolls a small number of transfer students” annually, accepting new students from both two-year and four-year institutions. Successful Yale transfer applicants apply from community colleges, from the military, and from other well-respected universities.