<p>I was wondering if it is as easy to get financial aid as a transfer student as it is as a freshman.</p>
<p>Out of the schools I am applying to, WashU, Vanderbilt, and SLU all say Financial Aid is "available" to transfer students, and Northwestern says need-based scholarships are usually not available to transfers.</p>
<p>My parents make about $140,000 a year (after taxes), though since I have a brother about to enter college in 09, and sister who they need to start saving for, they say the absolute most the CAN pay is about $22,000 per year.</p>
<p>Is my aid going to be as much as if I were a freshman, will I even get the aid I need, and are colleges more willing to offer aid if you need less?</p>
<p>My guess is you would probably get the similar need based aid at these schools as a transfer compared to incoming freshman. However, you will not be able to get scholarships as a transfer, as a general rule (check websites ... they usually clearly address this). You do have to watch f.a. due dates, though. Some are actually BEFORE the transfer admissions app due date. If you apply for aid after the priority filing date, you may very well get less aid than you would have had you filed on time. Vandy's priority filing date for all was 2/1.</p>
<p>With your parents' income, you will very likely have an EFC higher than $22,000. I doubt any school will give you need based aid that will bridge the gap between $22k and the cost of attendance. You need to be thinking about how you will pay (loans, outside scholarship possibilities, etc.).</p>