UMD Transfer Acceptance Rate and Requirements — 2024
December 15, 2023
If your goal has always been to become a Terrapin, 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, the University of Maryland transfer acceptance rate is relatively high and the school extends offers to as many as 4,000 qualified transfer applicants each year. This blog will share the UMD transfer acceptance rate as well as other essential pieces of information like the UMD transfer deadline, the requirements for applicants, the UMD transfer decision date, and much more.
UMD Transfer Acceptance Rate
Below we present the most current available UMD transfer acceptance rate as well as historical data.
For entry in the fall of 2022, 6,016 students applied for transfer admission, and 3,540 were successful. This means that the UMD transfer acceptance rate is 58.8%. If we break this down by gender, the acceptance rates are as follows:
- Male transfer applicants: 58%
- Female transfer applicants: 60%
For entry in the fall of 2021, UMD received 5,991 applications and accepted 3,773 members of that group. This means that the UMD transfer acceptance rate was 63%.
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. As you can see, the University of Maryland transfer acceptance rate has fluctuated between 55% and 70% in recent years.
Historical transfer rates are as follows:
| Year | Acceptance Rate |
| 2020 | 70% |
| 2019 | 62% |
| 2018 | 57% |
| 2017 | 55% |
UMD Transfer Deadline
The university offers a fall and spring transfer option. The early action UMD transfer deadline for fall applicants is March 1. Spring applicants have a priority deadline of August 1. It is strongly recommended that candidates meet these early/priority deadlines.
UMD Transfer Requirements
The UMD transfer requirements are as follows:
- Completed application via the Standout Admissions Network
- Final high school transcripts
- Official college transcripts
- Official standardized test scores (optional through 2025)
- Letter of recommendation (optional)
- Activities and awards resume (optional)
- Supplemental materials, if required. For example, School of Music applicants must submit an application supplement and audition.
UMD Transfer Acceptance Rate (Continued)
Students who have the best chance to gain admission to UMD have done the following:
- Have completed at least 12 semester credit hours.
- Apply by the early action deadline.
- Possess strong high school grades—if you have under 30 semester hours completed, your high school grades will also be considered.
- Earned stellar grades in their first year at a community college, UMD branch campus, or other 4-year university.
- Have completed English composition and college-level mathematics.
- Attend a Maryland public institution, as these applicants are typically given special consideration.
Transfer Essay
Please answer the following question. Students who have been out of school for several years or who have a personal circumstance that affected performance, may wish to address that situation in their essay. Your answer should be no more than 300 words.
- Please describe your past academic experiences and your reasons for wishing to enroll at UMD at this point in your academic career.
UMD Transfer GPA
According to the university, there is no minimum GPA required in order to submit an application. However, in our experience, students with a 3.5 GPA or better will fare best in a competitive UMD transfer admissions process.
UMD Transfer Decision Date
UMD transfer decisions are made by late April for those seeking to start in the fall. The spring semester notifications occur by late October. Some applicants will hear much earlier than those deadlines.
Final Thoughts – University of Maryland Transfer Acceptance Rate
The University of Maryland typically welcomes over 2,000 transfer applicants to its revered College Park campus every year. For a highly-ranked university with numerous standout academic programs, this is an incredibly friendly transfer admissions environment.
While the greatest emphasis is placed on your college grades, the holistic review process considers 24 total quantitative and qualitative factors:
- High school achievement
- Grades in academic subjects
- Progression of performance
- Breadth of life experiences
- Geographic origin
- Gender
- SAT I or ACT scores*
- Work experience
- Recognition of special achievements
- Extenuating circumstances
- Socio-economic background
- Written expression of ideas (as demonstrated in the essay)
- Rank in class (actual or percentile)
- Extracurricular activities
- Special talents or skills
- Community involvement
- Community service
- Demonstrated leadership
- Learning differences
- Quality of coursework
- Residency status
- Family educational background
- Academic endeavors outside of the classroom
- English as a second language/Language spoken at home
In the written parts of your application (your activities/awards list and essay), be sure to emphasize any qualitative factors that may not shine through in other areas.
If you are looking for information on how to apply to UMD 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:
