California private universities for transfers

USC, Stanford, LMU and other private universities take thousands of community college transfers each year, on their own applications and deadlines.

Checked against each university’s own pages and Common Data Set in October 2026.

Every university here

University	Admit rate	Applicants	ADT guarantee
APUAzusa Pacific University	—	—	Yes
BiolaBiola University	—	—	Not stated
Cal BaptistCalifornia Baptist University	80.3%	2,292	Yes
Cal LutheranCalifornia Lutheran University	—	—	Not stated
CaltechCalifornia Institute of Technology	—	—	Not stated
ChapmanChapman University	—	—	Not stated
Claremont McKennaClaremont McKenna College	8.1%	307	Not stated
Concordia IrvineConcordia University Irvine	—	—	Not stated
DominicanDominican University of California	—	—	Not stated
Fresno PacificFresno Pacific University	—	—	Not stated
Harvey MuddHarvey Mudd College	—	—	Not stated
La VerneUniversity of La Verne	—	—	Yes
LMULoyola Marymount University	56.2%	3,036	Not stated
MenloMenlo College	—	—	Not stated
Mount Saint Mary'sMount Saint Mary's University	—	—	Not stated
National University	—	—	Not stated
OccidentalOccidental College	35.5%	369	Not stated
PacificUniversity of the Pacific	—	—	Not stated
PepperdinePepperdine University	44%	871	No
PitzerPitzer College	44.2%	224	Not stated
Point LomaPoint Loma Nazarene University	—	—	Not stated
PomonaPomona College	—	—	Not stated
RedlandsUniversity of Redlands	—	—	Not stated
Saint Mary'sSaint Mary's College of California	—	—	Yes
Santa ClaraSanta Clara University	64.7%	1,206	Not stated
ScrippsScripps College	—	—	Not stated
StanfordStanford University	2%	3,285	Not stated
USCUniversity of Southern California	27.1%	10,827	Not stated
USDUniversity of San Diego	—	—	Not stated
USFUniversity of San Francisco	55.1%	1,956	Not stated
VanguardVanguard University of Southern California	—	—	Not stated
WhittierWhittier College	—	—	Yes

Admit rates are for all transfer applicants, from each university’s newest Common Data Set. Each university page gives the term, deadlines and course rules.

The ADT pathway to private universities

Under the AICCU ADT Commitment, a California community college student who earns an AA-T or AS-T and meets a participating private nonprofit university's admission requirements is guaranteed admission to that university. The commitment also guarantees that at least 60 semester or 90 quarter units transfer and that the student starts with junior standing. Each university keeps its own admission and graduation requirements and its own list of accepted ADT majors.

Universities named when the agreement started: Azusa Pacific University, Brandman University, California Baptist University, California Baptist University Online, California Institute of Integral Studies, California Lutheran University, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Concordia University Irvine, Fresno Pacific University, Golden Gate University, Holy Names University, Humphreys University, La Sierra University, Los Angeles Pacific University, Mills College, Mount Saint Mary's University, National University, Pacific Oaks College, Pacific Union College, Palo Alto University, Pepperdine University, San Diego Christian College, Simpson University, University of La Verne, University of Redlands, University of Saint Katherine, University of San Francisco, Whittier College, Marymount California University, Notre Dame de Namur University, Point Loma Nazarene University, Saint Mary's College of California, University of the West, Westmont College, William Jessup University, John Paul the Great Catholic University.

This is the list of 36 private nonprofit institutions named by the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office when the agreement was signed on July 25, 2018. AICCU's current list of participants and accepted majors is a linked spreadsheet that could not be opened, so the list may have changed since 2018.

Check each university’s own page before you count on it. Pepperdine, for example, now says an ADT doesn’t guarantee admission there.

Questions

Which California private universities are hardest to transfer to?

By admit rate, Stanford (2%), Claremont McKenna (8.1%), USC (27.1%).

Do private universities use the UC or CSU application?

No. Each private university has its own application, usually the Common App, with its own deadline and course rules.

Every university here

The ADT pathway to private universities

Questions

Sources