<p>Wharton appears to be an exception, probably due to their curriculum requirements. What I said holds true for most public universities - privates such as UPenn/Wharton probably often do have different policies.</p>
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<p>Freshman admission has nothing to do with it.</p>
<p>When you transfer in as a junior (presumably with lower-division general education requirements complete), you’re mostly taking up slots in upper-division courses related to your major. If you’re applying to a major that isn’t “impacted” or overloaded, there are generally “empty seats” in those courses waiting to be filled, and thus the university has room to admit you.</p>
<p>Whereas, if you come in as a sophomore, you’d be competing for general education classroom space with all the other lower-division students.</p>