What is a considerable GPA as a Transfer student to get accepted into an Ivy League school?

Answer 1

It is very difficult to transfer to an Ivy League school. Some -- like Princeton -- do not accept any transfer students. With the exception of Cornell, the others accept only a handful of transfer students. Harvard, for example, only accepts 30-35 per year out of hundreds of applications.

Cornell accepts more because some of the schools at Cornell get state support. I suspect that the majority of transfer students go into the state supported colleges (e.g., agriculture, engineering) and few go into the other colleges (e.g., liberal arts).

From what I have seen, most of those transferring come from highly regarded schools and have very high GPAs (close to 4.0). I suspect that most of the students are transferring in because they want to study something not available at their original school. For example, a student at Swarthmore or Williams might be able to get into Penn to study engineering or business -- since they aren't offered at those schools. I doubt if any transfer students are coming from community colleges.

Answer 2

Yes it is possible. Your high school GPA essentially disappears when you apply for graduate school. However, you have to do some difficult things to get there. First, the 4-year college you apply to will need to be outstanding. Secondly, your performance there will need to be exemplary. Straight A's just about. Third, you'll need a job out of college that puts you in a good position for the college applications. Depending on when you graduate, this may be the toughest fit. But perhaps you can do something with a firm like Merrill Lynch. As much as I hate them, they do carry some weight with those top B-schools. Finally, you'll need to do extremely will on the GMAT placement exam. Even if you don't succeed fully, you can get into some pretty decent B-schools, but Harvard, Wharton, et.al. are going to be a challenge to get into. Best of luck to you.

Answer 3

It depends on the school you're transferring from. It should be close to a 4.0, but a 3.7 and up from a different well-respected 4 year institution will probably be considered.