Financially viable transfer options

Transfer Students
1

<p>I'm a freshman at the U of Minnesota. I don't like the social or academic atmosphere here and want to transfer- I don't want to get into specifics unless necessary. I want a smaller, more intimate social atmosphere and more academically oriented school. I'm applying to Brown, Columbia, JHU, UVA, UNC, Dartmouth. I'm
looking for options that I could make affordable through merit money. I know how hard it is to make this happen as a transfer. </p>

<p>4.0 college GPA, honors program at Minnesota.
Men's club rowing, econ project research assistant, bio research club member are main college EC's.
HS- 3.6 UW, 4.2 W GPA. 33 ACT
IB diploma, top 10% etc. 2 AP classes and 8 IB's. </p>

<p>Where can I go that offers a smaller social environment and strong academics (Econ specifically) that's ranked as well or better than Minnesota?</p>

2

<p>If you’re looking for merit aid, why are you applying to those schools? None of the Ivies offer merit and it’s unlikely the others you listed do either. Will you qualify for any FA?</p>

3

<p>I was unclear in this post- I meant that those are the schools I am currently considering but understand that there is a decent chance I will not be able to afford them. I will qualify for some FA, but the difference between that and my parents contribution may or may not make it affordable. Basically I want to add some academically strong schools as safeties or matches that will give me a few affordable options to choose from. If I’m accepted to Brown, Columbia, or Dartmouth, I may be willing to take out some loans but I’m not counting on acceptance and I’m slightly worried about digging myself into a whole in this economy.</p>

4

<p>I understand. Much of the merit aid that I’ve seen are for transfers from in state CCs or Phi Theta Kappa members. Here are a couple that might work for you:</p>

<p>[Transfer</a> Academic Scholarships | University of Miami](<a href=“http://www.miami.edu/index.php/ug/scholarships/transfer/]Transfer”>http://www.miami.edu/index.php/ug/scholarships/transfer/)</p>

<p>[University</a> of Rochester : Money : Merit Awards](<a href=“http://enrollment.rochester.edu/admissions/money/scholarships.shtm]University”>http://enrollment.rochester.edu/admissions/money/scholarships.shtm)</p>

5

<p>[AU</a> Transfer Merit Scholarships | Financial Aid | American University, Washington, DC](<a href=“http://www.american.edu/financialaid/transferscholarships.cfm]AU”>Transfer Scholarships | American University, Washington, DC)</p>

6

<p>Most top schools eliminated loans for families making below $60,000. So, just apply to a wide range of schools, and you will likely get in somewhere. Then compare the FA offers.</p>

7

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<p>I don’t see any indication from the OP that their family makes below 60k. Quite the contrary, it sounds like they are in the income range where the OP may have to take out substantial loans to attend. I think the OP is prudent to look at merit opportunities in addition to the 6 need only FA schools they are already applying to.</p>

8

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<p>I don’t see any indications from the OP that the OP’s family makes above 60k. Also, I don’t see any indications from me that the OP’s family makes a certain income.</p>

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<p>I think the OP should be looking at ALL the opportunities. That is why I suggested that the OP apply to a wide range of schools and then compare the FA offers.</p>

9

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<p>I used “their” (as in belonging to), do you think I should have used “they’re” (they are) or “there” (as in a place)??</p>

<p>The indication that the OPs family likely makes over 60k is that between anticipated FA and parental contribution, they are still very concerned about affordability at the need only schools (as stated in the first section I quoted).</p>

<p>“FA offers” refers to need based FA, the OP is also looking for merit opportunities as stated in posts #1 & 3.</p>