My D was accepted to some ‘big name’ private schools, with merit and FA, but the price remains too high for our budget. She is coming around to going to the state U. Not a bad school, just not the dream school. She would do this planning to do the whole 4 years there, but we’d like a better understanding of what her options might be if the state U just really doesn’t work out for her.
I understand she loses the merit opportunities if she doesn’t accept them this year. Will need based aid opportunities disappear too? Are there a good number of academically strong, private schools that will offer good need based aid ( or even merit) to transfer students?
Go to the affordable college now & transfer later (maybe to a college that accepted you originally)?
It will depend on the school. I think most colleges will provide need for transfers but can’t say all. There’s certainly a chance transfers are at the back of the FA line the first year (based on supposition). The schools that promise to meet need are probably safe on offering good FA, but they will also be hard to get into.
There is also no guarantee that she will be admitted as a transfer student Of it is a school with a high yield there may be very few transfer seats available so the competition for those seats will be fierce.
Like ED stated, schools that give merit to incoming freshmen rarely give merit to transfer students and ma be need aware/ need sensitive to transfer students
Another consideration would be what of her classes (credits/units) will actually transfer. If she was at a public in-state CC and she wishes to transfer to a 4 year in-state public she would have some assurances her classes would transfer due to the articulation agreements colleges have in place. Articulation agreements can be set up for many different colleges, private to public and vice versa. But keep in mind many units might not transfer. Some school accept no transfers, Princeton and the service academies. Also if she is attending a public which awards substantial units for AP if she were to transfer to a school that really limits the APs that would be another hurdle to overcome.
Transfer students fill up many universities however, the success of getting accepted (again), getting the $$$ to go, and transferring units can be a hurdle. When a student starts at a CC they have the fore knowledge they want to transfer to a 4 year and plan their first two years of classes accordingly. I know UNM offers transfer scholarships, and some other states do as well, but if you have specific schools in mind you might want to check with them regarding transfer opportunities, money and credits. She would need to really by mindful of her GPA if she was hoping to transfer, and that can affect class selection, even major.
Plenty of people transfer all the time, to save money, not need an SAT/ACT score and maybe enter a more selective school than the current one. Sometimes they transfer to be more local, have a major that isn’t offered at the original school or take time off and reconsider their options. If transferring is in the future just have a plan, especially if money is the issue. Don’t make mistakes to make it harder financially, if that is the motivation.
Kat