UChicago Transfer Acceptance Rate and Requirements — 2024
December 15, 2023
Much like the Ivy League colleges, Stanford, and MIT, the University of Chicago rejects many applicants who possess near-perfect (or perfect) test scores, grades, and extracurricular profiles. To further quantify this assertion, UChicago turned away 19 of every 20 applicants last year. Yet, for those who can’t bury their dream of studying at this legendary Hyde Park campus, the university does accept a reasonable number of transfer applicants each year. This blog will share the UChicago transfer acceptance rate as well as other essential pieces of information like the UChicago transfer deadline, the application requirements, the UChicago transfer decision date, and much more.
UChicago Transfer Acceptance Rate
Below we present the most current available University of Chicago transfer acceptance rate as well as historical data.
For entry in the fall of 2021, there were 1,065 transfer applicants and 145 individuals were accepted. This means that the UChicago transfer acceptance rate is 13.6%. Broken down by gender, the acceptance rates are as follows:
- Male transfer applicants: 14.0%
- Female transfer applicants: 13.0%
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 rates from year to year. Unfortunately, the University of Chicago is not the most transparent institution when it comes to archived data. However, we do know that, in the recent past, the transfer admit rate was approximately 5%.
Regular Transfer versus Early Decision Transfer
The University of Chicago has a unique program called Transfer Early Decision (TED) that allows applicants a chance to commit to the university in the same manner as ED applicants during the first-year process. This is a binding commitment. It is expected that you will withdraw all other transfer applications upon acceptance.
All other applicants apply via Transfer Rolling Decision.
UChicago Transfer Application Deadline
The university only offers a fall option. The UChicago transfer deadline for TED fall applicants is March 1. The priority date for Transfer Rolling Decision is also March 1, but they technically accept applications until June 1.
UChicago Transfer Application Requirements
The UChicago transfer application requirements are as follows:
- Completed Common App for Transfer
- Final high school transcript
- Official college transcripts
- SAT or ACT scores (optional)
- UChicago College Transfer Report
- Two letters of recommendation (college instructors preferred)
- Optional Video Profile (more below)
- Supplemental materials, if applicable. Those with extraordinary talent or experience in creative writing, art, dance, research, etc. may elect to submit additional materials.
UChicago Transfer Acceptance Rate (Continued)
Students who have the best chance to gain admission to UChicago have done the following:
- Completed at least one term of college credits.
- Earned exceptional grades in their first year at a community college or 4-year university.
- Contributed to the field in which they are pursuing a degree. This could be academic or scientific research, other published works, etc.
- Possess a talent or accomplishment that will help you stand out from the crowd of other immensely accomplished applicants.
UChicago Transfer GPA
There is no minimum GPA stated nor is there an average GPA of accepted applicants that is publically available. In our experience, UChicago transfer hopefuls should aim for a 3.75 or above to have the strongest chance possible.
UChicago Transfer Writing Supplement
The University of Chicago Supplement requires one extended essay of your choice from our list of several prompts and one short essay on why you would like to attend the University of Chicago as a transfer student.
Extended Essay
Choose one of the seven extended essay options and upload a one- or two-page response. Please include the prompt at the top of the page.
1. Exponents and square roots, pencils and erasers, beta decay and electron capture. Name two things that undo each other and explain why both are necessary. – Inspired by Emmett Cho, Class of 2027
2. “Where have all the flowers gone?” – Pete Seeger. Pick a question from a song title or lyric and give it your best answer. – Inspired by Ryan Murphy, AB’21
3. “Vlog,” “Labradoodle,” and “Fauxmage.” Language is filled with portmanteaus. Create a new portmanteau and explain why those two things are a “patch” (perfect match). – Inspired by Garrett Chalfin, Class of 2027
4. A jellyfish is not a fish. Cat burglars don’t burgle cats. Rhode Island is not an island. Write an essay about some other misnomer, and either come up with and defend a new name for it or explain why its inaccurate name should be kept. – Inspired by Sonia Chang, Class of 2025, and Mirabella Blair, Class of 2027
University of Chicago Transfer Acceptance Rate (Continued)
5. Despite their origins in the Gupta Empire of India or Ancient Egypt, games like chess or bowling remain widely enjoyed today. What modern game do you believe will withstand the test of time, and why? – Inspired by Adam Heiba, Class of 2027
6. There are unwritten rules that everyone follows or has heard at least once in their life. But of course, some rules should be broken or updated. What is an unwritten rule that you wish didn’t exist? (Our custom is to have five new prompts each year, but this year we decided to break with tradition. Enjoy!) – Inspired by Maryam Abdella, Class of 2026
7. And, as always… the classic choose your own adventure option! In the spirit of adventurous inquiry, choose one of our past prompts (or create a question of your own). Be original, creative, thought provoking. Draw on your best qualities as a writer, thinker, visionary, social critic, sage, citizen of the world, or future citizen of the University of Chicago; take a little risk, and have fun! You can find our past prompts here: https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/apply/uchicago-supplemental-essay-questions
UChicago Transfer Acceptance Rate (Continued)
Transfer Essay
In approximately 500 words, please tell us why you are planning to leave (or have already left) your current college or university, and how the University of Chicago will satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future. Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to UChicago.
Personal Statement (Optional)
The Common App Personal Essay helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice. What do you want admissions readers to know about you that is not reflected elsewhere in your application? Choose the option that best helps you answer that question and write an essay using the prompt to inspire and structure your response (1,250 – 3,250 characters, approx. 250 – 650 words).
Prompts are the same as those for the first-year Common App.
UChicago Transfer Decision Date
TED applicants will find out whether they have been accepted by late March. For those who submitted under the Transfer Rolling Decision plan, the school releases decisions on a rolling basis beginning in early May.
Final Thoughts – University of Chicago Transfer Acceptance Rate
We recommend taking advantage of the option to submit a “two-minute video introduction instead of the traditional college interview, which is not part of our application process. Your recording does not need to be extensively rehearsed or polished, and the video does not need to be edited.” In this video, the school encourages students to find creative ways to share their voice and ideas, and stresses that conversational, un-scripted, selfie-style videos are perfectly acceptable.
You should also strongly consider applying via Transfer Early Decision. This gives UChicago a guarantee that you will enroll if admitted and will give you a competitive edge over comparable applicants who do not utilize the TED option.
If you are 100% committed to leaving your current college, you’ll want to apply to other schools in addition to UChicago. Even if you have a 4.0, admission into UChicago 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 UChicago 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:
