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It’s common for students to attend more than one college in their pursuit of an undergraduate degree.
In fact, of the 3.6 million students who enrolled in college for the first time in fall 2008, 37.2 percent transferred to a different school at least one time within six years, according to the most recent report on the subject from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
[Get answers to 10 FAQs about transferring colleges.]
Students transferring into a college or university may come from a community college, and some two- and four-year institutions work together to make this transition more seamless.
For example, the University of Central Florida — which enrolled nearly 7,000 new transfer students in fall 2016, per U.S. News data — has a program that guarantees admission to transfer students who earn an associate degree from one of several in-state partner schools.
But community college students aren’t the only ones changing schools. Other students transfer from one four-year college to another looking for a better academic, financial or social fit.
Some schools admit very few transfer students, while others — typically National Universities and Regional Universities — welcome them in large numbers.
[Read two transfer student essays that worked.]
The 10 institutions that enrolled the most new transfer students in fall 2016 took in an average of 4,803 of these students. This is nearly 10 times the average among all 1,171 ranked schools that reported these data to U.S. News in an annual survey: 489 students.
While UCF enrolled the most new transfer students, the University of Texas–Arlington had the highest transfer acceptance rate among the top 10, at 95.4 percent.
Below is a list of the 10 schools with the most newly enrolled transfer students in fall 2016. Unranked schools, which did not meet certain criteria required by U.S. News to be numerically ranked, were not considered for this report.
| School name (state) |
New transfer students enrolled in fall 2016 | New transfer acceptance rate | U.S. News rank and category |
| University of Central Florida | 6,958 | 69.2% | 171 (tie), National Universities |
| University of Texas–Arlington | 6,398 | 95.4% | 231-300, National Universities |
| University of Houston | 5,243 | 86.4% | 192 (tie), National Universities |
| Florida International University | 5,127 | 78.1% | 216 (tie), National Universities |
| California State University–Northridge | 4,472 | 44.2% | 73 (tie), Regional Universities (West) |
| California State University–Fullerton | 4,123 | 40.3% | 202 (tie), National Universities |
| University of North Texas | 4,029 | 80.5% | 231-300, National Universities |
| San Jose State University (CA) | 3,977 | 59.6% | 35 (tie), Regional Universities (West) |
| California State University–Sacramento | 3,876 | 85.1% | 70 (tie), Regional Universities (West) |
| California State University–Long Beach | 3,826 | 30.6% | 39, Regional Universities (West) |
Don’t see your school in the top 10? Access the U.S. News College Compass to find transfer student data, complete rankings and much more. Sign up for the U.S. News Extra Help: College Admissions free email newsletter to receive expert advice twice a month.
U.S. News surveyed more than 1,800 colleges and universities for our 2017 survey of undergraduate programs. Schools self-reported myriad data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News’ data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Colleges rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. While the data come from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News’ rankings of Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools or Best Online Programs. The transfer student data above are correct as of Feb. 13, 2018.
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10 Colleges That Attract the Most Transfer Students originally appeared on usnews.com
