How are you affording your transfer kid's college?

Parents Forum
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<p>Oldest D will be off to com college this fall and will attend 2 years. We do not know anyone who has done this. As we've recently gone through the search for colleges she hopes to transfer into, we seem to be a little baffled by lack of info on aid for non-freshmen. I'm going to call some of these colleges. We have not yet gotten to meet with her com college counselor (and I worry so much about plans that are up in the air until the last minute!). I would hate to break her heart that we cannot afford the more expensive colleges that she will have worked her tail off to get admitted to.</p>

<p>I am curious to fellow parents of transfer students - do you save up and just pay out of your pocket? Anyone know of schools that give good aid to transfer students? We are fairly new to this whole process.</p>

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<p>I transferred from a state school to a private university.</p>

<p>My EFC is 0, so not sure if this has a lot to do with my aid.</p>

<p>I was offered almost full aid, with the exception of about $3,500. Because my parents cannot afford that I am living off campus to save money and will pay it for them through my refund check (hopefully). </p>

<p>I was given about 9k in loans, (one is unsub.) but everything else was a grant or scholarship. 9k is a little bit more than I would have liked… but I think its worth it for a college I will actually like as opposed to my last one. The cost of the college itself is 47k/yr.</p>

<p>The other college that offered me nice aid was another state school, fewer loans (6k I think) rest was scholarships and grants.</p>

<p>So I don’t think the schools expect you to pay everything (if your EFC can’t meet the costs), and there is plenty of financial aid to be given (depending upon the school).</p>

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<p>Two years at a CC can be a great plan. Does she know which colleges she would like to transfer to? It may help to do some homework first and look at colleges with articulation agreements.
Some colleges have merit scholarships for transfer students, this can help with buffering the gap in financial aid. I don’t think you should assume that she won’t get any financial aid because she is a transfer.</p>

4

<p>Leah,
I agree that colleges are in general not very good at stating their transfer FA policies on their websites. I know that some (eg. Brown) do state that they have less aid for transfers, while others say that they treat transfers the same as freshmen students. </p>

<p>My D was a soph transfer, and she is getting very good FA because her school has a very generous FA policy towards middle income families and does not differentiate between transfers and freshmen.</p>

<p>I think that you will indeed have to call some of the FA offices to find out how they treat transfers. Here is a thread that gives some schools with merit aid for transfers:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/transfer-students/565769-transferring-up.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/transfer-students/565769-transferring-up.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>While I haven’t used it extensively, this website may be of help as it specifically lists transfer merit aid for individual colleges:</p>

<p>[MeritAid.com:</a> Search Merit Scholarships, Academic Scholarships, Merit Awards - Merit Aid - Search](<a href=“Find Scholarships for College Students: Scholarship Database”>http://www.meritaid.com/)</p>

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<p>My D was also a soph transfer, and her aid was actually better soph year than it was freshman year (she had been accepted but declined the original offer). It was need based aid at a school well known for excellent aid for middle income families.</p>

<p>I work at a state U that offers a merit scholarship for transfers ($750/year). Other than that, transfers are eligible for the same need based aid as any other student. Remember that you will pay less in the long run due to the savings from the first two years … but please select courses very carefully in order to be sure the CC classes are fully transferable & count toward a degree program.</p>

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<p>“I would hate to break her heart that we cannot afford the more expensive colleges that she will have worked her tail off to get admitted to.”</p>

<p>You can afford what you can afford, and should not feel guilty about the possibility that some colleges may be beyond your means. Your D should understand this and if not, she’ll get over it. Just make sure that she knows what the financial parameters are up front.</p>

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<p>There are many great state schools to transfer to that would be more affordable. Look into the schools in your own state to keep costs down.</p>

8

<p>

Lots of implicit bad assumptions here, imo.</p>

<p>I agree that financial parameters should be established up front to the extent possible. But colleges aren’t necessarily interchangeable commodities like, say, automobiles or clothing. A student may in fact have to “deal” but there may be significant consequences to being forced to do so.</p>

<p>Fortunately, many colleges to indeed have FinAid for transfer students that’s just as good as what non-transfer students would get.</p>