Earning admission as a high schooler to America’s top colleges is difficult, but doing so as a transfer applicant is a whole other can of worms. For transfer applicants, not only does everything from high school still count (e.g., coursework, testing, extracurriculars), but college coursework and grades count, too. Yet it’s not impossible to earn admission to America’s most highly selective universities as a transfer student. In fact, sometimes it’s easier!

Indeed, some of these institutions — like the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Vanderbilt University, Washington University in St. Louis, Columbia University, the University of Notre Dame, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of California, Los Angeles, Emory University, the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, the University of Virginia, and Georgetown University show more love to transfer applicants than even their first-year applicants by admitting them at a significantly higher rate.

So, which of America’s top universities admit the most significant percentage of transfer applicants? It’s time to find out!

Transfer Admission Rates for Top 25 National Universities

Below, you’ll find the transfer admission rate at each school ranked in the top 25 universities as ranked in 2025 by US News & World Report for “Best National Universities.”

College / University	2025 US News Rank (“Best National Universities”)	Transfer Admission Rate for 2023-24
Princeton University	#1	3.08%
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	#2	1.88%
Harvard University	#3	0.79%
Stanford University	#4	2.04%
Yale University	#5	1.22%
California Institute of Technology	#6	4.02%
Duke University	#6	N/A
Johns Hopkins University	#6	6.39%
Northwestern University	#6	12.75%
University of Pennsylvania	#10	4.58%
Cornell University	#11	12.67%
University of Chicago	#11	7.91%
Brown University	#13	4.15%
Columbia University	#13	10.11%
Dartmouth College	#13	1.56%
University of California, Los Angeles	#15	26.32%
University of California, Berkeley	#17	26.75%
Rice University	#18	4.45%
University of Notre Dame	#18	27.55%
Vanderbilt University	#18	18.86%
Carnegie Mellon University	#21	5.77%
University of Michigan – Ann Arbor	#21	34.50%
Washington University in St. Louis	#21	12.21%
Emory University	#24	16.80%
Georgetown University	#24	13.21%
University of Virginia	#24	32.95%

Analysis of Transfer Admission Rates for America’s Top Universities

So, transfer admission rates aren’t exactly surging at our nation’s top schools. At most of America’s elite institutions, transfer admission rates are lower than the respective overall admission rates. But it’s not like these numbers offer no hope to students hoping to switch schools.

Top Universities with Higher Transfer Admission Rates Than First-Year Admission Rates

Several elite institutions boast exceedingly high transfer rates (relative to their first-year admission rates). Below are the top-ranked institutions whose 2023-2024 transfer admission rates were higher than their first-year admission rates for the Class of 2028:

College / University	2025 US News Rank (“Best National Universities”)	Transfer Admission Rate for 2023-24	First-Year Acceptance Rate
California Institute of Technology	#6	4.02%	~3.0%
Johns Hopkins University	#6	6.39%	6.20%
Northwestern University	#6	12.75%	7.50%
University of Chicago	#11	7.91%	4.48%
Columbia University	#13	10.11%	3.86%
University of California, Los Angeles	#15	26.32%	~9.0%
University of California, Berkeley	#17	26.75%	~11.0%
University of Notre Dame	#18	27.55%	11.10%
Vanderbilt University	#18	18.86%	5.10%
University of Michigan – Ann Arbor	#21	34.50%	~17.0%
Emory University	#24	16.80%	14.50%
Georgetown University	#24	13.21%	12.00%
University of Virginia	#24	32.95%	16.38%

Top Universities with Relatively Exceedingly High Transfer Admission Rates

UChicago, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Columbia, Notre Dame, CalTech, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Emory, Michigan, Georgetown, and UVA, in particular, boast extraordinarily high transfer rates relative to their first-year admission rates.

Transfer Applicants Address Institutional Needs for Diversity

Why are transfers so crucial for the college ecosystem? Many elite universities seek to accept transfer students to add diversity to their student bodies — underrepresented minorities, first-generation college students, low-income students, veterans of America’s military, community college students, and more. These highly coveted students contribute rich life stories and unique perspectives to campuses that may otherwise contain students who have all been on the same uniform path.

These are the students — whose grades and test scores from high school will not count towards or against these institutions’ data reported to US News & World Report (they’re data ghosts!), who will fill out the student bodies to meet institutional needs. This point bears repeating: colleges care a lot about their ranking on the US News list. Data ghosts are a surefire way to round out campus diversity without adversely impacting this ranking. 

Ivy Coach’s Assistance with Transfer Admission

If you’re interested in optimizing your case for admission as a transfer student, fill out Ivy Coach’s complimentary consultation form, and we’ll be in touch to outline our services for transfer applicants.