Is A 3.5 GPA Good Enough To Transfer

Last Updated on January 3, 2023

If you’re a senior and if you have a 3.5 GPA, or close to it, this blog post is for you. It’s time to get serious about transferring. This blog post will give you a sense of what colleges expect from applicants who have a 3.5 GPA and what types of colleges will accept applicants with a 3.5 GPA.

Is a 3.5 GPA good in high school? A 3.5 GPA is equal to a 90% average. Many employers and graduate programs use a 3.5 GPA as the benchmark. However, outside of the top 10 graduate schools, the average GPA for law, medical, and business graduate school are as much as 0.74 below 3.5.

Are you interested in knowing how to get a 3.5 GPA in college, what is a 3.5 GPA in Canada, what is a 3.5 GPA in percentage? Collegelearners affords you all the information you need to know about GPA requirements for colleges. Be sure to go through our catalogue for pertinent information on similar topics.

Note: This blog post applies only to applicants who are applying to colleges in the United States.

what GPA is good for transfer

Some schools explicitly lay out their GPA requirements. Purdue University lists minimum GPA requirements for transfer applicants according to field of study. For example, you should have at least a 2.5 GPA if you’re going to apply to transfer into the Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology program.

Other schools similarly outline the grades you need to be considered for transfer admission. Check if the school you’re interested in does this. Note that meeting the minimum GPA requirement does NOT guarantee transfer admission.

Is a 3.5 GPA good? A 3.5 unweighted GPA means that you’ve earned an A- average across all of your classes. You’re well above the national average for GPA and should have a solid chance of acceptance at a wide variety of colleges. 76.33% of schools have an average GPA below a 3.5.

Achieving good grades is hard. For most classes, if your GPA hovers around the B-/C+ range, you can expect to fall just short of getting into your transfer school of choice. Transferring to a four-year college or university is among the most difficult academic feats; not only is there immense pressure to succeed in your classes (and sustain solid grades throughout), but also an equal amount of pressure to prepare yourself for standardized tests like the ACT and SAT. Therefore, it stands to reason that achieving a 3.5 GPA is no easy feat; this degree of academic success has most likely taken years

What Is a GPA and Why Is It So Important? - MastersPortal.com

Is A 3.5 GPA Good Enough To Transfer

GPA Requirements under Transfer Agreements

Transfer agreements between two institutions tell you exactly what you need to do to get from School X to School Y. Foothill College put together an extremely clear explanation of how their transfer agreements with other schools work.

This page lets students know the exact minimum GPA they need in order to transfer to a particular school (or to be considered for transfer admission) that has teamed up with Foothill College. If a Foothill College student wants to transfer to UC San Diego, for example, she should have at least a 3.0 GPA. If your current school has transfer agreements with other institutions, they’ll probably work in a similar way. You can ask an academic counselor (if possible, a transfer counselor), about transfer agreements.

It’s easier to get admitted to a college as a transfer student than it is as a freshman. Colleges lose students every year so they need to fill those spots or they are losing expenses that are budgeted for.

I bet you’ve heard this before: “If I get a B in one more class,  then I’ll be able to transfer.” Well, the funny thing is 99% of the time, that last class doesn’t matter. A few extra letters on your transcript likely won’t be looked at by that transfer school. At best, they’ll notice that you finished with a 3.5 GPA. That’s an average higher than most students across the nation. And it’s going to be difficult to convince them to take a student with a B grade point average.

Ask the Experts: Transfer Colleges - Peterson's

3.5 GPA Colleges

Graduating with a high school GPA of 3.5 places you in the middle of the academic range at these popular colleges. CollegeSimply has analyzed the incoming freshman grade point averages for a large portion of U.S. schools and selected 909 target colleges where students have a competitive chance of getting in with a 3.5. Here are ten popular colleges which have historically accepted students in the 3.5 range. Scroll down further to explore, search and filter the full list of colleges.

CollegeAverage GPA
The University of Texas at Austin3.8
Arizona State University3.42
Penn State Main Campus3.59
New York University3.6
Michigan State University3.62
The University of Alabama3.6
San Diego State University3.6
Boston University3.59
Auburn University3.74
Ohio State University3.76

Harder to get into schools

These schools are hard for you to get into now, because their average GPA is higher than a 3.5. But if you improve your SAT or ACT score, you’ll have a much better shot.

School NameLocationSATACTGPA
New York UniversityNew York, NY1440323.69
Boston UniversityBoston, MA1420323.71
Binghamton UniversityVestal, NY1375303.7
University of MiamiCoral Gables, FL1355313.6
University of ConnecticutStorrs, CT1315293.76
Rochester Institute of TechnologyRochester, NY1300303.7
American UniversityWashington, DC1300293.65
Drexel UniversityPhiladelphia, PA1290283.73
University of California, Santa CruzSanta Cruz, CA1285283.55
Syracuse UniversitySyracuse, NY1275283.67
Penn State University ParkUniversity Park, PA1265283.58
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Medium difficulty schools

These schools have average GPAs that are close to 3.5. If you apply to these schools, you’ll have a decent chance of admission. If you improve your SAT or ACT scores, you’ll significantly improve your chances .

School NameLocationSATACTGPA
University of CincinnatiCincinnati, OH1265273.7
Hofstra UniversityHempstead, NY1250283.67
Temple UniversityPhiladelphia, PA1238273.54
University of ArizonaTucson, AZ1235253.39
Seton Hall UniversitySouth Orange, NJ1231263.58
Howard UniversityWashington, DC1213253.55
University of OregonEugene, OR1185253.59
University of AlabamaTuscaloosa, AL1184273.71
Louisiana State UniversityBaton Rouge, LA1180263.43
Quinnipiac UniversityHamden, CT1175263.47
Ohio UniversityAthens, OH1170243.54

Safer Schools

With a GPA of 3.5, you’re already strongly competitive for these schools. You’re very likely to get admitted if you apply. If you improve your SAT or ACT score, your Safety Schools will get better and better.

School NameLocationSATACTGPA
University of North TexasDenton, TX1160233.47
University of Texas at ArlingtonArlington, TX1160233.47
Texas Tech UniversityLubbock, TX1155253.57
San Jose State UniversitySan Jose, CA1145233.52
California State University Long BeachLong Beach, CA1145233.56
California State Polytechnic University, PomonaPomona, CA1140233.51
Pace UniversityNew York, NY1140253.4
University of Texas at San AntonioSan Antonio, TX1125223.4
Washington State UniversityPullman, WA1125233.46
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical UniversityTallahassee, FL1105213.4
Indiana University – Purdue University IndianapolisIndianapolis, IN1100223.47

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