Hello,
How hard is it to change your course of study at UPenn? I recently got admitted to the major Biochemistry in the CAS. What does it take to transfer to Wharton for example? Are there any stats?
Thanks for your help!
It depends on the school. To transfer into the College, you basically just need a 3.0 or better from any other school. To transfer to Wharton, you need to go through a formal internal transfer application process, where you generally need a 3.8 or better to get in. I don’t know of anyone who has transferred into Engineering and internal transfers to Nursing don’t make much sense.
If you want to get a dual degree you need to follow the same process of applications (and to answer the obvious question, yes it is possible to enter into a dual degree program in your sophomore or junior year and still graduate in a total of four years).
Generally a lot of people come in wanting to transfer to Wharton, but very few actually do, and realistically it doesn’t matter a whole lot when it comes to getting jobs after graduation.
@ezmnysnipr what @chrisw is saying is not correct. To transfer into wharton you need a 3.4 or better, not 3.8. But to transfer into engineering or college you need a 3.0 or better. Also seas specifically looks for decent grades in calculus and physics( they dont state a cutoff explicitly for these courses tho)
@Penn95 It is my understanding that a 3.4 is required to apply to Wharton, but that does not mean you will be accepted. I have the impression that most accepted students are 3.6 or higher, although that is hearsay.
Additionally, I believe there are requirements such as calculus and economics and an essay explaining why you would like to transfer. I think that it is easier to transfer into SEAS simply because the classes are challenging, and grades tend to be lower, on average, so students who find themselves at the bottom end of the distribution are more likely to reassess their choice of major. That leaves places open.
@Much2learn it is definitely easier to transfer into SEAS than to transfer in Wharton.minimum gpa for consideration for SEAS is 3.0 +decent performance in calculus and physics. for wharton it is 3.4 +application. obviously the average gpa of admitted students is higher than that. but i know quite a few people who got in wharton after freshman or sophomore year with GPAs between 3.4-3.6. I think the average must be around 3.6-3.65. In any case the average is definitely not 3.8, and of course most admits do not have above a 3.8. there are very few people at Penn with a gpa above 3.8. Now if you are looking to transfer into M&T or LSM then you would prob need 3.8 or better (emphasis on better)
See: https://spike.wharton.upenn.edu/ugrprogram/academics/internaltransfer_dualdegree/requirements
Even a 3.6 or 3.7 is no guarantee that a transfer will be approved. The decision criteria are “holistic” and in practice few transfers are approved.
Yes, 3.4 is the minimum, but if you apply with a 3.4, you are not very likely to get into Wharton through internal transfer. 3.6 or 3.7 is where you might have a shot if you have an impressive application, and 3.8 or higher is where you are really competitive. Keep in mind this is just based on my own experience.
In the four years that I was at Penn, I saw maybe 15 transfers into the College (most from Wharton, some from SEAS), one transfer into Wharton and two successful applications for dual degrees where the applicant was in the College and added Wharton. Granted, I only got to know probably 10% of the student body over the course of four years, but extrapolate that and you aren’t looking at a high volume of people transferring into Wharton.