@thestandard: Even for the top universities which may be need blind for admissions decisions, financial aid is often quite limited.
To what extent does being at a peer school of your transfer target affect your chances of admission?
@thestandard: As several posters have pointed out to you in the past, your situation as a non-traditional applicant & military veteran places you in a different category then the OP and others like him.
I do not know whether or not military benefits played any part in your transfer experiences from community college to the College of Charleston & ultimately to Stanford.
It would also be helpful if you discussed the programs to which you applied & received acceptances such as Columbia-GS, Yale–EWS, & Penn-LPS.
@thestandard: This poster has failed to share in this thread that his transfer experience was to special programs at Columbia, Yale & Penn for non-traditional students and/or for working students. For example, Yale-EWS (Eli Whitney Students transfer program) is for non-traditional students with at least a 5 year interruption in their education. Penn-LPS (liberal professional studies) is also for non-traditional & working transfer applicants. Columbia-GS is well known on this website.
@thestandard; Has very limited & unusual experience which should be placed in its proper light.
@thestandard: Your past posts indicate that Brown, your top choice school as a transfer applicant, was need aware for transfers & rejected you. Stanford, not relevant in this thread as it is not a target school for OP, is need blind for transfer applicants.
Yale-EWS only admits one or two students a year according to past posts on CC.
Also, OP is not applying to Columbia-GS or to Penn-LPS, although he is applying to those schools as a transfer. This, along with @thestandard’s non-traditional, military background status with military benefits (I presume) make a substantial difference in the transfer process.
P.S. One reason that I have pointed out the potentially misleading misinformation shared in this thread by another poster is that it might lead some to enter into a four year college or university with the intent of transferring to another school after a year or two. This is a reckless course of action for those in need of significant financial aid.
OP: At least two schools on your list are need aware for transfers (or at least do not guarantee to meet full financial need), Northwestern & Brown.
@thestandard
I would not be drawing similarities between Columbia’s Core and Brown’s OC in any essays that might be seen by both schools. Admittedly, it is a bit of a stretch to compare them, but the academic aspects are not the primary driver of my transfer decision anyway. I just want to work in brief statements directed to each school as to how I would continue to pursue my academic interests within the contexts of their curriculums. I am not going to claim that my current school does not allow my to pursue my academic interests, as that is clearly a falsehood.
@Publisher
I had heard that Georgetown was need-aware for transfers as well, any insight on that?
Georgetown is very money aware. I suspect that you will get serious consideration from Brown, Northwestern & Georgetown.
@Publisher
That’s what I’ve been thinking as well.
@Publisher I also applied as a transfer and was admitted to Stanford, Vanderbilt, Cornell and several others that flow through normal channels. Your commentary on financial aid being a primary consideration for most top schools is where I took objection. You are flat out incorrect with this statement as it relates to most top schools.
Stanford, Vandy, Cornell were all very generous with aid and I used no such non-trad avenues to gain admission to those. They offered grants to offset debt, and clearly cared less about financial needs as a component of admission. Nearly every top school states clearly that they meet 100% of need, and are need blind for transfer admission.
The fact is most top schools are not concerned with your financial situation as a transfer applicant and are happy to cover your needs, same as a regular freshmen admit. Save Brown, Georgetown, USC most schools cover full need, no questions asked
@thestandard: You applied to programs for non-traditional students at Yale, Penn & Columbia. Also, you have military benefits which may or may not have come into play.
@thestandard: A couple of your prior posts (for example, one from May, 2018) advises transfer applicants that standards are different for those with military backgrounds applying as transfer students.
If true, this is relevant information for those considering a transfer. This is information that you failed to share in this thread.
P.S. Both Brown & Northwestern are examples of top 20 schools which do not guarantee to meet full financial need of transfer students, for example.
It is important to note that the overwhelming majority of elite schools which guarantee to meet full financial need typically do so for first year students. They may or may not do so for transfer students.
Even a “needs blind” school may not be able to meet the full demonstrated financial need of an accepted transfer student–even though the school may admit that student (which would be pointless for a transfer student in need of significant financial aid which could not be met.) Nevertheless, transfer students may be offered loans in an effort to meet their needs when grant money has been depleted.
This is factually incorrect - most top 20 schools that meet full freshman needs financially also meet the full need of admitted transfers. My service as a veteran has nothing to do with their existing financial aid policies. Further, most top 20 achools will now allow veterans to save their post 9/11 entitlements and provide them no loan grants to cover costs, the same no loan grants as their transfer cohort peers.
My Source is the 30 odd people I’ve helped matriculate at every ivy and most other top 20 schools. @Publisher We can agree to disagree, but to anyone reading this in the future please research transfer aid policies at your targeted institutions. Nearly every top school treats you identically to their freshmen admits for financial aid purposes. Spoken from first hand, and second hand experience from numerous friends and friends of friends I’ve helped
Then we agree to disagree. I have just researched six different top twenty universities. It varies by school. Dartmouth College, for example, will meet full financial need but it may include grants. The others were not clear on their policies.
Also, based on your posting history, your experience is with military veterans. This may be a significant factor.
Financial aid policies change. Many have subtle, yet very important, differences regarding financial aid policies for first year students versus transfer students even though that school may be need blind for both categories of students.
The endowment tax might motivate wealthy schools to offer more grant aid.
But, for now, financial aid for transfer students is not necessarily the same as for first year admits. And, of course, almost all merit scholarship awards are for first year students–although exceptions exist.
“Meeting full demonstrated financial need” is not the same as a no loan policy or guarantee for first year admits.
Just have to research school-by-school and case-by-case (especially for international applicants).
I agree that being a veteran is likely the only reason I was admitted and the only reason I received financial aid. Spot on with those points.
So what about non veteran transfers?Do they face the same generous financial aid as freshman? For T20 colleges?