UNC Chapel Hill Transfer Acceptance Rate & Requirements—2024
December 14, 2023
The University of North Carolina is a dream school for many high-achieving teens from all over the world. While gaining acceptance to UNC Chapel Hill has never been tougher—the first-year admit rate is under 17%—UNC remains an incredibly transfer-friendly school. Amazingly, close to half of all applicants have been admitted in recent years. This blog will share the UNC Chapel Hill transfer acceptance rate as well as other essential pieces of information like the UNC transfer requirements, deadline, decision date, and much more.
UNC Chapel Hill Transfer Acceptance Rate
Below we present the most current available UNC transfer acceptance rate as well as historical data.
For entry in the fall of 2021, UNC received 3,554 applications and accepted 1,666 individuals. This means that the UNC transfer acceptance rate is 47%. If we break this down by gender, the acceptance rates are as follows:
- Male transfer applicants: 45%
- Female transfer applicants: 49%
As with their first-year admissions, UNC favors North Carolina residents in the process. They do not release their in-state and out-of-state transfer figures. However, in one recent year, first-year applicants from in-state were accepted at five times the rate of non-residents. This may be a helpful indicator as you seek to estimate what the transfer acceptance rate differential might be.
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 rates from year to year. Yet this is not the case at UNC which has been remarkably consistent over the last few years.
Historical transfer rates are as follows:
| Year | Acceptance Rate |
| 2020 | 45% |
| 2019 | 49% |
| 2018 | 35% |
| 2017 | 35% |
UNC Transfer Deadline
The university only offers a fall transfer option. The UNC transfer deadline for most fall applicants is February 15. Some programs have earlier priority deadlines, such as Clinical Laboratory Science and Neurodiagnostics & Sleep Science, among others. In addition, the nursing program has a deadline of December 15.
UNC Chapel Hill Transfer Requirements
The UNC transfer requirements are as follows:
- Common App for Transfer
- Final high school transcripts (noting graduation)
- Official college transcripts
- SAT/ACT (optional in 2023-24)
- One recommendation letter
- Many direct admission programs have additional application materials and prerequisite requirements, so be sure to research those carefully and thoroughly.
Students who have the best chance to gain admission to UNC have done the following:
- Earned stellar grades in their first year at a community college or 4-year university.
- Possess a strong high school record.
- Have strong SAT/ACT and AP/IB results (even though they are test-optional).
UNC Transfer GPA
In one recent year, the school reported that the average GPA among enrolling transfers was 3.57. Typically, an even higher GPA is going to be needed as an out-of-state applicant and/or as a student applying to a highly selective academic program.
UNC Transfer Writing Supplement
Personal Statement
The personal statement 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).
The prompt choices for this essay are the same as the Common App Essay Prompts.
UNC Chapel Hill Transfer Acceptance Rate (Continued)
Short Answer Questions
Discuss one of your personal qualities and share a story, anecdote, or memory of how it helped you make a positive impact on a community. This could be your current community or another community you have engaged. (1,600 characters)
Discuss an academic topic that you’re excited to explore and learn more about in college. Why does this topic interest you? Topics could be a specific course of study, research interests, or any other area related to your academic experience in college. (1,600 characters)
UNC Transfer Decision Date
UNC transfer decisions are made by April 15 for those joining the university in the fall.
Final Thoughts – UNC Chapel Hill Transfer Acceptance Rate
For the class entering in fall 2023, a sizable 38% of enrolled transfer students came from North Carolina community colleges. Therefore, we can conclude that this elite university is open to students from all types of postsecondary institutions. In the last few years, acceptance rates for UNC Chapel Hill transfers have risen to near 50%. UNC Chapel Hill remains a very realistic landing spot for prospective transfers, particularly if you are a North Carolina resident. Additionally, they accept both rising sophomores and juniors.
If you are looking for information on how to apply to UNC 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:
