Colleges have financial aid awarding policies. Period. Some give good aid to transfer students and some don’t. There are schools that meet full need for incoming gpfreshmen, but not for transfers. It’s all up to the colleges. Some do award aid to transfer students.
The smartest thing to do…understand the policies of the colleges to which you apply. And also understand the costs up front.
My mistake about Northeastern - their FA policy has indeed changed since I last visited their website.
So, @howtogetfuturesendhelp, two of the three colleges you were interested in do meet full need. And there are others in the Boston area that also meet full need. Yes, many colleges will turn you away if you can’t afford the price (as would just about any other business that I can think of), but if you have demonstrated high performance that the “full need” colleges are looking for, then you can get an extraordinary education that’s within your budget. I know one student with an EFC near zero who was admitted as a transfer student to a full need college . . . so I know it’s possible. But it’s up to you to be the excellent student those schools are looking for.