Inside Higher Education ( Scott Jaschik) summarizes a study to be released today by the National Association of College Admission Counselors researching:
Factors of ‘Considerable Importance’ in Transfer Admissions Decisions
The first percentage is Public Universities, the second Private:
GPA at postsecondary institutions 95.2% \ 90.8%
Grade-point average in high school 3.7%  \14.5%
Grades in transferable courses 72.5% \ 53.8%
Scores on standardized tests 3.8% \ 8.5%
Quality of high school 0.0% \ 3.8%
Quality post-secondary institution 7.4  \13.2
Articulation with prior institution 19.5% \ 9.9%
Essay or writing sample 6.1%  \ 25.5%
Recommendations 0.0% \ 24.6%
Ability to pay 0.0% \  3.4%
Race/ethnicity 2.4% \  2.6%
Interview 0.0% \ 11.1%
I read this data to confirm that public institutions look at the transfer applicant’s grades in post-secondary institution and whether he/she has taken appropriate classes (articulation). For public universities high school is a thing of the past as are SAT scores.
HOWEVER, private schools treat the transfer application almost identically to that of freshmen applications. GPA post-secondary and high school is important as are essays, recommendations and INTERVIEWS. Notice also that private schools are not as worried about the specific classes an applicant took in post-secondary school.
This may seem inconsistent but in truth I believe it gives different students with different profiles each a place to apply and be accepted.