Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is one of the most competitive private universities in the country. They reject close to 9 of every 10 applicants who apply to join CMU as a freshman. On the transfer admissions front, the numbers are similarly selective. This blog will share the Carnegie Mellon transfer acceptance rate as well as other essential pieces of information like the Carnegie Mellon transfer deadline, the requirements/checklist for applicants, the Carnegie Mellon transfer decision date, and much more.

CMU Transfer Acceptance Rate

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

In the fall of 2021, Carnegie Mellon received 1,233 applications and accepted 139 individuals. This means that the Carnegie Mellon transfer acceptance rate is 11.2%. If we break this down by gender, the acceptance rates are as follows:

  • Male transfer applicants: 11.6%%
  • Female transfer applicants: 10.7%

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. Many schools have wild fluctuations in transfer acceptance rate from year to year. Yet this is not the case with Carnegie Mellon. As you can see, the CMU transfer acceptance rate has remained pretty steady in recent cycles.

Historical transfer rates are as follows:

Year Acceptance Rate
2020 8.2%
2019 6.4%
2018 7.3%
2017 6.9%

 Carnegie Mellon Transfer Deadline

The university offers both a fall and spring transfer option. The Carnegie Mellon transfer deadline for fall applicants is February 15. Spring applicants have an October 15 deadline.

Carnegie Mellon Transfer Requirements

The Carnegie Mellon transfer requirements are as follows:

  • Carnegie Mellon uses the Common App for Transfer
  • Final high school transcripts
  • Official college transcripts
  • College Report
  • SAT/ACT score
  • Letter of recommendation (1 required, 1 optional)
  • Email a copy of course descriptions for courses you’ve taken from each college/university you attended.

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

  • Earned straight A’s (or very close) in their first year at a community college or 4-year university.
  • Possess a strong high school record as well.
  • Have a 99th percentile SAT or ACT score.
  • Have a record of exceptional achievement outside of the classroom. This could be in the area of research, technology, publications, etc.

Carnegie Mellon Transfer GPA

In recent years, the school reported that the average GPA among enrolling transfers was 3.75.

Carnegie Mellon Transfer Writing Supplement

There are three required essays that all transfer applicants must complete. The prompts are as follows:

  1. Most students choose their intended major or area of study based on a passion or inspiration that’s developed over time – what passion or inspiration led you to choose this area of study?
    (300 word maximum)
  2. Many students pursue college for a specific degree, career opportunity or personal goal. Whichever it may be, learning will be critical to achieve your ultimate goal. As you think ahead to the process of learning during your college years, how will you define a successful college experience? (300 word maximum)
  3. Consider your application as a whole. What do you personally want to emphasize about your application for the admission committee’s consideration? Highlight something that’s important to you or something you haven’t had a chance to share. Tell us, don’t show us (no websites please).
    (300 word maximum)

CMU Transfer Decision Date

Fall decisions are made no later than May 15. Spring decisions are released by December 15 or very soon after, in some cases.

Final Thoughts – Carnegie Mellon Transfer Acceptance Rate

In CMU’s own words, they admit “a small number of transfer students as space permits.” However, the roughly 140 individuals admitted in 2021 give additional hope to prospective transfers.

For all schools except for the School of Fine Arts, fall transfer is possible if space is available. Spring transfer is typically extremely limited due to space constraints. Transfer applicants are only considered for one college or program within Carnegie Mellon. Spring transfers must have completed a semester of college before the application deadline in order to apply for admission.

If you are looking for information on how to apply to Carnegie Mellon 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:

Dave has over a decade of professional experience that includes work as a teacher, high school administrator, college professor, and independent educational consultant. He is a co-author of the books The Enlightened College Applicant (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016) and Colleges Worth Your Money (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020).