I am currently an in-state ME major at UConn planning on transferring to the following schools in fall 2018:
- Boston University
- Carnegie Mellon
- Columbia University
- Johns Hopkins
- WashU in St. Louis
Pretty much my only reason for transferring is for better financial aid. But exactly how is it for transfer students at those schools, especially those with low income? I have been hearing mixed feelings (mostly negative) about the packages there, but should I set low expectations for myself? Is it true that they’re worse for transfers than for freshmen? I’m considering both need and merit-based.
You need to contact each place to ask about their aid policies. Don’t be afraid to do that. They will tell you.
Ask if they meet full need, and if the Net Price Calculator on their website is acurate for transfer students.
BU and Carnegie Mellon don’t meet full financial need(which is determined by them), but I believe BU does offer merit awards for transfer students.
JHU, Columbia and WashU all claim to meet 100% of demonstrated financial need for transfer students and are need blind as well, but I don’t believe any of them offer merit aid to transfers (check out their websites to make sure).
It’s unrelated, but if you’re considering taking the SAT/ACT to boost your scores, keep in mind that WashU doesn’t accept any scores from tests taken while you were in college. Only university that I’ve ever seen to have a policy like that :)) Good luck!
Top universities tend not to hand out much merit aid because pretty much everybody going there is a strong student.