Hey everyone! Right now I’m at a SUNY community college. I have a 4.0 GPA and extracurriculars. I’m also in the honors program at my school, which I hope gives me an extra push. I was wondering what schools would be good to transfer to (SUNY or not)? Right now I’m in the Writing program. I’m looking at a Bachelor’s in Creative Writing or English. The thing is, I need a school that offers decent scholarships for transfer students. I’m pretty poor and it’s already difficult enough to pay for community college. I can’t imagine trying to pay for a 4-year school. I’m fine with being in or out of state, although I figure in-state will probably be cheaper. Any help?
By the way, I have a mental illness and learning disabilities. Schools with support for that would be important for me too.
Stay in-state since that will be the least expensive.
Transfers dont have the same financial aid opportunities, overall, when compared to freshman.
Consider SUNY Buffalo. Great school and they do have good scholarship opportunities.
@“aunt bea” Thank you! I will definitely check SUNY Buffalo out. Anyone else have suggestions?
I second UBuffalo. Fantastic school, highly underrated.
Cornell provides full need-based aid. Maybe you can consider applying there?
Thanks! Also I never really considered an Ivy before, since I was never a wiz kid in high school. Do you think my stats meet Cornell standards?
I mean a 4.0, from a community college is more than enough. It also depends on what college you’re applying to though. Since you’re doing writing, you’re applying to CAS which may be hard to get in even with a 4.0 however.
Are you a man or a woman? Women’s college’s tend to admit transfers and offer good financial aid. Although Wabash may do the same for men.
Some colleges, such as Take, have pledged to take more low income transfers from community colleges.
@MYOS1634 I’m a woman. Thank you for that tip!
*yale not take…
Cornell and suny 's are the obvious answer.
Then women’s college’s, Hamilton, Kenyon, Columbia for a kick, Vassar perhaps.
I would definitely recommend Cornell-- specifically their state contract colleges. Not only do you get cheaper tuition there, but many SUNY community colleges have articulation agreements. I’m not sure if they have your intended major, so please check out the schools and see if your college has an agreement with them.
Also, it’s true that when transferring to SUNY schools it’s hard to get scholarships for the more typical SUNYs. If you’re in PTK, look into PTK scholarships. Binghamton has a special application for their PTK scholarship that they give out each year. It’s not much-- only 2K, but to me that’s still a lot.
Depending on your finances, it might be cheaper to look at top colleges that have great financial aid programs. Are you getting the Pell Grant or TAP at community college? Run the net price calculator at the colleges you’re looking at. That will tell you how much you will have to pay approximately to attend. Need-aware schools will hurt you most of the time though in applying.
I second the women’s colleges suggestion. They are great options because they’re great schools, but they’re aren’t as competitive as other top universities like Ivies because you cut down half the applicants and they’re a little less known.
Also look into Amherst. It’s a top LAC of Ivy caliber. However, they seem to like CC transfers.
Bryn Mawr has a specific commitment to CC transfers. The need-based financial aid is generally quite good. I don’t know about merit-based aid. Read more here: https://www.brynmawr.edu/admissions/community-college-connection
The in-state tuition for CALS @ Cornell is around $34,000. I do not think any of the majors are related to writing, however. Is writing your only interest? You can definitely take writing courses at CAS or another Cornell college, but you should definitely attend CALS because it is the cheapest.
Do you like animals? : D Animal Science is really cool 
All of the majors for CALS are here: http://admissions.cals.cornell.edu/academics/majors
CALS may also be able to offer you a grant, so it may be worth applying there at least. Saying you went to an ‘Ivy League’ is not essential, but definitely looks good when searching for jobs Good luck!