<p>I was just curious as to how the financial aid is for transfers across different universities and colleges.</p>
<p>Top Univ./Ivy- I know that schools like Yale/Harvard are need blind but I've heard they don't provide much aid without an ultra stellar resume, for successful transfers: how accurate is this?</p>
<p>Top Public- I'm sure for in state students the packages you get are awesome but I would think that expecting them to meet your full need would be naive hopefully someone could shed some light on this.</p>
<p>top LAC's- I know that Davidson just instituted a plan that no students will have to take out loans but how is the aid at other top LAC's?</p>
<p>Also if anyone knows which schools are known to meet the full need of transfers it would be very helpful as well.</p>
<p>I'm not sure what you're meaning by "meet full need." All schools that state that they meet full need will do so even for transfers, though the amount given through loans/grants will vary by school. If by "meet full need" you mean giving all (or practically everything) in grants, this is how it has worked for me: schools will determine your need by their process. At schools that truly meet 100% of need, you will first be maxed out with regards to Stafford loans, Perkins loans (if you qualified), and work study. After that point (which usually amounts to almost 10k a year), a school that is truly need blind will fill the gap with grants. </p>
<p>Case in point:</p>
<p>At Wesleyan, the school used the Institutional method and due to my family's assets (quite a bit) my EFC was 32k, leaving approximately 18k per year to be determined as "need," that is, outside of my family's budget. The school first maxed me out for subsidized Stafford and Perkins loans in addition to giving me a work study, as I requested. After that there was approximately 12k that I still "needed," and so the school gave me grants (free money).</p>
<p>At WashU, where they use the Federal Method, our assets were not considered and so I received the same government loans as mentioned above. At the same time, b/c WashU gives aid based on need and merit, I received a 19k/yr. named scholarship.</p>
<p>Both of these schools (one top LAC and one top uni) met 100% of my need, but obviously my need varied quite a bit depending on the school's methodology and also WashU, known for being willing to "buy" its students, offered me a better package than Wesleyan.</p>
<p>So that long explanation is what is meant by "meeting full need." You will rarely find a school that will meet all of your need through grants, and even then schools will almost always max out your government loans per year before dipping into their funds. The only exceptions are schools where merit aid is offered.</p>
<p>I understand that meeting "full need" doesn't mean that it you will receive only grants I was just wondering if there were some schools where, for example, if my EFC is 10k and the cost is 45, would not give me the TOTAL difference in some form of loans, grants or scholarships, instead of 10k in loans 15k in grants and the rest is up to me.</p>
<p>Are top publics still going to meet my need the same way that a private would? What I mean is do they still meet full need?</p>
<p>You can't lump the schools together (eg, "top publics") to determine their financial aid policies. You really have to look school by school to see if they meet 100% of need, or what % they typically meet.</p>
<p>Then it's on to the question of how <em>they</em> determine need, because - as brand says - they determine it, not you.</p>
<p>racnna - Some schools use the institutional method (usually meaning the CSS Profile form), some use the federal method (meaning FAFSA). I believe you typically would fill out FAFSA anyway because that determines eligibility for several federal monies. But someone else can check me on that.</p>
<p>racnna - Andale is right. From what I've seen, all schools require you fill out the FAFSA if you're applying for financial aid. It's reqd. by the government to determine whether you qualify for govt. benefits such as Pell grants, Perkins Loans, Stafford loans. Many top privates will also require the CSS profile, which basically requests a lot more information about you and almost always results in you getting less financial aid. :(</p>
<p>stoneimmaculate - a lot of schools will advertise that they meet 100% of need, but the best way to get the info you want is to go to Collegeboard.com and look at the recent data for incoming students at those schools. In the case of the infamous NYU, one can look at stats from college board's financial aid section:</p>
<p>
[quote]
Full-time freshman enrollment: 4,707
Number who applied for need-based aid: 3,094
Number who were judged to have need: 2,471
Number who were offered aid: 2,463
Number who had full need met: Not reported
Average percent of need met: 65%
Average financial aid package: $20,643
Average need-based loan: $4,449
Average need-based scholarship or grant award: $14,374
Average non-need based aid: $6,930
Average indebtedness at graduation: $34,417 </p>
<p>Percent of total undergraduate aid awarded as:
Scholarships / grants: 59%
Loans / jobs: 41% </p>
<p>By looking at something like this (for each school you like) you can get an idea. NYU, for instance, really meets only about 65% of need, even if they advertise differently. Of that, about 40% of the "gift" is loans. This will be in addition to the loans/savings you'll be expected to use to pay your EFC.</p>
<p>Also keep in mind that some schools will still meet 100% of need as advertised but give a larger portion of it in loans than they would to an incoming freshman.</p>
<p>so basically that 'need-blind' thing is B.S? What are my chances of getting any aid if my dad makes over 200K but doesn't support me financially- my state school doesn't care and adheres to the policy that all students are considered dependants for financial aid purposes. Will the privates/ivies like yale/penn/columbia/stanford consider my circumstances when deciding how much aid to give me? And what is a CSS profile?</p>
<p>not necessarily. need-blind is good in that if you were really poor the school wouldn't view your FA circumstances and reject you because it didn't feel like forking out grants.</p>
<p>your chances at getting aid are slim b/c of what your dad will report. schools that require the CSS profile (many top unis/LACs) will be even harder on you if your dad has a lot of assets (liquid cash, expensive home, investments). </p>
<p>I am kinda in a similar position to yourself. My family doesn't report that much, but is still upper-middle class and thus gets screwed by the FA system. Your best bet is to apply to top notch schools that use the FAFSA exclusively and give merit aid. WashU was a great option for me b/c they were willing to give me a lot based on merit, whereas I wouldn't have received as much based on need. There are other top schools that provide merit aid and/or use the FAFSA only, but you'll have to search them out. State schools are at least cheaper but you can almost bet on not getting anything nice from them. From my flagship, UT-Austin, I received a/b 4k in govt. loans and a $1500 merit based grant, leaving a gap so large that WashU turned out to be almost the same price and even the lackluster FA package from Wesleyan was competitive.</p>
<p>I just checked on collegeboard and all the schools i'm looking into require the CSS profile. So is it safe to say that even if they give me 'aid', will all be in loans? I don't really mind but it's scary to think i would owe 70K by the time i graduate, plus the amount in loans i've already taken out.</p>
<p>and use the Institutional Method (CSS) to determine your EFC. I used this calculator before applying to schools and my EFC came out to 29k, which is exactly what my parents are expected to contribute. Keep in mind though that most schools will also tack on an extra 2k or so as the student's EFC. That is, you're expected to contribute some money from your earnings and your parents are expected to contribute. Either way, the EFC is pretty close to the real deal usually if you use the correct numbers from your taxes. </p>
<p>The gap, if you attend a private school, will usually be approximately 50k minus your total EFC. So if you have a 20k gap (need), the colleges will fill it first with govt. loans (which are great as they're usually subsidized) and the rest should be met with grants.</p>
<p>"Need blind" and meeting full need are two different concepts.</p>
<p>Schools which self-identify as "need blind" are saying that they will evaluate your application without regard to whether you need financial aid or not. Your app will be judged on its merits and you will be admitted or not regardless of whether you can pay full freight or you can't.</p>
<p>That is separate from whether and how they will meet your need once they admit you.</p>
<p>raccna - your best bet is to go to the FAFSA financial aid calculators on line as well as a couple of CSS schools which interest you and use their financial aid calculators. That will give you an idea of how different systems might look at your need. FAFSA schools, I believe, don't require as much (any?) financial info from the non-custodial parent, if that is what you are saying your father is.</p>
<p>All in all, if you would like $$ for your education, you will have to decide how important that is. Because if it is critical, you will likely need to expand your list beyond CSS Profile schools to some that are FAFSA only and possibly to some that are known for merit aid.</p>
<p>Caution: schools known for good merit aid <em>in general</em> are not necessarily good with merit aid for transfers.</p>
<p>Just got accepted as transfer to CUA (Catholic U in Wash DC) for sophmore year - but can't go because financial aid package wasn't enough. Loans plus + merit aid + need grants came to about 68 % of need (relative to the EFC determined by the FASFA). At the School I now attend, McDaniel gave me a package that meets 100% of need, plus an Unsubsidized loan that dips into EFC. (I think only Unsubsidized Staffords and Parent's Plus loans are the only aid that can be used to bring down the parents EFC -- correct me if I'm wrong people out there). Last year I got several outside scholarships and my school used them to decrease my subsidized loans...but NOT the EFC !!!</p>
<p>Also should add - cum 3.47. First semester Freshman was rough, then made Dean's list 2nd semester...Just Got admitted as transfer for sophmore year at American University and I'm waiting for the transfer financial aid package...I'll post when it comes. I need pretty close to 90 - 100% EFC, we've got a single parent income.</p>
<p>Of my 3 friends attempting to transfer after their freshman year...NONE have gotten good enough financial aid packages to make it possible...they got into more selective schools....but the merit and need aid was comparatively less. I don't know if waiting until sophmore to junior year transfer would be better?? Anybody know??</p>
<p>Perhaps others could post on their experience with transfer admissions and financial aid packages +;-) past and present...THANKS</p>
<p>Private colleges will look at your father's income. Even if he doesn't support you schools think he's obligated to pay for college until you're 24. If he makes $200K you probably won't even get subsidized loans and you certainly won't get enough in loans to pay the bill. Your parents will have to do the big borrowing because they have the credit.</p>
<p>Your best bet is FAFSA only schools if your mother has a lower income and not much in assets besides a home.</p>
<p>collegekid100 you are wrong. I am 24 and and attending Brown next year. Every student except in very rare cases is considered dependent. I am only independent to the fed govt.</p>