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.  

During the 2024-2025 Cornell admissions cycle, the acceptance rate was 8.41%. While not a record low, this number is still sub 10% – meaning it’s a reach for everyone applying. But what does 8.41% actually mean? How does that translate? What numbers go behind these numbers? And how can you take advantage of these stats to help you gain a strategic edge? Well, thankfully for you, we dive into these statistics every single year to help our clients make the best decisions. And we’re sharing that intel with you.

During the 2024-2025 admissions cycle, the University of Pennsylvania, or Penn, had an acceptance rate of 5.4% – their lowest ever. But what does this actually mean? Where does that number really come from? Schools like Penn may openly publish some of the statistics that make up this number, but to really understand “why” and “how,” we need to look at more. We dig into the numbers of elite schools every year to help our clients have the best shot at success.

In this week’s deep dive, our series that figures out why some colleges have a reputation for excellence in particular majors so you don’t have to, we’re sleuthing around the University of Southern California’s film program — otherwise known by its more sophisticated title, USC Cinematic Arts. While USC already has a very selective acceptance rate of just 10% overall, remember that you have to apply to a specific program to gain admission to USC — and, though USC doesn’t publish the exact numbers for each school, rumors over the last decade have consistently maintained that the USC School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) has an acceptance rate of just 3% for first-year undergraduates. And that, of course, begs the question: what the heck is going on here?

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.

The University of Michigan Ann Arbor, often just called UMich, is a big deal. Not only is it a top-ranked public research university, but it is also home to a staggering 34,000 undergrads, making it one of the largest schools in the country. UMich is also home to the College of Engineering, which is one of the best engineering schools in the US. While they don’t publish a specific engineering school acceptance rate, the overall acceptance rate is about 17%. This rate comes with a pretty big caveat. As a public school, a little over half of the undergraduate population is in-state students. While it is competitive for any applicant to get it, it is far harder for out-of-state applicants. If you are serious about getting into UMich Engineering (especially if you don’t live in the Wolverine State), you must be an elite candidate. You need to take a couple of steps to ensure your application is competitive.

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.

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.