If your dream is to become a Nittany Lion, but you don’t have the grades and test scores to make the cut directly out of high school, don’t worry—all hope is not lost. While still a competitive process, this school extends offers to around 1,000 qualified PSU transfer applicants each year. This blog will share the Penn State transfer acceptance rate as well as other essential pieces of information like the Penn State transfer deadline, the requirements/checklist for applicants, the Penn State transfer decision date, and much more.

Penn State Transfer Acceptance Rate

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

In the fall of 2021, Penn State received 1,725 applications and accepted 1,041 members of that group. This means that the Penn State transfer acceptance rate is 60%.

If we break this down by gender, the acceptance rates are identical:

  • Male transfer applicants: 60%
  • Female transfer applicants: 60%

When trying to get the complete picture on 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. As you can see, PSU is typically pretty steadily in the mid-40s but experienced a spike this past cycle.

Historical transfer rates are as follows:

Year Acceptance Rate
2020 46%
2019 43%
2018 46%
2017 46%

 Penn State Transfer Deadline

The university offers a fall, spring, and summer transfer option. The priority Penn State transfer deadline for fall applicants is April 15. Spring applicants have a priority deadline of November 1. Summer transfers face a priority deadline of March 1.

Penn State Transfer Requirements

The Penn State transfer requirements are as follows:

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

  • Are in the process of completing at least 18 semester credit hours.
  • Have completed their major’s stated Course Requirements.
  • Earned stellar grades in their first year at a community college, PSU branch campus, or other 4-year university.

Average Transfer GPA

According to the university, the minimum GPA required for consideration is 2.5. Certain programs require a higher figure. However, in our experience, students with a 3.3 GPA or better will fare best in a competitive PSU transfer admissions process.

Transfer Decision Date

Penn State transfer decisions are made in late spring for those seeking to start in the summer or fall. The spring semester notifications occur in mid-December.

Final Thoughts – PSU Transfer Acceptance Rate

In a typical cycle, the PSU transfer acceptance rate is a touch lower than the first-year applicant admit rate. PSU places the greatest emphasis on a student’s performance in college coursework. Regarding high school performance, the university is only interested in a) verifying that you graduated and b) that you fulfilled minimum high school course requirements.

We recommend that you carefully review the college course requirements from each prospective college/school within PSU that you are considering. For example, applicants to the College of Engineering must have completed a 4-credit college calculus course to receive consideration.

If you are looking for information on how to apply to PSU as a first-year student, you may find the following blog 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).