<p>I'm an incoming freshman, and I've been given a reasonable grant from my U. I missed the application deadline for a school that I now plan on applying for a transfer to. However, I'm unsure as to whether transfer students are given equal consideration for grants/scholarships as students applying as potential freshmen. This is very important to me; if I'm unlikely to get a grant as a transfer student, then I will need to seriously consider going to a less expensive school. I will, of course, apply to several colleges.</p>
<p>Depends entirely on the school - each will have its own policy. My daughter received a grant as a transfer student to a private university. However, we have no idea if she would have received more (or less) had she applied as a freshman the first time around. </p>
<p>(The grant she got was middle of the road - more than we were expecting, yet less than a completely over-the-moon offer. It definitely filled the gap between EFC and a normal set of student loans, though. Thus, we thought it was a very reasonable offer and we know other transfer students received zero grants that I believe had lower EFCs than our family.)</p>
<p>That’s how I’d describe the grant I’m attending my current (private) school with. It’s enough to cover my room and board and my school fees. I’m hoping for the equivalent. While more would fill me with joy (>.<) it seems very unlikely.</p>
<p>It definitely depends on the school, but just as a broad generality, transfer students will be offered less grant aid than freshman applicants.</p>
<p>Since you already have identified the school you’d like to transfer to, why not just ask them?</p>
<p>Smith gave my younger D a very generous grant as a transfer student.</p>
<p>It really does depend on the school. We found in our research schools are pretty upfront about their policies. Both Vassar and Brown, for example, say right up front they don’t give FA grants to transfers.</p>
<p>Agree with 'rentof2 that while it varies with school, there is definitely less merit aid available to transfers compared to fr applicants, both in the number of scholarships and the size of the award.</p>
<p>As far as need based FA, that too varies with the school. Some colleges use the same policies as with fr, while others have more limited FA for transfers, particularly spring transfers. B does state clearly on their main transfer page that their FA is limited for transfers:</p>
<p>[Brown</a> Admission: Transfer Students](<a href=“Undergraduate Admission | Brown University”>Undergraduate Admission | Brown University)</p>
<p>Unfortunately, what they don’t state up front is that while they are need blind for fr admissions, they are need aware for transfers. This information is only found several steps later on the FA website, if you know where to look:</p>
<p><a href=“https://financialaid.brown.edu/Cmx_Content.aspx?cpId=56[/url]”>https://financialaid.brown.edu/Cmx_Content.aspx?cpId=56</a></p>
<p>This policy does appear to have a significant affect on transfer decisions some years:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/transfer-students/936056-brown-transfer-applicant-survey-fa-need-aware-admissions.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/transfer-students/936056-brown-transfer-applicant-survey-fa-need-aware-admissions.html</a></p>