<p>Hello everyone,
I am currently a sophomore at the University of Rochester. Long story short, they offered me a really good financial aid package when I was accepted as a freshman, then gave me a really crappy one this year. Yes I did appeal but it didn't really work. I ended up having to pay more than three times as much as last year, plus having to take out more student loans, and I don't see this getting better at all because now my parents have a better job and higher income (probably will be around $150,000 for a family of 5 now). I really love the school, but I'll have to transfer. State school isn't an option for me - I've talked to the admissions department of University of Washington, and they've told me that they don't offer scholarships or any sort of aid to transfer students, and I would be looking at $30,000 a year, which is around the amount I had to pay this year. Does anyone know of any schools that have good financial aid and offer scholarships to transfer students? I'm looking at Cornell but it'd be a long shot, especially because I am an engineering major with GPA of 3.5. And I'm not even sure even Cornell would give me a decent financial aid package if my parents start making 6 figure income.
thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Go to a state school , much cheaper. </p>
<p>What is your home state and what can your family afford? With $150K income Cornell probably won’t give you much FA at all. Sorry that you realized this way that FA is tied to income. Merit aid would not be. Most schools don’t offer transfer scholarships, certainly not for OOS students. There are some low price colleges listed in the FA forum in the pinned threads. Public Us in your home state (possibly not the flagship) might be your best bet.</p>
<p>Thank you Erin’s Dad, my home state is Washington. That’s why I talked to the University of Washington’s admissions department, and they told me that I wouldn’t be qualified for any scholarships or aid at all. State schools in Washington are not cheap at all- I would be paying the full price, which would be just as much as how much I’m paying at Rochester right now anyways. </p>
<p>Can your parents pay more? Can you commute to U of W? Can you get a job at U of R? Sometimes RAs receive room and board. Do you work summers? If there is nothing that you can drive to at home even a CC, you may have to take a year off to work then go back to school.</p>
<p>@ccasdf1234 Also keep in mind that your EFC or the minimum amount they expect your parents to pay for 150K and 3 children is probably going to be around 32K a year so your costs will not be cheaper unless you go to a less expensive college or somehow get some merit aid. If you have younger siblings, they should choose a college with high 4 year merit aid packages if your parents cannot afford that.</p>
<p>University of Maryland has a Transfer Academic Excellence Scholarship that offers full tuition for four consecutive semesters. NC State also offers scholarships to transfer students. As their tuition is about $24,000 for out of state, you would not need as large a scholarship to get under your $30,000 limit. University of Alabama’s website says they have a limited number of scholarships available for students who are not transferring from community college. Also, U Washington’s Financial Aid website states that the College of Engineering awarded 400 scholarships to entering students last year, including transfer students. There are scholarships for transfer students, but they are very competitive - still, it is worth a shot and you have the January break to work on the applications. Good luck.</p>
<p>What about SUNY Geneseo ? If you look on their website they have numerous undergrad. scholarships. (Merit based not FA) I think the total cost is around $28,000 per year though for non-NYS residents. (room/board+tuition). </p>
<p>3.5 GPA for engineering is EXCELLENT. So you should apply to several universities, including UWashington (they have some transfer scholarships), UMinnesota (excellent for engineering and they have lots of transfer scholarships)
<a href=“College Specific Scholarships | Office of Admissions”>College Specific Scholarships | Office of Admissions;
You qualify for a presidential transfer scholarship at UMass Lowell:
<a href=“http://www.uml.edu/admissions/information-for/transfers/transfer-scholarships.aspx”>http://www.uml.edu/admissions/information-for/transfers/transfer-scholarships.aspx</a>
SUNY Geneseo at 28k - merit scholarships should make the school affordable, too.</p>
<p>Are any of your siblings about to go to college? Since URochester’s FA package is based on EFC and EFC is reduced by a sibling going to college, this fact may help reduce your bill for the next two years.</p>
<p>thank you guys all so much for your feedback. Looks like my options will still come down to huge state schools, which I was avoiding when I was looking for colleges (UofR only has around 5,500 undergrads). But hey, beggars can’t be choosers I guess. Also MYOS1634, where did you hear that University of Washington has transfer scholarships? I talked to the admissions department on the phone and they told me they wouldn’t be able to offer me anything, I would really like to know. again thank you guys so much. </p>
<p>ULowell is rather small as is Geneseo.</p>
<p>One you’ve been admitted to these schools and have final costs, make an appointment with the Dean of students and indicate that you want to graduate from their school, that your GPA is…, that you’ve been involved in…, but that you simply can’t afford to pay for tuition, and you’ve received an offer from your in-state university for … Is there any way you can stay at UR
There are no scholarships, but there’s financial aid (work study, state grants, federal loans). Since you’re in-state, tuition is $12,500 or so per year - add $11,000 for room&board if you won’t live at home. With books, transportation/gas/bus pass, and miscellaneous, your expenses would be 17-27,000 depending on whether you live on campus; with your parents’ contribution + $6,500 in loans + work study, you’d be covered.</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 @ccasdf1234 He doesn’t qualify for financial aid for that COA if his parents make 150K. You can also look into a paid internship for a semester or two which would benefit your career. You should be able to get a decent summer internship as well as a rising junior with a high GPA. No more charity work until you get the diploma. It doesn’t really matter if you love the school. It only matters that you do well and finish. It’s only for two short years of your life.</p>
<p>Everyone is entitled to the federal loans so he’d be sure to get 6,500-7,500, and if he doesn’t get work study due to his parents’ income, he can find a job outside of work study and make the same amount. With parents’ contributions + job + federal loans, he should be fine at UWA, but he’d also qualify for transfer scholarships at a couple universities. He can apply to all and compare costs.</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 @ccasdf1234 From what OP has written, I think the raise in income has shifted the parents from an EFC of about 15K or less to one above 30K. Really it happened at the worst possible time for OP. Sounds like he already maxs the Stafford. I think he could make UWA work also if his parents agree to 20K a year, he gets 7500 in Stafford and he works summertime or gets a job during school. But then he said going to UWA is close to the U of R net price of around 30k and he says that this is not affordable? His parents need to realize that they will be expected to divert their new affluence to college payments because their EFC is so high now and it sounds like they do not want to contribute 20k per year? OP what is the amount your parents are willing to contribute? The is all a shame because OP is doing so well.</p>
<p>Here is the situation as I see. OP applied to UR when family income put hi at a an EFC of about $15K. Rochester does an excellent job in meeting need, and it did for the student. But when the parents made MORE money, the aid was reduced. That’s the way it works with financial aid. THe EFC is likely now about $30K, and the fact of the matter is that hardly any school, if any school at all, is going to give aid until the EFC is met. You gotta pay your EFC before you get penny one of any federal aid, most state aid and most college money as well. Gearmom has summarized the situation well. </p>
<p>Cornell meets full need for transfers but it’s not going to give you much more than Rochester is if, or any more at all. Still gotta pay your EFC. So it works with need based aid. When the need changes, so does the aid, especially when the need goes down.</p>
<p>You can look for some merit awards for transfer students as mentioned above, or look for some low cost schools. There are some schools where the entire cost is around $20K and as a high GPA engineerng transfer, they might kick some money into the mix as merit. You need merit, not financial aid since Rochester is giving as much as most any school would give you in that respect.</p>
<p>If UWA is the same cost as URochester, I agree that staying at URochester is the better choice!
OP, how much will your parents contribute?</p>
<p>UWA is University of Western Australia.
I think you guys meant to say UW a which is Univeristy of Washington- Seattle</p>