<p>I know that the pool of money available for transfers is notoriously less that that available for freshman. I'm trying to transfer for Spring 2011, and I may or may not have an Associate's by then (depending on, naturally, whether I get into ONE certain class). Anyway, I'm applying to two schools in my state, but I would really like to know whether there are any colleges in the northeast that give OK aid to transfers. My EFC is 0. </p>
<p>I thought of Connecticut College (I think they're about my range academically)...they're supposed to have good aid, but their grants won't cover it all, and their scholarships are made only for first-years! </p>
<p>(By the way, you don't know of any schools that don't charge an application fee, do you?)</p>
<p>It would really help to know what your major is, your gpa, and the type of school you’re looking for. Also, are you a Phi Theta Kappa member? If so, there is a list of schools that provide PTK scholarships on their website.</p>
<p>Let’s see…my major is going to be Philosophy, and I’m planning on minoring (or double majoring, if it’s available) in Judaic Studies. My GPA at my community college is a 3.7, but in high school is was a 2.3. My main criteria for schools are the ranking of its philosophy department, its need-based financial aid, and a school that’s not too big or too focused on its MA and PhD students. I don’t really know which types of schools I should be aiming for—but I keep applying to schools that are out of my league (I applied to Brown for last fall, though I knew I’d be rejected). </p>
<p>I’m not a member of anything. I have a philosophy blog that I’m fairly serious about, and I’ve had a few jobs and volunteered at a few places. I think I can come up with a good essay, though.</p>
<p>I just learned that Amherst has both financial aid for transfers AND an application fee waiver, but I don’t know if it’s too much of a reach.</p>
<p>So it sounds as if you’re most interested in a LAC. As I’m sure you know, many schools will not require your HS transcripts if you have 30+ credit hours. If your CC has a PTK chapter (it’s just an honor society for two year schools), you might want to apply for membership as there are quite a few schools who offer scholarships to their members:
[Phi</a> Theta Kappa - Scholarship Listing](<a href=“http://www.ptk.org/schol/newscholdir/list.php]Phi”>http://www.ptk.org/schol/newscholdir/list.php)</p>
<p>I don’t think that you should rule out schools simply because they don’t waive app fees! If you carefully construct your list, there shouldn’t be a need to pay a huge amount in fees. This is not a forum for chances really and we don’t know enough about you or your history to say whether a particular school is a reach or a match. What we can (usually) get to is a place where we understand what you’re looking for and can afford and then make some suggestions based on the info you provide. </p>
<p>What are you using for “ranking of its philosophy department”? Is this a must have at the undergrad level? What is your ultimate educational/career goal at this point? What is your tolerance for debt and are your parents helping you at all with expenses?</p>
<p>Thanks, I will look into PTK, although I’ll be applying in about a month for the spring, so I don’t know how helpful this will be. </p>
<p>I’m using the Philosophical Gourmet mostly. It’s fairly important but not EXTREMELY important—going to a school with a more involved undergraduate faculty is more important. I know that this isn’t the chances forum, but I’m more worried about having a financial safety now, since if worse comes to worst I know I could stay in-state (although I <em>really</em> don’t want to). </p>
<p>My tolerance for debt is pretty much zero. I can’t take out any loans over, oh, $5,000 a year. My parents aren’t going to pay any more (we already owe money to an art school I went to for a year and got a 1.5 at…bad experience…) And it’s pretty hard to find a school that will give you a full ride just on need…when you’re not an international researcher or something.</p>
<p>A 1.5 what? Loan or gpa? I think it’s going to be extremely difficult to find the amount of FA you’ll need at a private school as a transfer if your OVERALL gpa is not that high - and that includes all the college credits you’ve earned. The best place would be schools like Brown and Amherst who guarantee to meet need with no/low loans…but they are very competitve and will likely also want your HS transcripts. You can find all of these schools and their FA policies here:
[Project</a> on Student Debt: Financial Aid Pledges](<a href=“http://projectonstudentdebt.org/pc_institution.php]Project”>http://projectonstudentdebt.org/pc_institution.php)</p>
<p>What level of grant aid does the state of VA provide to low-income students? Are there any schools in VA that would make your list and be affordable?</p>
<p>You want to transfer with a X.X GPA to major in Philosophy and Judaic studies. Anything else you want to add at the last second??? You have a 1.5 in Art School with a 3.7 in CC. What is your Cum GPA in college and how many credits do you have (quarter or semester)?? Tell the whole tale.</p>
<p>Erin’s Dad: I don’t think it matters so much how many credits I’m taking to be recommended safety schools…? What do you mean, ‘tell the whole tale’?</p>
<p>OK…a 2.3 in high school, a 1.5 in the art school (I was there for less than one year; I explain it in my essay), and a 3.7 in community college. I’d have a 3.9, except I have a D in a dual-enrollment class from high school. I like to think that a 4-year school will pay most attention to the CC, not the art school.</p>
<p>…yeah, that being said, I HOPE it’s not all cumulative. I’ll have no chance.</p>
<p>Sorry about the attitude. I just get fed up with some posters parcelling out the info when a complete listing would make things so much easier to start with. What would be your cum for college at this point? You need to see what schools will ignore your HS transcript. For instance I thought Grinnell might be a match but they require all students to send their HS transcript. What is your home state? VA?</p>
<p>Don’t try to transfer mid year. Many/most schools wouldn’t have any FA to give anyway.</p>
<p>What is your EFC. It doesn’t matter that your parents won’t pay, your EFC will still matter.</p>
<p>What state college can you commute to from home? That may be your financial safety school. </p>
<p>You live in VA. Apply to some VA state schools…including UVA.</p>
<p>Any school that you don’t know will be affordable can NOT be a financial safety school. A financial safety school is school that you KNOW will be affordable.</p>
<p>The number of credits you have does matter for transfers and I’ve never heard of a school that does not require transcripts from EACH school you’ve attended so I think your art school will matter. But you’re asking about financial, not academic safeties, on this forum. And the financial safeties are going to be your instate publics and those very selective school that promise to meet need. So you have to be upfront about your academic history or you will be wasting your time applying.</p>
<p>I think you need to make a more rational plan. I think that at this point you’re going to have to either work and save up money or take loans. Finish your associate’s so you have some sort of degree under your belt. Try to apply for fall semester so you have a better chance at getting aid…spring semester is tough even for first-time freshmen.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the information so far. I see what you mean about credits, and now I’m really considering taking less credits this fall than I was going to. </p>
<p>mom2collegekids: Yeah, I know about transferring mid-year. I am really intent on doing so, otherwise I wouldn’t. I’m trying to find schools that would be more likely to have money to give mid-year. </p>
<p>HOWEVER THERE’S A NEW PROBLEM.</p>
<p>I’m thinking that if I get into, say, UVA in the spring (or nowhere), I won’t be able to transfer <em>again</em> to a few schools I was going to apply to that only take students in the fall, will I? If I was going to transfer in the fall, I’d have to make sure I don’t take any more credits this spring. (And if there’s one thing I hate, it’s being out of school! Especially for longer than I have to…) And if I don’t get in for the spring, I’m going to be very worried about completing my Associate’s degree. Because it will be over 63 credits if I take another semester.</p>
<p>Erin’s Dad: No worries. Let’s see…I actually have no idea that my cum GPA would be, because I don’t know my grades at the art school (I just ordered an unofficial transcript though). But I just did the math and I think it’d be a 3.0, counting both schools and my dual enrollment classes. Would it be worse to send my HS transcript, if I have the option? Do schools want to see that you once made D’s in HS but now you make A’s…or do they not want to see those D’s in the first place? Same for SATs. I got a 1940; it’s not especially good or bad, so if I have the option, should I send these scores?</p>
<p>*Yeah, I know about transferring mid-year. I am really intent on doing so, otherwise I wouldn’t. I’m trying to find schools that would be more likely to have money to give mid-year. </p>
<p>*</p>
<p>I can’t think of ONE school that would give great financial aid to a mid-year transfer student.</p>
<p>And if I don’t get in for the spring, I’m going to be very worried about completing my Associate’s degree. Because it will be over 63 credits if I take another semester.</p>
<p>??? Are you saying that if you stay at a CC thru spring, you’ll have 63 credits? What’s wrong with that?</p>
<p>Well, right now my list looks like this:
UVA
W&M (both pretty much safeties; apparently W&M has a transfer acceptance rate of 50%, and I’m only one class away from qualifying for their Guaranteed Admissionsthey both are likely to give me 100% aid)
Brandeis (the #1 school I want to get into; their financial aid is sketchy though)
Either Wellesley or Amherst (I’ve decided $50 for the CSS for both isn’t worth it for schools this selective)</p>
<p>Do you think it would be in bad taste to call a school to ask about their financial aid policies for transfers and/or mid-years?</p>
<p>So…I’m probably making the situation more complicated than it really is, but here’s the story. I was at the CC for last fall, last spring, last summer, and I was planning on graduating this fall. I took a few extra classes that I didn’t need, and the credits add up. Right now I’m at 49 (not including the art school credits?), so if I take 15 credits this fall I’ll be at 64 already! But I won’t even have my associate’s…I need two more science classes (eight more credits) for that. So, if I take a full load this fall and only two classes in the spring, I’ll be at 72 credits. No college will want me, right? But if I take less than a full load, it will look like I wasn’t trying hard. </p>
<p>The only thing I can think of is using spring semester to re-take classes I got B’s in…but that’s not a good plan.</p>
<p>Why would you think that a college will not accept you with 72 credits instead of 64? Afaik, there is not a limit on the number of credits you’ve earned…although colleges will set a limit on the number they will articulate. You can probably find the number they will accept on their website or on college board.</p>
<p>Oh, OK, that’s good. I was confused by how all colleges say you should “plan to be here at least two years” and “no one will be admitted above junior status”…that, along with the sense that colleges are going to count ALL my credits, even the ones I don’t want counted. (Because I really would rather take worthwhile electives at a 4-year school than have my Public Speaking class count as a generic elective…just taking up space.)</p>
<p>Colleges will have a requirement that you must complete a certain number of credits at their school in order to receive a diploma from that school so that’s why they say they do not accept you as higher than a junior status. So that’s why it doesn’t matter if you bring more credits to the table - and likely some of them will not be accepted for transfer.</p>
<p>You best bets are going to be instate options for financial aid. Know though too that many will still include the max stafford loans for juniors and seniors which I think is $7500 (don’t quote me on that) but that is likely going to be a given no matter where you apply because you are a very long shot for the meet full need/no loan schools.</p>