<p>I am in need of some help here. My freshman daughter wants to transfer from her DC based private university. She decided to apply as a transfer to two public universities and two private colleges. Unfortunately, she found out the two private colleges do not offer any merit aid to transfer students (my oldest daughter is a junior at one of them, also!!!) She will get in state tuition at the state schools as she graduated from a high school in the first state school, and we have recently moved to the state of the other. She really was looking for a smaller, liberal arts college Anyone have any thoughts as to liberal arts colleges that offer Merit Aid to TRANSFER students? We will not qualify for need based, even with two in college. Thanks so much!!!</p>
<p>The only merit aid I’ve ever heard of for Transfers is aid awarded to students who have completed a full Associates Degree and/or qualified for Phi Theta Kappa, the national community college honor society. But if you take a look in the Transfer Forum, there might be something in the sticky threads at the top of that forum.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Though you can ask the colleges outright and look on their websites, there is usually not much in the way of need or merit awards for transfer students. Even those colleges that have the endowments to meet 100% of need to their students often exclude transfer students. Most state schools don’t have the funds to meet need for their students and often reserve what little merit and need based awards for transfers for those in certain community college programs that have some association with them. That is where a great need exists in our higher education system. So, I don’t think you are going to find much available for a transfer from another school. Do check with the department chairs of what her subject majors might be as sometimes there are merit awards that are departmentally available for upper classmen. The pickin’s are slim for transfers as a rule, however.</p>
<p>Merit scholarships for transfer students exist, but they are mostly small awards that do not make a dent in private LAC tuition. Large enough awards to make a private LAC affordable are not easy to find. As Happymom notes, most scholarships are targeted at Community College / Associates Degree candidates and members of Phi Theta Kappa.</p>
<p>Newberry College is an example of a LAC offering large merit awards (up to full ride) to transfers:
[Scholarships</a> | Newberry College](<a href=“http://www.newberry.edu/admissions/financialaid/availableaid/scholarships.aspx]Scholarships”>http://www.newberry.edu/admissions/financialaid/availableaid/scholarships.aspx)</p>
<p>College GPA is the big stat for transfer merit aid, as you can see from the Newberry listings.</p>
<p>What are the two home states in question and what geographic region would work for the LAC?</p>
<p>Some other examples with large merit awards for transfers:
[Pacific</a> University Admissions](<a href=“http://www.pacificu.edu/admissions/undergrad/finaid/merit.cfm]Pacific”>Financial Aid & Scholarships | Pacific University)
[Scholarships[/url</a>]
[url=<a href=“http://www.uvu.edu/financialaid/scholarships/acadmerit.html#transf]Academic”>http://www.uvu.edu/financialaid/scholarships/acadmerit.html#transf]Academic</a> Merit Scholarships](<a href=“http://www.plu.edu/admission/transfer/scholarships/home.php]Scholarships[/url”>Transfer Scholarships | Transfer | PLU)
[Southwestern</a> University: Admission: Transfer Students: Visit](<a href=“http://www.southwestern.edu/admission/transfer/scholarships.php]Southwestern”>http://www.southwestern.edu/admission/transfer/scholarships.php)
<a href=“http://smu.edu/transfer/pdf/Merit%20Scholarships.pdf[/url]”>http://smu.edu/transfer/pdf/Merit%20Scholarships.pdf</a>
[Stevenson</a> University - Transfer Scholarships](<a href=“http://www.stevenson.edu/admissions/costs/scholarships/transfer.asp]Stevenson”>http://www.stevenson.edu/admissions/costs/scholarships/transfer.asp)
[Transfer</a> Merit Awards](<a href=“http://www.rmc.edu/financial-aid/FinancialaidForTransferStudents/transferscholarships.aspx]Transfer”>http://www.rmc.edu/financial-aid/FinancialaidForTransferStudents/transferscholarships.aspx)</p>
<p>You will need to check closely on all opportunities - many are only available to students from certain Community Colleges with articulation agreements with the college.</p>
<p>She can get in state at Ohio State (graduated from an OH high school), and University of Georgia (where we reside now). She currently holds a 3.8 gpa at George Washington University in the Scholars Biology program (pre med). She is interested in private colleges in Massachusetts and Virginia.</p>
<p>Randolph-Macon in Va has pretty good merit awards for transfers:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.rmc.edu/financial-aid/FinancialaidForTransferStudents/transferscholarships.aspx[/url]”>http://www.rmc.edu/financial-aid/FinancialaidForTransferStudents/transferscholarships.aspx</a></p>
<p>Also you might look at Georgia’s public LAC, GCSU <a href=“http://www.gcsu.edu/[/url]”>http://www.gcsu.edu/</a></p>
<p>decent-sized merit scholarships for transfers are hard to find because schools have little incentive to offer them.</p>
<p>A school’s ranking is affected by its incoming frosh class, which is why schools offer large merit for high stats incoming frosh.</p>
<p>* She currently holds a 3.8 gpa at George Washington University in the Scholars Biology program (pre med). She is interested in private colleges in Massachusetts and Virginia.*</p>
<p>Why does she want to leave?
How much do you want to spend?</p>
<p>As a pre-med student, as long as she goes to a decent school, maintains a high GPA, that’s good enough. </p>
<p>Privates in Massachusetts will likely mostly only give need-based aid to transfers. Which VA privates interest her?</p>
<p>She loves DC, but found that GW lacks the “intimacy,” I guess you could say, that a smaller college offers. Looking for some commaradery/traditions in a college. Very hard to get that in a strictly urban school. Spend? Let me just say, she got a very generous merit scholarship at GW, so we would not want to spend no more, in an ideal world, that what we’re paying now (you can do the math, GW is nearly $60K/year). #1 is William and Mary. She got wait listed, originally, as a freshman. I did speak to my older daughter’s college in Mass (women’s college), and they do not give merit aid, but will consider a 2nd sibling for some form of aid.</p>
<p>Tough to get any merit money as a transfer, as we’ve said. Even tougher than financial aid which can be an issue. Ohio State is not going to provide a whole lot of “intimacy” either. It has to be one of the largest universities in the country. THough if she went to high school there she reconnect with a lot of old friends and that would make it easier. I know two young women who would not consider their state flagship schools, went off to private LACS, on merit, did not like the atmosphere at the schools, and upon transferring to Big State U absolutely loved the change. Everything they said they would hate about such a school, they ended up loving, so that is a possibility. She should probably visit a few days there first, however.</p>
<p>As for the two major schools in GA, if she doesn’t know many kids from there GT and UG, it could be tough. They are not “intimate” either and she would not have the degrees of connection that she would at OSU. There is also Miami of Ohio and Ohio U in Ohio, among other schools,as you probalby know. </p>
<p>One can also check out Holy Cross in Massachusetts as they do have awards for scence majors. They are for freshman but ask if they would consider a transfer like your DD. I think in her case, a personal ask will be necessary to open any scholarship doors as I’ve yet to see merit awards for transfers except as Happy Mom describes.</p>
<p>Spend? Let me just say, she got a very generous merit scholarship at GW, so we would not want to spend no more, in an ideal world, that what we’re paying now (you can do the math, GW is nearly $60K/year).</p>
<p>I’m not sure I can “do the math”…lol. I have no idea of what you consider a “very generous” merit offer is. $30k per year? $20k per year? more? less? </p>
<p>Wm & Mary is an OOS public so not likely going to give her any money as a transfer. </p>
<p>Have you used the NPC on the women’s college in Mass to get an idea of what aid they ight give a transfer with 2 in college with your income/assets?</p>
<p>I would suggest that unless your D gets a good offer from another school, she should not cut any ties with her current school. She should continue to register for future classes, etc. She may find that her transfer schools are unaffordable and have to remain at GWU. </p>
<p>As for intimacy at GWU, in the meantime, I would suggest that she get involved with the pre-med association at that school. And, also, as she moves into her upper division classes, she’ll likely find more friendships and camaraderie. Students often develop closer friendships as they move into upper division classes and get involved with career/major associated clubs.</p>
<p>^I agree that there are ways of making a larger school more intimate and that your D should really look for some ways to do so this semester. </p>
<p>I have a kid who transferred and was happy with her decision, but that doesn’t mean it was easy. It meant leaving some good friends that she had, and making new friends with people who had already known each other and formed bonds for a year. This particularly affected her since she transferred to a school with residential colleges, and is likely true for LACs as well.</p>
<p>Thanks to all for the responses. As far as scholarship, she received $24K/year at GW, which made it doable. As far as applying to the state schools, she applied to both for freshman entrance and got accepted into the Honors colleges for both, but decided on GW. We know its not intimate, but she at least knows she can most likely get in again, at minimal cost, and she has many friends at OSU. I loved UGA, but with over 80% GA residents Hope Scholarship) she wanted a tad bit more diversity…not that OSU will be less diverse, but she is very familiar with the campus and has friends, like I said. Although Miami Ohio is a great deal/good school, it wasn’t a fit for her, and she did not like OU. She is not burning any bridges at school at all. She has lots of friends, and is involved in sports/clubs. She just is having a tough time, and really feels going to this U was a wrong decision for her. My older daughter went through this also, took 2nd semester freshman year off and lived at home and dove back in, sophomore year, same school and is thriving. Tough being a parent, we just want our kids to be happy and feel like they fit in. Which my daughter does not.</p>
<p>I can sympathize. Went through the same thing as did many of my classmates. I could not transfer as I let my grades tank and as a transfer even back them, no financial aid or in my case,merit was out of the question. And I did not have an OSU type of alternative. </p>
<p>W&M is highly unlikely to come up with merit for a transfer, and bio is a popular major at that school, no shortage of premeds there. And though a state school, the cost is pretty high up there for OOSers. Can’t come up with any specifics, though if anyone could get the merit money as a transfer, someone like your DD would be the sort that would. Hopefully, she finds her niche. Good luck to her.</p>
<p>More affordable alternatives to W&M for OOS would be Virginia’s public LACs, Mary Washington and UVa-Wise.</p>
<p>Sounds like you are paying nearly $36K/year now. What about University of Dayton? Costs are ~$44K/year and they have a transfer scholarship good for up to $9K/year.</p>
<p>Your daughter should try both Smith and Mt Holyoke. One thread mentioned that they offer merit scholarships to excellent transfer students.</p>
<p>Please use old threads for information only, do not post and revive them.</p>
<p>Their posting history shows that the OP has not been active on CC since Feb.</p>