For those applying as first-year applicants, Barnard College has a single-digit acceptance rate. The standards for this Columbia-affiliated women’s college has reached full-blown Ivy League levels. More promising for prospective applicants is the fact that Barnard remains an extremely transfer-friendly school. In fact, they ultimately accept an encouraging 150-250 transfers per year. This blog will share the Barnard transfer acceptance rate as well as other essential pieces of information like the Barnard transfer deadline, the requirements/checklist for applicants, the Barnard College transfer decision date, and much more.

Barnard Transfer Acceptance Rate

Below we present the most current available Barnard transfer acceptance rate as well as historical data.

In the fall of 2022, there were 1,011 transfer applicants and 250 individuals were accepted. This means that the Barnard transfer acceptance rate is 24.7%. In the spring, there were an additional 171 applicants, 47 of whom were admitted for a slightly higher 27.5% mark.

When trying to get the complete picture of how difficult it is to transfer into a given school, it is important to also look at historical data. Some colleges have wild fluctuations in transfer acceptance rate from year to year. As you can see, outside of this cycle, the acceptance rate is usually between 22% and 28%.

Historical transfer rates are as follows:

Year Acceptance Rate
2021 22.1%
2020 27.6%
2019 22.3%
2018 21.8%

Barnard Transfer Deadline

The college offers a fall as well as a spring transfer option. The Barnard transfer deadline for fall applicants is March 1. The deadline for spring applicants is November 1.

Barnard Transfer Requirements

The Barnard transfer requirements are as follows:

Students who have the best chance to gain admission to Barnard have done the following:

  • Earned between 24-60 college credits.
  • Earned exceptional grades at a community college or 4-year university.
  • Pursued relevant coursework. As the college states: “To strengthen your profile as a transfer student and ensure that you will be more competitive in our applicant pool, we recommend selecting courses in college that might be transferable to a liberal arts and sciences college like Barnard.”

Barnard Transfer GPA

While there is no official minimum GPA to be considered at Barnard, we find that students with a 3.75 or better have the strongest chance of earning admission.

Barnard Transfer Writing Supplement

All transfer applicants must respond to the following prompts.

  • What factors encouraged your decision to apply to Barnard College, and why do you think the college would be a good match for you? (300 word limit)
  • If you could plan and lead a semester-long college seminar, what academic topic would you choose and why? (300 word limit)
  • Please provide a statement (250 words minimum) that addresses your reasons for transferring and the objectives you hope to achieve, and upload it below.

Barnard Transfer Decision Date

The Barnard transfer decision date for spring enrollment occurs on a rolling basis after December 1. Fall applicants are notified after May 1, also on a rolling basis.

Final Thoughts – Barnard College Transfer Acceptance Rate

In conducting a holistic review of your application, the Barnard admissions staff seeks to answer the following questions:

  • Why are you interested in transferring to Barnard?
  • Are you academically prepared for Barnard’s rigorous classes?
  • What sort of interests do you have that you will bring to the Barnard community?
  • How will you impact your classmates and positively contribute to the living and learning community of our school?

If you are 100% committed to leaving your current college, you’ll want to apply to other schools in addition to Barnard College. Even if you have a 4.0, admission into Barnard is far from a guarantee, so you’ll want to create a balanced list of institutions that include safety schools.

If you are looking for information on how to apply to Barnard as a first-year student, you may find the following blogs to be of interest:

Those searching for application info on other institutions may wish to visit our Dataverse pages/blogs:

Andrew Belasco

A licensed counselor and published researcher, Andrew’s experience in the field of college admissions and transition spans two decades. He has previously served as a high school counselor, consultant and author for Kaplan Test Prep, and advisor to U.S. Congress, reporting on issues related to college admissions and financial aid.