It is hard enough to get into top colleges as it is even with the best college essay writing service help, but when you are looking to transfer, it is unfortunately even harder.
Some schools only accept a small handful of students each year with acceptance rates under 1%, more competitive than any freshmen pool.
And while I encourage applying to the school of your dreams even when it is a long shot, it is good to round out your list with schools that have plenty of open spots.
Luckily there are some great schools that have hundreds or even thousands of spots available each year.
Here is a list of many of the top colleges in the United States and the number of spots they opened up to transfer students entering in the fall of 2015.
While these numbers change from year to year, this list will provide you a good starting point for determining which schools offer you the best shot of transfer admission.
Alabama
University of Alabama
Transfer students applying: 4,926
Students accepted: 2,770
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 56%
Alaska
University of Alaska – Fairbanks
Transfer students applying: 841
Students accepted: 711
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 84.5%
Arizona
Arizona State University – Tempe
Transfer students applying: 7,428
Students accepted: 5,887
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 79%
University of Arizona
Transfer students applying: 5,109
Students accepted: 3,628
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 71%
Arkansas
Hendrix College
Transfer students applying: 61
Students accepted: 25
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 41%
University of Arkansas
Transfer students applying: 3,755
Students accepted: 2,368
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 63%
California
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Transfer students applying: 184
Students accepted: 8
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 4%
Harvey Mudd College
Transfer students applying: 110
Students accepted: 7
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 6%
Claremont Mckenna College
Transfer students applying: 450
Students accepted: 74
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 16%
Occidental College
Transfer students applying: 421
Students accepted: 110
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 26%
Pepperdine University
Transfer students applying: 697
Students accepted: 289
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 41%
Pitzer College
Transfer students applying: 278
Students accepted: 32
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 12%
Pomona College
Transfer students applying: 356
Students accepted: 20
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 6%
Stanford University
Transfer students applying: 2,023
Students accepted: 20
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 1%
University of California – Berkeley
Transfer students applying: 17,251
Students accepted: 3,271
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 19%
University of California – Davis (UCD)
Transfer students applying: 15,335
Students accepted: 14,419
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 94%
University of California – Irvine (UCI)
Transfer students applying: 17,014
Students accepted: 7,532
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 44%
Freshman Acceptance Rate: 39%
University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA)
Transfer students applying: 20,075
Students accepted: 5,188
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 26%
University of California – San Diego (UCSD)
Transfer students applying: 1,647
Students accepted: 1,032
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 63%
University of California – Santa Barbara (UCSB)
Transfer students applying: 14,808
Students accepted: 6,946
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 47%
University of Southern California (USC)
Transfer students applying: 8,179
Students accepted: 2,483
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 30%
Colorado
Colorado College
Transfer students applying: 410
Students accepted: 57
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 14%
Colorado School of Mines
Transfer students applying: 2,639
Students accepted: 1,818
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 69%
University of Colorado – Boulder
Transfer students applying: 2,803
Students accepted: 1,883
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 67%
Connecticut
Connecticut College
Transfer students applying: 176
Students accepted: 75
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 43%
Trinity College
Transfer students applying: 226
Students accepted: 61
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 27%
University of Connecticut
Transfer students applying: 2,866
Students accepted: 1,505
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 53%
Quinnipiac University
Transfer students applying: 1,150
Students accepted: 612
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 53%
Wesleyan University
Transfer students applying: 460
Students accepted: 150
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 33%
Yale University
Transfer students applying: 1,250
Students accepted: 28
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 2%
Delaware
University of Delaware
Transfer students applying: 1396
Students accepted: 664
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 48%
District of Columbia (Washington DC)
American University
Transfer students applying: 1,551
Students accepted: 980
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 63%
Georgetown University
Transfer students applying: 2,056
Students accepted: 285
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 14%
George Washington University
Transfer students applying: 2,251
Students accepted: 1,211
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 54%
Florida
New College of Florida
Transfer students applying: 113
Students accepted: 60
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 53%
University of Florida
Transfer students applying: 7,999
Students accepted: 3,047
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 38%
University of Miami
Transfer students applying: 2,568
Students accepted: 1,476
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 57%
Georgia
Emory University
Transfer students applying: 954
Students accepted: 264
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 28%
Georgia Institute of Technology
Transfer students applying: 1,685
Students accepted: 591
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 35%
University of Georgia
Transfer students applying: 2,642
Students accepted: 1,728
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 65%
Hawaii
Chaminade University of Honolulu
Transfer students applying: 267
Students accepted: 227
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 85%
Idaho
The College of Idaho
Transfer students applying: 102
Students accepted: 96
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 94%
Illinois
Knox College
Transfer students applying: 101
Students accepted: 55
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 54%
Northwestern University
Transfer students applying: 1791
Students accepted: 213
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 12%
University of Chicago
Transfer students applying: 790
Students accepted: 43
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 5%
University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign (UIUC)
Transfer students applying: 4,704
Students accepted: 2,100
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 45%
Indiana
Earlham College
Transfer students applying: 96
Students accepted: 50
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 52%
Indiana University – Bloomington
Transfer students applying: 2,639
Students accepted: 1,818
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 69%
University of Notre Dame
Transfer students applying: 640
Students accepted: 164
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 26%
Purdue University
Transfer students applying: 2,869
Students accepted: 1,163
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 41%
Iowa
Cornell College
Transfer students applying: 135
Students accepted: 97
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 72%
Grinnell College
Transfer students applying: 156
Students accepted: 38
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 24%
Iowa State University
Transfer students applying: 3,859
Students accepted: 2,922
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 76%
University of Iowa
Transfer students applying: 3,368
Students accepted: 2,158
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 64%
Kansas
University of Kansas
Transfer students applying: 2,228
Students accepted: 1,902
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 85%
Kentucky
Centre College
Transfer students applying: 36
Students accepted: 14
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 39%
University of Louisville
Transfer students applying: 2,596
Students accepted: 1,945
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 75%
University of Kentucky
Transfer students applying: 2,751
Students accepted: 1,529
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 56%
Louisiana
Tulane University
Transfer students applying: 990
Students accepted: 385
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 39%
Maine
Bowdoin College
Transfer students applying: 192
Students accepted: 5
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 3%
Colby College
Transfer students applying: 205
Students accepted: 23
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 11%
College of the Atlantic
Transfer students applying: 58
Students accepted: 47
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 81%
University of Maine
Transfer students applying: 938
Students accepted: 868
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 93%
Maryland
Johns Hopkins University
Transfer students applying: 1,173
Students accepted: 153
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 13%
St. Mary’s College of Maryland
Transfer students applying: 230
Students accepted: 164
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 71%
University of Maryland
Transfer students applying: 6,358
Students accepted: 3,501
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 55%
Massachusetts
Amherst College
Transfer students applying: 452
Students accepted: 36
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 8%
Boston College
Transfer students applying: 1,467
Students accepted: 318
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 22%
Boston University
Transfer students applying: 3,547
Students accepted: 1,575
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 44%
Brandeis University
Transfer students applying: 568
Students accepted: 172
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 30%
Clark University
Transfer students applying: 266
Students accepted: 103
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 39%
Harvard University
Transfer students applying: 1,429
Students accepted: 21
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 1.5%
Smith College
Transfer students applying: 274
Students accepted: 95
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 35%
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Transfer students applying: 490
Students accepted: 22
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 4%
Mount Holyoke College
Transfer students applying: 334
Students accepted: 143
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 43%
Northeastern University
Transfer students applying: 3,242
Students accepted: 1,173
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 36%
Tufts University
Transfer students applying: 957
Students accepted: 175
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 18%
University of Massachusetts – Amherst
Transfer students applying: 2,397
Students accepted: 1,939
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 81%
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Transfer students applying: 267
Students accepted: 88
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 33%
Wellesley College
Transfer students applying: 196
Students accepted: 36
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 18%
Williams College
Transfer students applying: 258
Students accepted: 4
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 2%
Michigan
Kalamazoo College
Transfer students applying: 62
Students accepted: 33
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 53%
Michigan State University
Transfer students applying: 5,085
Students accepted: 2,098
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 41%
University of Michigan
Transfer students applying: 3,604
Students accepted: 1,286
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 36%
Minnesota
Carleton College
Transfer students applying: 224
Students accepted: 14
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 6%
Macalester College
Transfer students applying: 141
Students accepted: 17
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 12%
St. Olaf College
Transfer students applying: 135
Students accepted: 51
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 38%
University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
Transfer students applying: 9,005
Students accepted: 3,284
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 36%
Mississippi
Mississippi State University
Transfer students applying: 1,676
Students accepted: 1,111
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 66%
Missouri
Washington University – St. Louis
Transfer students applying: 948
Students accepted: 138
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 15%
Montana
Carroll College
Transfer students applying: 140
Students accepted: 72
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 51%
Nebraska
Creighton University
Transfer students applying: 200
Students accepted: 108
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 54%
University of Nebraska – Lincoln
Transfer students applying: 1,710
Students accepted: 1,168
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 68%
Nevada
University of Nevada at Reno
Transfer students applying: 2,617
Students accepted: 2,205
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 84%
New Hampshire
Dartmouth University
Transfer students applying: 751
Students accepted: 29
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 4%
University of New Hampshire
Transfer students applying: 1,473
Students accepted: 936
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 64%
New Jersey
Stevens Institute of Technology
Transfer students applying: 254
Students accepted: 83
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 33%
Rutgers University – New Brunswick
Transfer students applying: 9,420
Students accepted: 4,711
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 50%
New Mexico
New Mexico State University
Transfer students applying: 1,897
Students accepted: 1,243
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 66%
University of New Mexico
Transfer students applying: 3,287
Students accepted: 1,729
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 53%
New York
Barnard College
Transfer students applying: 590
Students accepted: 120
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 20%
Colgate College
Transfer students applying: 306
Students accepted: 55
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 18%
Cornell University
Transfer students applying: 4,117
Students accepted: 766
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 19%
Cooper Union
Transfer students applying: 213
Students accepted: 14
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 7%
Fordham University
Transfer students applying: 1,759
Students accepted: 853
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 48%
Hamilton College
Transfer students applying: 168
Students accepted: 49
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 29%
Hofstra University
Transfer students applying: 2,084
Students accepted: 1,280
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 61%
New York University (NYU)
Transfer students applying: 7,685
Students accepted: 2,125
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 28%
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)
Transfer students applying: 521
Students accepted: 293
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 56%
Sarah Lawrence College
Transfer students applying: 194
Students accepted: 68
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 35%
Skidmore College
Transfer students applying: 184
Students accepted: 80
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 43%
St. Lawrence University
Transfer students applying: 88
Students accepted: 53
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 60%
Syracuse University
Transfer students applying: 1,853
Students accepted: 896
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 48%
Union College
Transfer students applying: 230
Students accepted: 87
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 28%
Vassar College
Transfer students applying: 260
Students accepted: 28
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 11%
Yeshiva University
Transfer students applying: 63
Students accepted: 38
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 60%
North Carolina
Davidson College
Transfer students applying: 125
Students accepted: 27
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 22%
Duke University
Transfer students applying: 1,133
Students accepted: 56
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 5%
University of North Carolina– Chapel Hill
Transfer students applying: 2,735
Students accepted: 1,215
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 44%
Wake Forest University
Transfer students applying: 349
Students accepted: 74
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 21%
North Dakota
University of Jamestown
Transfer students applying: 200
Students accepted: 102
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 51%
Ohio
Case Western University
Transfer students applying: 442
Students accepted: 138
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 31%
Denison University
Transfer students applying: 95
Students accepted: 42
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 44%
Kenyon College
Transfer students applying: 129
Students accepted: 41
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 32%
Oberlin College
Transfer students applying: 368
Students accepted: 80
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 22%
Ohio State University
Transfer students applying: 5,258
Students accepted: 4,520
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 86%
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State University
Transfer students applying: 3,335
Students accepted: 2,287
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 69%
Oregon
University of Oregon
Transfer students applying: 3,734
Students accepted: 2,266
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 61%
Willamette University
Transfer students applying: 394
Students accepted: 102
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 26%
Pennsylvania
Bryn Mawr College
Transfer students applying: 144
Students accepted: 23
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 16%
Bucknell University
Transfer students applying: 207
Students accepted: 48
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 23%
Carnegie Mellon
Transfer students applying: 831
Students accepted: 84
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 10%
Dickinson College
Transfer students applying: 118
Students accepted: 6
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 5%
Gettysburg College
Transfer students applying: 164
Students accepted: 28
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 17%
Haverford College
Transfer students applying: 159
Students accepted: 24
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 41%
Lafayette College
Transfer students applying: 162
Students accepted: 31
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 19%
Lehigh University
Transfer students applying: 583
Students accepted: 85
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 15%
Pennsylvania State University (Penn State)
Transfer students applying: 2,081
Students accepted: 889
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 43%
Swarthmore College
Transfer students applying: 212
Students accepted: 18
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 8%
Temple University
Transfer students applying: 4,839
Students accepted: 3,941
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 81%
University of Pennsylvania
Transfer students applying: 2,491
Students accepted: 210
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 8%
University of Pittsburgh
Transfer students applying: 2,453
Students accepted: 1,219
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 50%
Ursinis College
Transfer students applying: 53
Students accepted: 27
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 51%
Rhode Island
Brown University
Transfer students applying: 1,816
Students accepted: 162
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 9%
University of Rhode Island
Transfer students applying: 1,379
Students accepted: 915
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 66%
South Carolina
Clemson University
Transfer students applying: 2,964
Students accepted: 1,791
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 60%
University of South Carolina
Transfer students applying: 4,476
Students accepted: 2,503
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 56%
South Dakota
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
Transfer students applying: 325
Students accepted: 220
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 68%
Tennessee
University of Tennessee
Transfer students applying: 3,491
Students accepted: 2,299
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 66%
Vanderbilt University
Transfer students applying: 1,308
Students accepted: 419
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 32%
Texas
Baylor University
Transfer students applying: 1,300
Students accepted: 1,154
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 89%
Rice University
Transfer students applying: 559
Students accepted: 81
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 14%
Texas A&M University
Transfer students applying: 6,340
Students accepted: 3,612
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 57%
Southern Methodist University (SMU)
Transfer students applying: 1,009
Students accepted: 671
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 67%
University of Texas at Austin
Transfer students applying: 8,197
Students accepted: 3,499
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 43%
Utah
Brigham Young University (BYU) – Provo
Transfer students applying: 2,340
Students accepted: 996
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 43%
Vermont
Bennington College
Transfer students applying: 77
Students accepted: 40
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 52%
Champlain College
Transfer students applying: 346
Students accepted: 181
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 52%
Middlebury College
Transfer students applying: 318
Students accepted: 39
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 12%
St. Michael’s College
Transfer students applying: 93
Students accepted: 65
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 70%
University of Vermont
Transfer students applying: 1,874
Students accepted: 1,370
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 73%
Virginia
George Mason University
Transfer students applying: 2,251
Students accepted: 1,211
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 54%
University of Virginia
Transfer students applying: 2,498
Students accepted: 1,004
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 40%
College of William & Mary
Transfer students applying: 910
Students accepted: 411
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 45%
Washington
University of Washington
Transfer students applying: 5,953
Students accepted: 2,267
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 38%
West Virginia
West Virginia University
Transfer students applying: 2,435
Students accepted: 1,590
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 65%
Wisconsin
Beloit College
Transfer students applying: 124
Students accepted: 60
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 48%
Lawrence University
Transfer students applying: 112
Students accepted: 64
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 57%
Marquette University
Transfer students applying: 598
Students accepted: 379
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 63%
University of Wisconsin
Transfer students applying: 4,620
Students accepted: 2,149
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 47%
Wyoming
University of Wyoming
Transfer students applying: 1,725
Students accepted: 1,641
Transfer Acceptance Rate: 95%