What is the hardest business school to transfer into?

Wharton. Penn admitted about 3% of all transfer applicants for fall 2025, and you apply straight into Wharton. Berkeley Haas is close behind at about 5% for transfers.

Does UCLA have an undergraduate business major?

No. UCLA Anderson only offers undergraduate minors. The closest major is Business Economics in the Economics department. Transfers must be admitted as Pre-Business Economics and can't switch into it later. About 10% of transfer applicants got in for 2025.

Can community college students get into Haas?

Yes. Haas admits transfers straight into the business major. You apply to the major on the UC application and send the Haas supplement by January 31. You can't get in through another major and switch later.

Which top business school is easiest to transfer into?

Among these six, NYU (38.6% of all transfers for fall 2025) and USC (26.1% for fall 2026) take the biggest share of applicants. Those are school-wide rates, so the business school itself is harder. In California, UC Irvine, Davis, Riverside and Merced also offer real business majors, so Haas isn't your only UC option.

Best Business Schools for Transfer Students (Real Odds)

Everyone wants Wharton or Haas. Almost nobody checks if those schools even take transfers. Here's the real door at each one.

The best business schools for transfer students aren't always the famous ones. A few let you apply straight into the business school. Others make you sneak in through a pre-major, or barely take outside transfers at all. If you'd rather skip the research, on our platform you put in your community college and your target school, and you get the business prep classes you need to get there.

The best business schools for transfer students, side by side

School	Business school	How transfers get in	Transfer admit rate
UPenn	Wharton	Apply straight to Wharton	3.1% (all of Penn, fall 2025)
UC Berkeley	Haas	Apply to the major + Haas supplement	~5% (Haas)
UCLA	No undergrad business school	Pre-Business Economics only	10% (Business Economics)
UT Austin	McCombs	Fall only, space-available, 3.0+ GPA	22.0% (all of UT, fall 2025)
USC	Marshall	Apply to USC under a business major	26.1% (all of USC, fall 2026)
NYU	Stern	Sophomore or junior entry	38.6% (all of NYU, fall 2025)
Michigan	Ross	About 25 seats a year for outside transfers	35.0% (all of Michigan, fall 2025)

School-wide rates are from each university's Common Data Set or transfer profile. Only Haas and UCLA Business Economics publish business-specific transfer numbers.

~5%

Berkeley Haas transfer admit rate, 2025. The freshman door is even tighter at 3.8%.

The schools, up close

UC Berkeley: Haas School of Business

Aerial view of the UC Berkeley campus and Sather Tower with the San Francisco Bay behind it

Small, elite, and right next to the Bay Area's tech and VC money. Haas takes transfers directly into the major, which is rare. The catch: you have to apply to business on day one and send the Haas supplement by January 31. You can't get in as something else and switch.

USC: Marshall School of Business

Bovard Auditorium tower and fountain at the University of Southern California

The Trojan network is real, and Marshall runs deep in media and startups. Its Lloyd Greif Center calls itself the oldest entrepreneurship program in the country. USC loves transfers: Marshall and the Leventhal accounting school made up 24% of the fall 2026 entering transfer class.

UCLA: Business Economics (not Anderson)

Here's the one that trips people up. UCLA Anderson doesn't have an undergrad business major. It only offers minors. The real path is Business Economics in the Economics department, and transfers have to come in as Pre-Business Economics. You can't switch into it after you arrive, and about 10% of transfer applicants got in.

UT Austin: McCombs School of Business

Aerial view of the UT Austin campus and the UT Tower

A top-6 business school with in-state tuition, plugged into Austin's tech scene. Transfers apply for fall only with a 3.0+ GPA, calculus, and both micro and macro done. Even then it's space-available, so meeting the minimum isn't a promise.

NYU: Stern School of Business

NYU purple flags on a brick building in Greenwich Village

Wall Street is a subway ride away. Stern takes transfers as sophomores or juniors. To start as a junior you need microeconomics, stats, and financial accounting finished, and only 64 credits carry over.

UPenn: The Wharton School

Brick buildings and a gated archway on the University of Pennsylvania campus

The #1 undergrad business school in the U.S. News 2027 rankings. Penn transfers apply straight into one of its four schools, and you can't switch schools later. Penn admitted 162 of 5,144 transfer applicants for fall 2025. That's the whole university, not just Wharton.

The play most transfers should make

If you're in California, the realistic business route usually isn't Wharton. Five UCs have a real undergrad business major, not just Berkeley: Irvine, Davis, Riverside and Merced have one too. Here's which UCs have business programs and which don't. Whichever you pick, the prep decides it: calculus, micro, macro, and accounting, done before you apply. A website like Transfermatic lines those up term by term for your school, or you can check the business prep at your college yourself.

Business prep, in the right order.

Put in your community college and your target business school. That's it.

Get My Transfer Plan

Bottom line

Wharton and Haas are the hardest doors at about 3 to 5%. UCLA has no undergrad business school, just a 10% pre-major. NYU and USC take the biggest share of transfers. The best business school for you is the one whose prep you actually finish on time.