Transfer admissions decisions are released on a rolling basis beginning in April. For more information, see our Transfer Applicants page.

If you are currently completing, or have completed, your junior year at a four-year university, then we would discourage a transfer application. In most cases, Cornell will only allow a maximum of 60 credits to transfer. For students that have completed three years of coursework, a significant number of course credits could be lost in the transfer process. It may be worth completing your degree at your current institution and considering Cornell for graduate study.

Generally speaking, Cornell has no preferences regarding the institution from which a student transfers. With that noted, about a quarter of the transfer students come from community colleges.

As applications are reviewed, the most important factors considered include:

The Mid-Term Report is required. Applicants not currently enrolled at a college or university should submit the required Mid-Term Report with a note explaining that they are not currently enrolled. Please note that the Mid-Term Report is only available after you've submitted your application and logged in to your Applicant Portal. For more information, see the Transfer Applicants webpage.

Credit awarded by another institution solely on the basis of departmental examination (instead of course participation) will not be awarded as transfer credit at Cornell. Equivalent courses from any accredited college or university will likely transfer to Cornell provided the student has received a final grade of 'C' or better for the course. If a student's current institution divides the academic year into quarters, please note that each quarter credit is usually equal to two-thirds of a semester credit.

SAT/ACT scores are neither required nor expected for transfer candidates. To learn more, visit the Transfer Applicants webpage.

Cornell's Courses of Study website provides information about how much Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) credit is awarded for various subjects. The rules may differ from those at an applicant's former college. You may also find the How to Apply page to be a helpful resource.

Cornell accepts transfer students who have completed two to four semesters at another college or university. Applicants in their first college semester are not eligible to apply. Candidates are encouraged to apply when they feel they have a strong application and should follow the guidelines and deadlines outlined on the Transfer Applicants webpage. The transfer application deadline for fall semester is March 15.

Transfer applicants must ensure that a college official with access to their academic and disciplinary records completes and submits the College Report Form to Cornell. Applicants can access the College Report form through their online Applicant Portal. We prefer that you submit Cornell’s College Report. However, if you are unable to submit our form, we will accept the Common App College Report instead. Please submit only one College Report.

Each undergraduate college or school at Cornell evaluates transfer credits on a case-by-case basis. Applicants may need to send syllabi and/or detailed course descriptions for all of the coursework they would like to receive credit for if they gain admission to the college or school they have applied to. Most of the colleges and schools will allow students to transfer up to 60 semester credits. Because Cornell is on the semester system, quarter hours will be converted to semester hours; each quarter credit is usually equal to two-thirds of a semester credit.