Transfer and Visiting Student Application Requirements

The most successful transfer students have high school and college transcripts both with strong outcomes in a rigorous curriculum. To strengthen your profile as a transfer and ensure that you will be more competitive in our applicant pool, we recommend selecting courses in college that might be transferable to a liberal arts and sciences college like Barnard. It is also important that you take care in thinking through your answers to both the personal statement on the common application and the required Barnard supplement.

1. Submit the Transfer version of the Common Application online at www.commonapp.org or by mail; a printable version may be found here.
2. Submit the Barnard Supplement for Transfer and Visiting Students online at www.commonapp.org or by mail; a printable version may be found here.
3. Submit the $65 application fee online at www.commonapp.org, or send a check or a completed credit card authorization form by mail; a printable version of the form may be found at www.commonapp.org or here.
4. Request that official transcripts of all college work be sent to Barnard College. If you have attended several colleges, official transcripts must be mailed from each college.
5. Submit one Common Application College Official’s Report form to a dean or adviser at the college in which you are currently enrolled. This person must have access to your overall academic record.
6. Submit one Common Application Instructor Evaluation form to a professor in whose class you have been enrolled within the last year.
7. Use the Mid-Semester Report included as part of the the Common Application and submit this form to each instructor for all college courses in progress. If one instructor must delay his or her grade, use a second copy of the form and submit those grades you have received immediately, followed by the additional grades when they become available. The form can also be found on the our application page. (If your school is on a quarter or trimester system, please submit the grades you received for the most recent term.  If you are not currently attending college, you do not need to submit this form.)
8. For Transfer Applicants Only: Request that an official final high school transcript or official GED results be sent to Barnard College. (Visiting Students are not required to provide a final high school transcript).
9. For Transfer Applicants Only: Submit official results of the College Board SAT or the ACT Assessment by the application deadline. SAT or ACT scores are required for all transfer applicants regardless of the number of credits earned or years since high school. The College Board code number for Barnard is 2038.The ACT code number for Barnard is 2718.
10. For Transfer Applicants Only: (Optional) Submit the School Report form to your secondary school college counselor or principal.
11. For Transfer Applicants Only: Submit course catalogue/bulletin descriptions for courses from all colleges in which you have been enrolled. Course descriptions should be clearly marked and include full course descriptions. Clear photocopies of course descriptions are acceptable but must include the appropriate pages listing graduation requirements.

Residency Requirement and Study Abroad

To receive the Bachelor of Arts degree at Barnard, a transfer student must attend Barnard for at least four regular academic terms at Barnard (Morningside Heights, Reid Hall, Kyoto, Beijing, or the Berlin Consortium) during which she must complete at least 60 points, including at least six courses in the major field (and three in the minor field, if a minor is declared). Typically, students who transfer in with sophomore (24-51 points) class status can consider studying abroad. In careful consultation with one's academic adviser, a student can explore the implications for studying abroad while keeping in mind the residency and point requirements at the College.

Transferable Course Credit

Courses completed at other accredited colleges and universities which are similar in content and depth to Barnard courses may be submitted for transfer credit. Credit for approved work at another institution is applied to Barnard's 122-point graduation requirement with a maximum of 16 points per term. Credit cannot be granted for courses with grades lower than C minus. Acceptable transfer work does not usually include applied or professional courses or more than the equivalent of two Barnard studio courses. The first term of an elementary language course is not normally credited unless or until the second term or a more advanced course has been satisfactorily completed, but a student may request a single exemption to this ruling. Transfer applicants who are admitted will receive a transfer credit evaluation with their admission letter indicating transferable credit and fulfilled course requirements. At this time, we do not grant transfer credit for distance learning courses.

Common Questions about the Transfer Application Process

Q. What test scores do I need to submit to complete a transfer application?
A. Scores from standardized tests are required as part of the transfer admissions process. We require official scores from either the SAT I or the ACT exam from ALL transfer applicants, regardless of the number of credits transferring or length of time since high school. We will accept either the old or new version of these tests (with or without writing components). International applicants who have studied in the United States for fewer than five years are also required to submit an official TOEFL exam score.

Q. Why do I need to submit copies of course descriptions?
A. If you are offered admission to the College, we will provide you with a tentative statement of transfer credit at the time we notify you of our decision. In order to evaluate any course work that you completed, or that is currently in progress, we will need to review official course descriptions from the college or university catalog. Therefore, we request official course descriptions for all college coursework at the time of application. Final credit evaluations and determination of General Education or Major Requirement exemptions will be completed once the final transcript is received and course descriptions may be reviewed by appropriate faculty members and the Office of the Registrar.

Q. I applied to Barnard as a first-year applicant and I am applying again as a transfer applicant. Do I need to submit an entirely new application? A. If you decide to seek application again to the College, you will need to submit an entirely new application. However, we will have access to your prior application materials. Therefore, if you submitted official standardized test scores when you first applied, and you have not taken the exam since, we would still have this information on file. We would not have your final high school transcript if you applied during your senior year. And, remember, we also have your old essays, so this is a chance to inspire us with the new perspective you have gained as a wise transfer student.

Q. I have been out of school for a number of years. Do I still need to submit an Academic Dean/adviser form or Faculty letter of recommendation? A. Yes. Individuals applying to Barnard as transfer students are required to submit two letters of recommendation: 1) college-level faculty recommendation* and 2) current (or most recent) academic dean or adviser. Unfortunately, letters of recommendation from employers and high school teachers cannot be submitted in place of any of the two letters that are required. If you feel these recommendations would be helpful, we will accept employer or teacher recommendation as a supplement to the required letters and use them in our review of the file.

*We recognize that transfer students come to Barnard College from a wide range of colleges and universities. Therefore, students who have the most personal contact with Teaching Assistants may find it more appropriate to ask a TA for a letter of recommendation.

Q. Can I schedule an interview? A. Interviews are not part of the transfer application process. We invite you to convey to us within the context of the short answer questions or the lengthier application essay any information that you feel we should be aware of in evaluating your candidacy. If you have further questions contact the Office of Admissions at admissions@barnard.edu.