How difficult is to transfer to Penn from another school?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>I have some questions that I hope you can help me with:</p>

<p>Does it make a difference which school you transfer from? (i.e., Ivy v. Non-Ivy, Top 10 school v. Top 30 school, Community College v. State School)?</p>

<p>Is it particularly difficult to transfer to Wharton?</p>

<p>Is there a difference if you transfer for your sophomore or junior year?</p>

<p>Do transfers assimilate well into the Penn environment? Are they able to have their own group of friends, assume leadership positions in ECs?</p>

<p>Are transfer students looked down upon? Can you be happy as a transfer student?</p>

2

<p>people have transferred to penn (and to wharton) from top universities, not-so-top universities, and community colleges.</p>

<p>in order to transfer to wharton you must have taken certain coursework and effectively have a 4.0.</p>

<p>it's harder to transfer in as a junior, but it's done</p>

<p>and transfers can get involved, join stuff, have friends - but there's pretty much no hand-holding here, you have to be the one seeking it out</p>

3

<p>
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Does it make a difference which school you transfer from? (i.e., Ivy v. Non-Ivy, Top 10 school v. Top 30 school, Community College v. State School)?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yes, but people from all those schools have gotten in.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Is it particularly difficult to transfer to Wharton?

[/quote]

Yes, but you're happier off not going there anyway ;)</p>

<p>
[quote]
Is there a difference if you transfer for your sophomore or junior year?

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Ionno, though I suspect as a junior transfer they might be taking a stronger look at what will now be forming a sizable portion of your undergraduate academic record...</p>

<p>
[quote]
Do transfers assimilate well into the Penn environment? Are they able to have their own group of friends, assume leadership positions in ECs?

[/quote]

the business director of my singing group was a transfer from Bucknell (you might even be able to look him up here, his handle was "clive" something</p>

<p>
[quote]
Are transfer students looked down upon? Can you be happy as a transfer student?

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All the transfer students I met seemed happy, but as always, YMMV...</p>

4

<p>i transferred to Wharton. the first semester was a shock (wasn't ready for the level of competition), and you can tell in my GPA, but since then, it has been good.</p>

<p>I would say transfer before Sophomore year instead of before Junior year, especially if you're going from a non-undergraduate business school to Wharton. My reasoning is this: </p>

<p>chances are, unless you went to Sloan or another undergraduate business school, you won't have taken the classes that most underclassmen take (intro finance, accounting, marketing, operations, etc.). So the admissions committee might think that you won't be able to "catch-up" in time.</p>

<p>Also, keep in mind that all your classes may NOT transfer for credit (they didn't for me).</p>

<p>Pretty much, you almost surely will be at a disadvantage if you go from non-business school to Wharton (or non-engineering school to engineering, or non-nursing to nursing; you get the point).</p>

<p>If you know anybody before you transfer, make an effort to reach out to him/her. It's TOUGH to not know anyone when you need help studying or need to form a group for groupwork (and there is a lot of it at Wharton).</p>

<p>Transfer students are not looked down upon (at least, no one has directly looked down upon me...).</p>

<p>Also, an interesting tactic: it's quite easy to transfer within colleges when you're in Penn (e.g. CAS to Wharton). I've heard of people try to apply to CAS (perception is it is easier, i don't know if that's true, so CAS people don't freak out on me) and then transfer once they are in.</p>

<p>I don't know how legit this method is or if it really works...i didn't go that route, i just went straight for Wharton. </p>

<p>EDIT: Also, the coursework i took in my one year at my previous university was everything BUT business. I took classes in 8 different academic departments. I did have a 4.0 after my first semester, but not after my second (i got my acceptance during finals week second semester...it was hard to study).</p>

<p>I firmly believe my essay was what got me in (there are tons of kids with high GPAs and tons of ECs applying too), but I won't share it, so please don't ask.</p>

5

<p>
[quote]
Also, an interesting tactic: it's quite easy to transfer within colleges when you're in Penn (e.g. CAS to Wharton). I've heard of people try to apply to CAS (perception is it is easier, i don't know if that's true, so CAS people don't freak out on me) and then transfer once they are in.

[/quote]

No man, they don't let you switch schools once you transfer in. </p>

<p>I think Penn is almost like Cornell in that they are really receptive towards transfer students. The student body is pretty friendly towards transfers. Being a transfer is actually kind of a nice conversation starter, and I've never felt looked down upon or whatever for being one. I am a junior here and I've had a pretty good first semester. Even though I didn't go out very much because of sports I still had a lot of fun and never felt isolated or lonely. Philadelphia is a great place to go to school. Something is always happening and its just a vibrant city, and you can always find something to do. People are generally really friendly for such a big school and I'm definitely much much happier here than at my old school. As far as extracurricular activities go I'm still playing sports here, but I had to give up some other stuff like being a writing tutor and stuff like that which kind of sucks, because I really enjoyed doing it.</p>

<p>And yeah, I had like a 3.7, 3.8 but I wrote a nice, creative essay and that's probably what got me in.</p>

6

<ol>
<li><p>Yes. Though students from every tier, from the Ivy League to Pima Community College, have successfully transferred to other Ivies, the fact remains that a 4.0 at Pima Community College is not a 4.0 at the University of Texas which is not a 4.0 at Harvard. Four-year accredited private schools in the first tier (i.e. top 100) are most comparable to UPenn academically and will be seen as peer institutions for the most part. State schools are next on the totem pole and then community colleges, but again, a successful transfer can come from anywhere.</p></li>
<li><p>Ditto what wraider2006 said regarding transferring into Wharton from CAS/SEAS/Nursing. As for transferring from an outside school, it is, of course, difficult at best.</p></li>
<li><p>For junior transfers, the high school transcript and standardized tests are far less important than the college one, whereas for sophomore transfers they bear equal weight.</p></li>
<li><p>I have no idea. I don't live on campus and am a pretty solitary creature anyway, so you'll have to rely on other people for that one.</p></li>
<li><p>Absolutely not. Admission is statistically more difficult for transfers. As for happiness, of course you can be happy! You make your experience anywhere and can control your environment greatly. The administration has been more than friendly and the professors/students think of you as just another UPenn student without the transfer brand. My first semester has been wonderful. Amazing professors and equally impressive peers in every class.</p></li>
</ol>

7

<p>question...can you transfer to Penn if you have been denied admission as a high school senior?</p>

8

<p>oh sure, just as long as you're applying as a transfer and not as an incoming freshman</p>

9

<p>The transfer acceptance rate was 13% last year.</p>

<p>Is actually difficult to do? Well, yes and no. If you have a 3.8+, 2250+ SATs, and a good essay, it is NOT a crap-shoot in the way that admissions generally is. If you have those stats, you will be accepted. In that regard, it is not at all difficult, and the process is very "knowable."</p>

<p>The hard part, of course, is getting those numbers in the first place.</p>

<p>I would say the above is generally true for transferring into Brown and Columbia as well, but maybe not Dartmouth, which generally doesn't have as many spaces for transfers. I was waitlisted at Columbia, I met 3 transfers who had been accepted and chose Penn, and few more that had been accepted to Brown. If you're qualified enough for one, you are for the others as well.</p>

10

<p>@ilovebagels, why do you say we would be happier not going to Wharton?</p>

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<p>He is alluding to the fact that it is typically regarded as a very challenging school.</p>

12

<p>No, not because it's more challenging (unless you're Huntsman or M&T, then the SEAS kids and premeds are probably working harder), but because it's dull, and more importantly, it is dull in what is one of the last times of your life to do something spectacularly un-dull!</p>

<p>It's a question of getting educated (CAS) vs. getting trained (Wh). Think about it.</p>

13

<p>I agree with ilovebagels, Wharton might be difficult, but it is decidedly boring.</p>

14

<p>I high-five muerteapueblo for agreeing with me. :) I rule</p>

15

<p>i'm a high school senior
if I apply to the college of nursing and decide going into my sophomore year I want to transfer into the college of arts and sciences would I be able to? </p>

<p>this is really important if someone could please help, I need to send in my application.</p>

16

<p>^Yes you can.</p>

<p>As a crazy SAS student who is basically taking the toughest part of the Wharton core (OPIM, Accounting, and Stat 430 this past semester and Stat 431 next semester with Finance and a bunch of upper level OPIMs in the future) I can say that Wharton isn't really that bad. Stat 430 was the toughest course I took at Penn so far (and will be till I get to upper level math) but most Wharton students never take it, doing 101-102 instead. The material for the courses wasn't too hard and if you showed up to class and tried you probably would have gotten a B in the other Wharton core courses I took. I think if you're an average Wharton kid and try you should end up with a B+ in most core classes with a respectable amount of effort. I'm sure it's a different story in the upper level Stat, Finance, and OPIM classes, but Wharton's really not that tough. A lot of it is really dull though and I'm glad I'm only doing a Wharton course a semester as an elective rather than 3-4 every semester till I graduate. I also get to avoid all the boring management and legal studies stuff and jump right into the OPIM.</p>

17

<p>venkat89, </p>

<p>Is that 'Yes you can.' directed towards my question?
If so thank you so much, you've alleviated some of my stress.</p>

18

<p>yea, you can transfer from nursing to SAS. you'll need above a 3.0 and the nursing curriculum is pretty tough.</p>

19

<p>do u think with a 4.0 gpa in freshmen year, 3.75+ HS GPA but SAT of less than 1800(CR+M+W) will ever have a shot at Wharton???or im jst kiddin??</p>

20

<p>"No, not because it's more challenging (unless you're Huntsman or M&T, then the SEAS kids and premeds are probably working harder)" --- is this suggesting that SEAS course load is more challenging than that of a dual-degree curriculum in business and international studies or business and engineering? How so? I find that hard to believe.</p>