Financially challenged, need EXPLICIT but REAL advice.

Transfer Students
1

<p>My guidance counselor in high school knew I was a first generation minority student and I had no idea of how college admissions and financial aid worked.</p>

<p>Fast forward a couple years and now I'm at a community college. She recommended this move but never told me the about the pitfalls of the transfer college admissions process. Basically, if you're a transfer student, good lucking paying for your education as financial aid REALLY IS impossible to get.</p>

<p>I'm in pennsylvania and I've called up alot of the state schools (those in the PASSHE such as shippensburg, kutztown, west chester, millersville) and they all said they award no aid to transfer students, only to freshman and returning students.</p>

<p>I've called up much more selective schools such as Lafayette, Gettysburg, and I've even called out of state schools such as Chapman and University of Miami and they've all said they offer LIMITED aid but transfer students are at the bottom of the rungs and receive little to no aid.</p>

<p>Please help me on deciding what to do. I'm really unsure as I'm thinking the longer I stay at my CC, the harder financial aid will be to find.</p>

<p>My current plan of action is to wait for the Fafsa to come up and add some Pennsylvania LACS, some out of state schools, and some PASSHE schools and apply to all of them and see which offers the most aid.</p>

<p>My stats are:
SAT 1860 (M/CR/W 640/600/620), HS GPA 87-89, Top 33%.
My fafsa EFC is 0.</p>

<p>I'm thinking of filling out the Common App and applying to:
Gettysburg, Dickinson, Lafayette, Franklin and Marshall, Lehigh, Temple, University of Miami, Boston University, Shippensburg, West Chester, Kutztown, Millersville.</p>

2

<p>You need to make an appointment with the transfer counselor at your CC. He/she can tell you where students with your major have transferred in recent years, and what kind of scholarship money has been won by students from your CC. There is indeed money out there for transfer students, but often it is reserved for students who have completed a full A.A. or A.S. degree. Even better if they are members of Phi Theta Kappa. Here is a link to the Transfer Scholarship page for our local community college. Some of these scholarships are only for MD residents, but others you might qualify for. [MC</a> Transfer Scholarship Page](<a href=“http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/studev/schol.htm]MC”>http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/studev/schol.htm)</p>

<p>Your high school grades were OK, but not stellar. It is not likely that you would have received enough aid to have made attending any place other than your community college affordable. Your guidance counselor was correct. The CC is the best place for you to start out. With an EFC of 0, your Pell and Stafford money should pretty much cover everything for the two years that you are there.</p>

<p>Wishing you all the best.</p>

3

<p>Yea it seems like I’ll end up going to a state school.
I spoke with my transfer advisor and she said alot of students from my CC usually go to cheap lacs (York/Lebanon Valley).</p>

<p>She said don’t even try for Gettysburg/Dickison/F&M/Lehigh as the expensive schools don’t always give as much aid and apparently they base their admission decisions on need.</p>

4

<p>With a cost of $40K per year I’d hardly consider Lebanon Valley cheap unless they offer very generous transfer monies. York’s cost is half that.</p>

5

<p>@PTMajor that’s what I don’t understand either, no offense but it seems like all of the advisors I ask are talking out of their backsides.</p>

<p>It’s no wonder why all these rich ivy kids got in because they had AWESOME guidance.
Man if I could just go back to kindergarten and repeat my life with an awesome counselor…well then I’d be in any ivy league school today. ■■■.</p>

<p>Enough of my ranting but I will apply to some of the state schools in my area as soon as I fill out my fafsa. I’m on the line about applying to LACS, because with a state school I can get in guaranteed and with Government aid I’ll have to pay 1-2K tops. With a LAC, if all I get is federal aid then I’m screwed again.</p>

<p>I’m gonna call my schools and ask if I can get a fee waiver that way I can apply to more schools.</p>