<p>I am currently a student at Seminole State College and I am two classes away from graduating with a 4.0 GPA. I will then have my A.A. I want to transfer to UCF but I really need to have a full-ride. I do not know where to even begin at trying to make this happen. I need someone to help me please.</p>
<p>[What</a> I Learned About Full Ride Scholarships](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/291483-update-what-i-learned-about-free-ride-scholarships.html]What”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/291483-update-what-i-learned-about-free-ride-scholarships.html), by momoftexas (basically the Bible of this board).</p>
<p>The really good scholarships are usually for freshmen. Full rides for transfers are almost non existent as far as I am aware.</p>
<p>That thread is only applicable for fr admissions, the OP is a transfer student.</p>
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<p>Looking at the UCF website, they only offer merit scholarships to transfers from FL CCs:</p>
<p>[Student</a> Financial Assistance, UCF](<a href=“http://finaid.ucf.edu/scholarships/cct_awards.html]Student”>http://finaid.ucf.edu/scholarships/cct_awards.html)</p>
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<p>Since you’re from OK, you don’t qualify for a transfer scholarship from UCF. If you’re looking for a full ride from outside scholarships, that’s a very tough (read impossible) task, as the vast majority of outside scholarships are for fr admissions.</p>
<p>x-posted w/scm</p>
<p>Where does it say the OP is from OK? There is a Seminole college in Florida as well (according to google 
)</p>
<p>^^^Thanks for the correction SCM! I googled but only looked at the first hit, which was OK :(.</p>
<p>Sorry OP! The UCF website seems pretty straightforward, and they give a person to contact if you have questions about the transfer scholarships. Unfortunately they don’t give scholarship amounts on the website, so that would be something good to ask as large transfer scholarships are relatively rare.</p>
<p>You may have to cast a wider net than just UCF. Full rides are not all that frequent. Also, what I have found that even very generous offers are more in the form of <em>financial aid</em> – where the school packages together Staffords, Perkins, Pells, Student Work Study, some Merit Aid <strong><em>AND</em></strong> still expect a cash payment equal to or higher than the EFC from parents <strong><em>AND</em></strong> a cash payment equal to what a student can typically earn over the summer (3-4K).</p>
<p>Even really generous scholarships tend to just cover tuition - leaving student to cobble together loans and cash for the room, board, personal expenses and books.</p>
<p>So cast your net wide - figure out what kinds of scholarships/merit aid are likely for your target schools.</p>
<p>What is your EFC (assuming you are under 24 it would be based then on your parent’s income)? That will likely play a huge factor in all of this.</p>
<p>I thank you all for your help. I am now attending school in Florida at Seminole State College. We actually just became a state college. I am 34 and currently my only occupation is being a student. The only thing is I do not really understand all the financial aid stuff. I tried to talk with someone at UCF, but she just told me I needed to find scholarships. When I asked her where she never did give me an answer. I have been a really good student and have worked very hard to keep and maintain my 4.0. I was told that having that GPA was a good thing. I really just do not understand anything about all the how to’s when it comes to getting money to help with school. Should I be looking at other schools instead of just UCF? Would that help me to be able to get a full ride? Are full rides really only offered to freshman students? So does my 4.0 even mean anything to the schools or no?</p>
<p>You are unlikely to get a full ride based on academics as full rides are few and far between and are generally for freshmen coming straight out of high school. You may be able to get some sort of scholarship from the school you are transferring to based on your 4.0. But it will likely be small compared to what a freshman would get. As an example my daughter’s college (a state U) the largest freshman scholarships are full tuition waivers and cash awards that cover most of the fees, books, and a good part of room and board costs. The largest transfer scholarship is a $2500 tuition waiver that only covers a portion of tuition and no other expenses. Only the school you are transferring to can tell you about their transfer scholarships.</p>
<p>You may be eligible for need based aid though. Have you completed FAFSA? If you have not been working while you are a student you may be eligible for grants and loans, but you must complete FAFSA. There is no age limit for federal aid but you must be eligible. This includes being either a US citizen or eligible permanent resident, not already having a bachelors degree (for grant aid anyway), and males have to have registered for selective service between the ages of 18-26.</p>
<p>Have you completed FAFSA?</p>
<p>[MC</a> Transfer Scholarship Page](<a href=“http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/studev/schol.htm]MC”>http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/studev/schol.htm)</p>
<p>Click through the various links to find information about scholarships for transfer students. Some are limited to Maryland residents and/or graduates of this particular community college, but many are open to students nationwide.</p>
<p>If you google “transfer scholarship UNIVERSITYNAMEHERE” you might find links to information specific to the university that you would like to transfer to.</p>
<p>Some of the more selective private colleges and universities have specific scholarships for non-traditional age students like you. Depending on your educational goals, you may want to investigate those options. There is a sub-forum in the College Admissions Forum for non-traditional students. You can find it by clicking on College Admissions on the left-hand side of this screen, then look under Specialty College Admissions. Here is the direct link for you: [Non-Traditional</a> Students - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/non-traditional-students/]Non-Traditional”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/non-traditional-students/)</p>
<p>Wishing you much success!</p>
<p>OK, you may be helped by a different mental picture:</p>
<p>You are looking for a “bedspread” right now – one large thingy that will cover you completely. There are not many of those out there in college world. </p>
<p>What you can stitch together is a “quilt” – a patchwork of many smaller pieces that add up to something that covers you.</p>
<p>Sure, you can look around for a full ride scholarship – it is a long shot. </p>
<p>You can also look at where you can a) get income and b) cut costs
Income might come from Pell grant, Work study, part time work, and small scholarships. You will have to fill out the Fafsa completely and early for most of these. </p>
<p>Cutting costs means going over the college costs and figuring out where you can squeeze out savings. Can you get a room with an elderly person and trade some errands and cleaning for rent? Can you work part time at the food coop in return for groceries? </p>
<p>Full ride scholarships are rare and challenging to get. Patchwork college degrees happen – every day and in every way. Good luck!</p>
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<p>What did she say about the 4+ transfer scholarships listed on the link I gave above? Are you PTK? I agree, that either finding a full ride or trying to cobble one together from various outside sources is virtually impossible for a tansfer.</p>
<p>There aren’t very many full-ride scholarships for freshmen either. I don’t think there are any for transfer students anywhere.</p>
<p>A 4.0 GPA is very good, but not unique in college. So, it’s not that it doesn’t mean anything, it just doesn’t merit a full ride.</p>
<p>Big scholarships are offered to freshmen so that a school can get the best incoming freshmen class for ranking purposes. Schools don’t have such an incentive for transfer students. Schools give their money away to help themselves look good to help with rankings. </p>
<p>I’m sorry, but I doubt you’ll find a full ride or even a full tuition scholarship anywhere.</p>
<p>Again thanks to everyone for all of the help. I will look into all the info that has been given to me. To Entomom, yes I am in PTK but I am not really sure what that means or how it could help me in any way. I have also applied to FAFSA every semester and I do get some aid. So that is helpful. I do not know how helpful it will be once I transfer to a more expensive school though. Again, thanks to all for the info.</p>
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<p>Well, one of the CFU scholarships on the link is for PTK and many of the merit scholarships for transfers at other colleges are for PTK members.</p>
<p>*I have also applied to FAFSA every semester and I do get some aid. So that is helpful. I do not know how helpful it will be once I transfer to a more expensive school though. *</p>
<p>It will depend on whether the school meets need or not. Most schools do not meet need. Since you have large need and maybe a lowish EFC, then if you apply to schools that “meet need” then you’ll be in a better situation.</p>
<p>What is your EFC? Do you have any assets?</p>
<p>Here is some information regarding transfer scholarships at USF:</p>
<p>[Transfer</a> Scholarships - Undergraduate Admissions at the University of South Florida](<a href=“http://usfweb2.usf.edu/Admissions/Transfers/transfer-scholarships.aspx]Transfer”>http://usfweb2.usf.edu/Admissions/Transfers/transfer-scholarships.aspx)</p>